It’s all the rage to measure results and progress. Which is good! But, if you don’t know what to measure, it can be a disaster. I work with a lot of nonprofits that are really struggling to figure this out. Time for a dose of clarity!

There are three basic types of metrics.

1. Input Metrics

Input metrics measure the assets and activities you collect and, effectively, consume in service to your mission. Examples include counts such as:

• Number of members, volunteers, clients, or attendees
• Number of dollars raised
• Number of sessions or events offered

These quantities represent your capacity to have an impact. They are indicative of your potential. They may be important, but tell us nothing about your accomplishments relative to your mission.

If you have lots of members or attendees, that’s great. It suggests you’ve created an audience, but what are you doing for them? How are you improving their condition? What is the return on their investment that ensures they will return year after year?

If you have raised lots of money, that’s great. It suggests you inspire confidence and/or are associated with a cause people care about. But, again, that number says nothing about your accomplishments relative to your mission. Money is a tool, a means to an end, not success itself.

2. Process Metrics

Process metrics measure progress as you turn your inputs into real results. You can’t establish process metrics unless you have clear expectations of progress. For example, consider this simplified progression from unemployment to a new job:

• you attract people who need help finding employment
• you get them to sign up for one or more of the courses you offer (e.g., resume prep, interview skills, job skills)
• they actually attend
• they show evidence of learning the content
• they prepare a resume
• they get an interview
• they get a job offer

The sequence of steps must represent progress. You can measure the number of participants at each step, but the progression is what is important. You want your metrics to demonstrate that X% of people who take your resume prep course get an interview and Y% of those who take your interview and job skills courses get a job offer. Using your data, you can gradually hone your process and each offering within your process to improve the success rates of people moving through this pipeline and progressing all the way from unemployment to a job offer. Now granted, people are more complicated than this simple example suggests, but the goal still has to be to find the sequence of actions most likely to improve their condition.

Keep in mind that the count at any given step is essentially an Input Metric if not part of an expected progression. You might have lots of people attending your classes, but are those classes helping them get somewhere? Or are they attending just to fulfill a requirement for receiving unemployment compensation? Or maybe they are just staying warm. Lots of people taking lots of courses is a sign of lots of activity, but not necessarily progress.

3. Impact Metrics

Impact metrics measure real results and your impact relative to your mission. How have you actually improved lives?

Using the example above, you might measure your impact with two primary metrics:

• What percentage of your clients got a job and remained employed for at least six months
• What percentage of local unemployed people did you pull into your program

Your ultimate goal would be to attract 100% of the unemployed people in your community and guide 100% of them to a job they are able to hold for at least 6 months. Now that’s a value proposition that would attract donations and support!

A tall order? Yes! And probably impossible, especially for any one organization. Nonetheless, impact goals this clear make your mission clear, compelling, and focused. They will also drive your organization to greater success.

Impact goals this clear also attract attention. Back them up with impact metrics, stories, and process metrics that show real progress and you will earn tremendous respect and attract the support you need.

Too many organizations either don’t have a clear, compelling, focused mission or they are afraid to sign up for real impact. It is safer and easier to count inputs than to define and proclaim impact goals.

Decide on the impact you want. Develop the process. Hone that process using metrics. Track inputs only as needed to feed your process. Celebrate your growing impact!