In the face of increased accountability pressures, nonprofits are searching for ways to demonstrate their effectiveness (Liket and Maas, 2015). Stakeholders should be asking how do we identify effective practices throughout the organization and how do we improve organizational effectiveness to achieve greater impact? Nonprofit organizations are increasingly under pressure from funders, clients, and others to “prove” that they are achieving their mission effectively and efficiently (Renz and Murray, 2010). Over the past decade, efforts have been increasingly made to encourage the adoption of effective practice methodologies in the nonprofit sector (National Resource Center, 2010). What is considered effective should advance the organizations mission and goals to achieve greater impact.

Meaningful tools to evaluate effectiveness are largely absent (Liket and Maas, 2015). This means an increased demand for more and better evaluation (Renz and Murray, 2010) is needed. Currently, nonprofit organizations are measuring effectiveness in a variety of ways including benchmarking, organizational effectiveness evaluations, key performance indicators, and outcome based evaluation. Nonprofit organizations should identify evaluation methods to assess their programs and organization effectiveness on an ongoing basis. The goal is to identify best practices and opportunities and subsequently to adapt to improve (Bridgespan, n.d.).

It is important…

For a nonprofit organization, getting new donors every year is crucial, and the best way to make this happen is through peer-to-peer fundraising. The reason behind this is the fact that people respond better to other people rather than an organization – this holds true especially if the person is someone they are acquainted with.

When you hear about a cause from a person close to you – be it a friend, colleague or family member – this triggers an emotional connection that influences the person to pay attention and consider looking at the request of favor.

Here are some of the best ways to use peer pressure as a way to drive donors and increase volunteers:

1. Tell a Story, Deliver, and Ask Nicely

When creating a fundraising campaign, it's essential to be as clear as possible. It doesn't matter how complex your mission is, or if your work covers some issues, you can still deliver a simple story by concentrating on one aspect, or you can narrow down your goal to a particular impact. Keep in mind; fundraising is all about sharing between networks. Make sure that your purpose and mission can be shared easily through an engaging story for potential donors and volunteers. Thus, it's imperative that your story is easy to share.

In early November, I had the pleasure to be part of a panel conversation on Achieving High Impact Philanthropy as part of the ASU Lodestar Center's PhilanthropyMatters Speaker Series. These events are designed to share leading-edge thinking and to stimulate new ideas for philanthropy in Arizona.

Social Venture Partners Arizona Founder Jerry Hirsch introduced Kat Rosqueta, Founding Executive Director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania, to 80 attendees. She shared research and examples of high impact philanthropy from her 10 years of work. Following, Dr. Robert Ashcraft, ASU Lodestar Center's Executive Director, facilitated a conversation with Kat, Partner Jacky Alling from the Arizona Community Foundation and me, where we discussed the high impact philanthropy ecosystem in Arizona. 

Connecting with Kat was like meeting a fellow tribe partner! Just like her center at the University of Pennsylvania, SVP focuses on being a resource to help people achieve high social impact in their philanthropic giving. Kat outlined four characteristics of high impact giving.

• Social Impact — What is the positive change in the world you want to create?
• Evidence Informed — We get informed with the best available evidence to build off what is already known,…

With rakes, trash-picker-uppers, brooms and wheelbarrows in hand, the newest class of Public Allies Arizona joined the staff of the Creighton Community Foundation on Oct. 28 with a mission: to help their local neighbors beautify their curbs and develop long-lasting relationships.

The Allies of Class 12 gathered that Saturday at Doras Church of Phoenix for National Make a Difference Day. Allies worked in groups in the Elsinore neighborhood picking up trash, interacting with community members and painting addresses onto curbs. Many community members excitedly approached them to ask, “What are you doing here?” to which the Allies eagerly responded, “Making a difference!”

Once people in the community found out what the Allies were doing, they were eager to connect with the Allies and staff of CCF – and they wanted their own curbs painted, too! The Allies exceeded their initial goal of 68 curbs, painting 75 in all, and picked up hundreds of pieces of garbage. But they did more than just beautify a few…

What does a successful web engagement look like from a client’s perspective? How about from the perspective of an agency? How can these two perspectives be aligned to maximize the experience for both parties?

That is the topic for discussion and I’ve been on both sides of the fence before. It is my hope that I can smooth the process for all parties concerned with several  handy tips.

The Ground Rules

First, let me explain what I mean by a ‘Web Engagement’. This term refers to an engagement between a client and a service provider for the purpose of completing an internet based project. These engagements may include website builds, online marketing work, website integration projects and much more. A ‘Web Engagement’ is a broad term that simply refers to any occasion where a person or business seeks outside consultation, including swot analysis, assistance or collaboration in achieving online goals.

1. Make Sure You Don’t Irritate Each Other

This may sound like a no-brainer, but, the digital world is full of larger than life personalities and sometimes these personalities clash. This helps no one and createsa relationship fraught with pain and sleepless nights – not to mention the economic costs.

First and foremost, any engagement is about the relationship between agency and client and the success (or failure) of…