With the right implementation, nonprofits have a straightforward tool for measuring success at their fingertips.

By Joel Zimmerman

4. Donors and board members. For nonprofits, donors and board members more often are treated as though they were the customers, even though they are not usually recipients of the nonprofit’s services or products. These are the people who contribute with dollars, labor and advice to support the nonprofit. It is their satisfaction, often more than that of direct-service recipients, that is crucial to keeping a nonprofit operation going. This is the basis for creating a planning category for donors and board members.