Identify Program Outcomes in Minutes

April 4, 2006

By Vivian M. Linderman

Following is a summary by Vivian M. Linderman, MPA, of the session "Leadership & Management Issues: Outcome Measures Made Easy," which she presented Monday at the 43rd AFP International Conference on Fundraising in Atlanta.

Nonprofit organizations work in a very competitive environment when it comes to building a diverse revenue base. Whether you're seeking foundation funding, individual contributions or government grants, it's to your advantage to be able to state how your clients' lives have changed due to your program activity or intervention in their lives.

You often are asked to list program outcomes in most foundation guidelines or on grant applications. Today, even individual donors want to know more about how their gifts positively changed lives. It's in this story of your clients' lives that you discover your program outcomes.

The first stage in developing an evaluation process that's based on outcome measurement is to identify program outcomes. To do this, you first need to break down your program components. The program outcome model offered by the United Way provides a simple graphic to help you identify program components leading up to the intended outcomes.

INPUTS are the collection of resources that you bring to the program or activity. They might include funds, personnel, equipment and supplies, volunteers, time, facilities, etc. Without these resources, you would not have a program to offer.

Once you've identified your inputs or resources, and how you might work through any challenges that would keep you from bringing them all together, you can begin to plan program ACTIVITIES. Your program activities should, of course, relate to your organization's mission. An example of a program activity might be to educate teenagers about the dangers of binge drinking or provide job training to those seeking work.

The OUTPUTS, then, are the quantifiable results of the activities that were offered. On paper, this would relate to such examples as the number of classes offered, number of clients served or number of houses built.

Now that you've brought your resources together, offered activities and logged in basic program-service information, it's time to identify the OUTCOMES expected. Whereas outputs relay information about service units, outcomes speak about the benefits or changes clients experience.

One way to remember outcomes is to think of the acronym NICMIA, representing: New knowledge, Increased skill or Changed attitudes or values that lead to Modified behavior or an Improved condition or Altered status.

Let's now look at a basic program example within the structure of the program outcome model above: An agency's mission is to assist at-risk youths to succeed in school.

INPUTS/RESOURCES: A team of school counselors, college-aged volunteers and a program coordinator is assembled. Collaborations with the local school district provide after-school classroom space and supplies. Add to that a $5,000 budget line for incentives, field trips, etc.
ACTIVITIES: Students are paired one-on-one with the college-aged mentors, and time is scheduled for them to meet to work on homework or other activities.
OUTPUTS: A daily log of attendance and time spent mentoring students is recorded and the statistics compiled.
OUTCOMES: Program administrators and teachers see improvement in students' attitudes toward school. Report cards show better grades. Over time, students have better attendance and become more engaged in class and with extra-curricular activities. The ultimate outcome is that they become better students who graduate high school and go on to attend college and become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.

Notice how several of the NICMIA outcomes are present in the above example.

The fact that your program can offer an at-risk child the assistance needed to become a responsible member of his or her community is a vision that donors and funders can get behind and contribute to. This is why outcome measurement is so important in today's funding environment. As a donor or funder, what more can you ask for than to know that your contribution is making a difference in someone's life and in your community?

Vivian M. Linderman is principal at Blue Lotus Consulting & Training. She can be reached at http://www.bluelotus-consulting.com

For more on the AFP Conference, visit http://conference.afpnet.org