Informing Donors About Nonprofit Performance

Some argue that tracking outcomes takes money and time away from nonprofits' programs. But most of the information that donors need is just what the organization itself needs to know whether it is on course. Characterizing such information as diverting from an organization's mission is like characterizing an airline's expenditures on navigation systems as diverting from flying. That said, if we want nonprofits to measure outcomes, donors will have to be willing to let them use resources to do so. Ironically, right now Charity Navigator treats such expenditures as administrative expenses, which it counts against the organization.