Does your nonprofit agency have a way to measure performance for your organization? Not just the financial measures, but mission delivery and the organization’s effectiveness? The tool agencies most commonly use to measure and evaluate the agency's overall performance is called a dashboard or sometimes a scorecard.
Your agency performance reports should help you better lead your agency and make informed decisions. Recently, I heard two hybrid car owners with different models and years discuss how their dashboards provided information and the layout of their respective dashboards. It appeared one model had a dashboard that clearly defined the car’s performance and better reported what the engine was doing. The car owner stated simply, “because I have been monitoring what’s going on with the engine and the mileage performance, I’ve changed my driving style.”
Just like your car’s dashboard, your organization’s dashboard should be designed to help monitor your agency’s performance. Board meetings should include discussions of not just the financial reports, but should also include key information that helps the leadership team make better decisions about the agency’s mission-delivery and effectiveness. Outcomes are not just for grant reports. They should be integral to your ongoing reporting systems and should be shared at both board and staff level. Measures should be meaningful, linking actions to outcomes. Identifying key performance measures and who owns them creates a culture of accountability and “reportability.” helping board and staff better understand their roles and actions in support of common goals.
If you are just exploring how to create a dashboard or scorecard, solicit the help of your staff and board. If you have a strategic plan, it should be developed to a level of measurable initiatives that create the framework for a strong reporting tool. If you don’t have a strategic plan, well, that’s another blog.
You may want to consider ordering the dashboard workbook and worksheet tool available through BoardSource at www.boardsource.org. You can also utilize an Access application available at www.opengatesw.net or Xcelsius Engage 2008 is available for nonprofits that qualify at www.TechSoup.org.
Debra Box
Executive Director
Your agency performance reports should help you better lead your agency and make informed decisions. Recently, I heard two hybrid car owners with different models and years discuss how their dashboards provided information and the layout of their respective dashboards. It appeared one model had a dashboard that clearly defined the car’s performance and better reported what the engine was doing. The car owner stated simply, “because I have been monitoring what’s going on with the engine and the mileage performance, I’ve changed my driving style.”
Just like your car’s dashboard, your organization’s dashboard should be designed to help monitor your agency’s performance. Board meetings should include discussions of not just the financial reports, but should also include key information that helps the leadership team make better decisions about the agency’s mission-delivery and effectiveness. Outcomes are not just for grant reports. They should be integral to your ongoing reporting systems and should be shared at both board and staff level. Measures should be meaningful, linking actions to outcomes. Identifying key performance measures and who owns them creates a culture of accountability and “reportability.” helping board and staff better understand their roles and actions in support of common goals.
If you are just exploring how to create a dashboard or scorecard, solicit the help of your staff and board. If you have a strategic plan, it should be developed to a level of measurable initiatives that create the framework for a strong reporting tool. If you don’t have a strategic plan, well, that’s another blog.
You may want to consider ordering the dashboard workbook and worksheet tool available through BoardSource at www.boardsource.org. You can also utilize an Access application available at www.opengatesw.net or Xcelsius Engage 2008 is available for nonprofits that qualify at www.TechSoup.org.
Debra Box
Executive Director
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