Blog Posts: Impact

Posted September 9, 2019 by Al Mueller 2 comments

The best charity evaluation platform just got better, deeper, simpler, and automated. But what’s really changed? Starting in September 2019, subscribers now have 5 NEW FEATURES:

• New Member Dashboard to track the latest updates on your favorite Nonprofits
• Automated notifications when your Favorite Nonprofits have new performance data
• Simpler search results show total expenses, number of staff, and program locations
• Advanced search filters include number of Board members, Clients served, and Donors
• Discounted price on Expert Evaluations that identify strengths & weaknesses in a page

Why give money to support good intentions when our nonprofit strategy, finance, leadership, and impact data can show you who’s really making a difference? Set up one-click access on your mobile device today to search our nonprofit database and select which charities you want to get notified about new performance updates on your Member Dashboard. Monitoring and evaluating charities just got so much easier!

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Effective Philanthropy, Impact, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance, Strategic Giving

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Posted September 3, 2015 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Are you wasting your time attending leadership development conferences?

130 years ago, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus devised several experiments to measure how fast we forget. He concluded the majority of information we hear is forgotten within one hour, and 75% disappears in a week. To be sure, his simplified conclusion doesn’t take into account varied teaching methods, experiential learning strategies, or learning styles. Not all educational strategies are created equal. But it raises the question: Do leadership conferences leave a lasting impact after a couple days of talks?

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Impact, Nonprofit Evaluation, Outcomes Measurement

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Posted July 9, 2014 by Al Mueller 9 comments

“The kingdom path links success to obedience rather than outcomes.” That is the mantra from ECFA’s new book The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. Hoag, Rodin & Willmer have been publishing articles in multiple outlets (like OUTCOMES magazine) to push this message to faith-based nonprofits. Since Excellence in Giving clients fund many faith-based nonprofits, we care about the accuracy and consequences of this message. Unfortunately, the baby is being thrown out the door with the bath water.

Tags: Effective Philanthropy, Impact, Nonprofit Performance, Performance Standard

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Posted October 31, 2012 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Impact measurement has been dubbed the Holy Grail of all social enterprise. If non-profit and for-profit social enterprises could capture the lasting difference made from all the meetings, projects, programs, fundraisers, volunteers, budgets and staff, we would have arrived. We would know if all the donations, charity walks, social media campaigns, grant proposals and collaborative partnerships are worth it. Not surprisingly, no one has found a short cut to universal impact measurement. There is no simple formula that determines whether a charity is ‘high impact,’ I believe there are a few specific steps to take when assessing any non-profit’s impact.

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Impact

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Posted August 23, 2012 by Al Mueller 0 comments

What if the once-a-year “reveals” of a charity’s impact had the hype of the iPhone 5? What if millions of people spent time guessing about program upgrades and the higher performance that the most dynamic charity in the world had developed in the past year? What if people were making viral videos and sketching out projections for a charity’s outcomes and functions before real pictures and numbers were revealed? I could only wish that charities Excellence in Giving clients support stirred such anticipation to see their latest performance. I would love to receive a mysterious invite (like Apple is about to send to tech media writers) to attend a dramatic presentation of new charitable program designs and their increased productivity. Maybe one day the presentation of a charity’s annual report would warrant that hype.

Tags: Annual Reports, Grant Impact Reports, Impact

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Posted April 19, 2011 by Al Mueller 0 comments

In February 2010, United Property Distributors donated 100 caskets to Haiti to help bury the dead.  They had good intentions. They wanted to comfort the living by providing a proper burial for the dead.  They ended up killing jobs.  Their donation of caskets coincided with the downturn of orders to Maxima S.A. – a cabinet and casket making business in Haiti.

Thankfully, Maxima S.A. knew how to adapt and had international business mentors (thanks to an organization called Partners Worldwide) who could help.  Maxima S.A. received advice and training from a company in Holland, MI (PorterCorp) on how to make transitional panel housing that meets international standards for a family of 5.  The company quickly grew from 60 Haitian employees to 260 Haitian employees who have played an important role in the rebuilding phase for Haiti.  Unfortunately, the story of well-meaning donations of goods that actually kill local economies is a common tale that has crippled Haiti and handicapped almost every country in Africa.

Tags: Charitable Giving, Effective Philanthropy, Impact

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Posted November 2, 2009 by Al Mueller 1 comment

Generous giving might be a sign of a selfless heart. Jesus once said, “Where you put your money is the same place you’ll find your heart.” It makes sense. If all my money goes to fund youth mentoring programs in downtown, I may have a selfless heart. The same could be said if I sponsored a Chilean child, funded a rural clinic in Cambodia, and significantly contributed to HIV/AIDS reduction in Zambia.

Giving does say something about my (metaphorical) heart. However, the story better not start and end as a tale all about me.

Tags: Heart Test, Impact

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