Measuring performance and social impact is essential to building an organization that not only meets the needs of a given community, but also chips away at the very root causes of a social problem. A prerequisite for any organization striving to achieve lasting social impact is a rigorous self-evaluation system, and a regular schedule for reporting results, both internally and externally.
The social entrepreneurs who have worked with Root Cause consultants as part of the Social Innovation Forum, a social enterprise of Root Cause, have found the prospectus to be an excellent document for marketing an organization to potential investors.
A Need and Opportunity Analysis enables organizations to identify their niches and develop solid, strategic approaches to addressing core social problems. The Need and Opportunity Analysis is made up of two main components: A study of the trends contributing to the target social problem—or social need—along with the current work being done to address it; and a description of an opportunity that your organization has identified for providing a new approach. Ultimately these two components constitute the basis of an argument that explains: why your approach and why now?
The better you are able to communicate with your stakeholders—including program participants, partners, and what we term “social impact investors”—the greater success you will have in getting them excited about your work and ultimately achieving your desired social impact. Most organizations produce an array of materials that they distribute externally. Stepping back to consider the various audiences you are targeting with those materials, and to identify the best ways to reach them, will ensure that you are communicating the importance of your work effectively.
Root Cause Solutions is a bi-monthly e-newsletter covering key issues and topics facing problem solvers working in nonprofits, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. It includes leading-edge strategies for building enduring solutions to our most pressing social problems, drawn from our work with our consulting clients and our social enterprises. In addition, each issue provides our recommendations of other important articles and tools on the featured topic.
If you lead a nonprofit, chances are you have puzzled over the right set of roles for your board. Every nonprofit, of course, is required by law to have a governing board that is charged with ensuring that the organization carries out its mission. Throughout the nonprofit sector, there is quite a bit of variation and flexibility in how boards carry out this responsibility. And too often, even the most well-intentioned board can end up taking on too many roles—thus limiting an entrepreneurial leader’s ability to realize his or her organization’s full potential.
Root Cause Knowledge Sharing is committed to developing practical and thought-provoking information based on its strategy consulting practice and other areas of the work it leads. We actively seek out opportunities to develop and share practical resources based on our experience developing and supporting enduring solutions to social problems.
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