The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox : A Complete Guide to Program Effectiveness, Performance Measurement, and Results

One of the most talked about subjects in the nonprofit field is the question of effectiveness, performance measurement, and results--collectively referred to as "outcomes." Nonprofit organizations are increasingly being pressed to measure and report their outcomes regularly to funders and other constituents; in addition, service organizations need some form of regular feedback on their outcomes to help them improve their services. The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox identifies the stages in the use of outcomes and shows you how to implement specific facets of certain models to increase capacity and achieve desired results in your organization. Written by Robert Penna--a leading outcomes expert--and sponsored by The Rensselaerville Institute and Charity Navigator, the nation's foremost charity rating service--The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox compiles the most significant strides that have been made in the performance of nonprofits. This valuable toolbox digs deep to go beyond the familiar limits of the social sector to illustrate how tools and approaches used in the corporate sector can be of great analytical and practical use to nonprofits as well. Through the use of worksheets and examples, Dr. Penna offers structured guidance on how to tailor these tools to your organization's unique challenges and equip your "toolbox" to suit your program or organization's needs. Designed to be used by those who are new to outcomes as well as anyone looking for a refresher, The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox is divided into four accessible sections: Basics: Putting outcomes into an overall managerial context, contrasting the outcomes approach with several more common approaches to program design, the vocabulary of outcomes, the characteristics of good outcomes, and identifying outcomes relevant to your program Working with Outcomes: Planning with outcomes, the different levels of organizational capacity and capacity assessment, using outcomes to track progress, the key characteristics of a good "Lessons Learned" system, and outcome-based communications Advanced Tools: Six Sigma methodology, The Balanced Scorecard, key insights from the service economy, and an array of ideas from Value Engineering, Process Mapping, inventive problem solving, Failure Mode Effect Analysis, personnel recruitment and evaluation, budgeting with outcomes, and the creation of a value proposition for your program or organization Other Tools & Perspectives: SERVQUAL analysis, Cost vs. Worth vs. Value, building value in, and process mapping Accompanied by a dynamic website to help you implement the concepts presented in the book, The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox puts an arsenal of tools at your fingertips to help your nonprofit perform more efficiently, effectively, and productively, from top to bottom.show more

ROBERT M. PENNA, PhD, is a researcher and consultant, a member of the Charity Navigator Advisory Panel, and one of the nation's foremost experts in comparative outcome models for the nonprofit and governmental sectors.show more

Praise for The nonprofit outcomes toolbox "A well-done tutorial on outcome use and assessment." --MARIO MORINO, Cofounder and Chairman, Venture Philanthropy Partners ..". a real contribution to the field. What makes this an amazing document is its depth and comprehensiveness. There's just an extraordinary amount of information here, and Penna has made quite an effort to make it useful. I also really appreciate the conversational style, the exercises, and the pop culture references. It's clear Penna made a real effort to keep this engaging for the reader." --JACOB HAROLD, Program Officer, Philanthropy Program, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ..". the Encyclopedia of Outcomes ..." --DEBORAH NATENSHON, CEO, The Center for What Works "Penna has pulled it all together and provided an enormously useful overview." --MICHAEL E. CLARK, President, Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York "The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox takes outcome funding a quantum leap forward. We have struggled for years to help our investees implement an outcome strategy with mixed success. You have created a simple, easy-to-use, and easy-to understand road map for organizations committed to becoming more effective and sustainable." --ALAN SORKIN, President, Social Venture Partners Internationalshow more

Image Credits. Foreword. How to Use This Book. Author s Notes. Acknowledgments. Introduction. PART ONE: THE BASICS. Chapter 1: Approaching Outcomes. Outcomes: The Third Stage of Management. The Problem Approach. The Activity Approach. The Process Approach. The Vision Approach. In Summary. Chapter 2: The Language of Outcomes. Understanding the Language. Shifting Perspectives. From Funder to Investor. From Activity to Results. From Service to Change. Chapter 3: The Shape of Outcomes. The Importance of a Target. Characteristics of Well-Defined Outcome Statements. Positive Improvement. Meaningful. Sustainable. Bound in Time. Bound in Number. Narrowly Focused ... ... and Doable (with a Stretch!). Measurable. Verifiable. Chapter 4: Finding Your Outcomes. You Get What You Measure. Results-Based Accountability (RBA). A Common Outcome Framework. Outcomes and Indicators. Knowledge/Learning/Attitude. Behavior. Condition/Status. PART TWO: WORKING WITH OUTCOMES. Chapter 5: Planning with Outcomes. Outcome Management Framework. Another Approach. Chapter 6: The Capacity for Outcomes. Another Tool: SEED. Chapter 7: Tracking with Outcomes. Chapter 8: Learning with Outcomes. Data versus Information versus Knowledge. Chapter 9: Communicating with Outcomes. The Smart Chart. Chapter 10: Communicating Our Outcomes. Scales and Ladders. The Program Results Story. Three Core Questions: Audience, Content, and Flow. The Story Pyramid. PART THREE: ADVANCED TOOLS. Chapter 11: The Power of Six Sigma. Chapter 12: Keeping It All in Balance. Typical Scorecard. The Public Sector Scorecard. A Governmental Scorecard. A Social Sector Scorecard. An OASAS Scorecard. Chapter 13: Budgeting with Outcomes. Chapter 14: Outcomes in Administration. Writing the Results Description. PART FOUR: OTHER TOOLS AND PERSPECTIVES. Chapter 15: A Different View of Nonprofits. Chapter 16: Thinking about Value. Chapter 17: Building Value In. Chapter 18: A Few Final Tools ... Looking for Trouble: FMEA. Gone Fishin : A Cause and Effect Analysis. TRIZ: Considering the Contradictions. One Final Tool: Process Management. Process Documentation. Process Mapping. Value Stream Mapping. CONCLUSION. Wrapping It All Up. Appendix. Notes. About The Rensselaerville Institute. About Charity Navigator. About the Author. Index.show more