Blog Posts: Nonprofit Evaluation

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 July 16, 2018 by Al Mueller 0 comments

With increased competition, the pressure on nonprofits to invest more in fundraising has brought about better marketing materials, more development staff, and stronger donor pitches. This trend has made it harder for even the smartest donors to tell the difference between hearing a good story and identifying the right place to make a big gift.

Tags: Charitable Giving, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Fundraising, Nonprofit Performance

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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 August 13, 2012 by Al Mueller 0 comments

High performing nonprofits develop careful strategies for creating consistent revenue to sustain operations. Donors do not want to support an organization one year and see its programs collapse the next year from insufficient funding.  Great organizations with bold visions and effective programs understand that sustainable revenue streams are mission-critical. Finding out if organizations you support will sustain themselves is step 3 in our 6-step process for evaluating nonprofit performance.

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance

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Posted May 14, 2012 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Do you want to know if charities you support operate efficiently and effectively in pursuit of their mission?  You can.  The best online charity evaluation platform just got better.  The 2-page nonprofit Analytical Overviews from Nonprofit Analytics have added 30 entry fields for a total of 150 up-to-date data points on organizational health and performance.  Check out a sample 2012 edition Analytical Overview.    There is no more comprehensive and concise overview of a charity’s leadership, financial management, strategy and impact available on the internet anywhere. New nonprofit information in the 2012 edition Analytical Overviews include…

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance

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Posted April 4, 2012 by Al Mueller 0 comments

High performing nonprofits must understand how to manage their money. Charities cannot promise great things to supporters and run out of resources along the way. A delicate balance of maintaining healthy reserves, minimizing debt, and sticking to a budget is required.  Donors don’t want a bait-and-switch where increased donations go to debt service or get stockpiled in the bank without any increased impact. And no one can tolerate financial mismanagement where an organization lives in the red with unrealistic budgets or doesn’t put the majority of its funds into mission-related activities.

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance, Performance Standard

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Posted March 22, 2012 by Al Mueller 1 comment

Just days before Nonprofit Analytics turns 1 year old, we have finally been recognized as one of 8 major online charity evaluation and accountability organizations. RELEVANT Magazine published an article “Where Do Your Donations Go?” and listed Nonprofit Analytics alongside Guidestar and GiveWell.  Admittedly, the author chose to highlight and interview Charity Navigator and ECFA leaders.  But the citation in a 3rd party publication is a step in the right direction for what we believe is the best all-around charity evaluation platform available.

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Due Diligence, Nonprofit Evaluation

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Posted December 15, 2011 by Al Mueller 0 comments

What if your donation to fight human trafficking paid the salary of a human trafficker? What if your donation to support widowed law enforcement families went to a felon’s bank account? What if your child sponsorship monthly donation and letters never helped the girl in the picture? What if you gave money to loan to a struggling entrepreneur in Africa that was actually embezzled by loan officers? In the last year, I have seen each one of these nightmares come true.  It could have been avoided. Read how in my latest Alliance magazine article Giving poorly can be worse than not giving at all.

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Due Diligence, Nonprofit Evaluation, Philanthropic Advisor, Strategic Giving

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Posted November 29, 2011 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Before you evaluate nonprofit performance, stop and ask 3 questions about the charity:

1. Is the charity trying to create a long-term solution to a problem?
2. Does the charity want to grow bigger and bigger every year?
3. Has the charity identified Key Performance Indicators?

These 3 questions are all related to OUTCOMES.  Outcome measurement and outcome-based evaluations have taken center stage in the contemporary debate about nonprofit performance.  I, for one, am a voice and supporter of this trend.  However, we can’t let the trend rewrite each organization’s goals.  Some charity’s just don’t exist to produce the savory long-term, ever-increasing, measurable outcomes that have become all the rage.  So if we are going to determine how well an organization is performing, we must first figure out what standards we can and cannot use to evaluate performance.  

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Charity Evaluations, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance, Performance Standard

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Posted November 15, 2011 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Endless conversation about “outcomes,” “performance,” and “impact” needs to come to an end.  It doesn’t need to stop.  It needs to get somewhere.  Concrete categories and conclusions need to take shape and either be adopted or discarded.  That is what my next 7 blog posts are all about.  I’m going to lay out a standardized approach to assessing organizational health and performance in the nonprofit sector.

Before I present the six standards for evaluating nonprofit performance, I’ve got to be clear about the pros and cons of a standardized approach vs. a customized approach.

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Due Diligence, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance, Performance Standard

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