IDEAS: The Impact of Leverage

As the member of a grant allocations committee of a nonprofit, I was tasked with rating each grant application on a score card that posed the following questions:

1. How well does this project align with the funder’s mission?

2. What is the applicant’s relationship to the funder (do they send people to the funder’s program)?

3. Has the applicant demonstrated a need for the project?

4. How dependent is the applicant on the funder for the success of the project?

During this process, I found myself rating the organizations on all these areas and feeling that deserving groups were not scoring high. It struck me that the missing criteria was the impact that the groups would ultimately have. To create real change, funders need to go beyond alignment to mission or issue area to look for solutions that address root causes of problems, which can be leveraged for the greater good. I offer the following questions for a revised score card:

1. Is the organization addressing a real problem in our society that is not otherwise addressed?

2. Do they have a new way of addressing the problem?

3. What are the criteria for measuring success?

4. Do they have the means and ability to achieve success?

5. What ultimate impact will this have on society?

6. Is this a model that can be replicated by other organizations?

Inherent in this outlook is a disposition for innovation and cooperation, not typical characteristics of nonprofits. It’s time to start thinking larger and demanding more.

WAKE UP CALL: Is your nonprofit addressing fundamental problems in new ways? How can those models or processes be leveraged for greater impact?