Measuring Social Impact

I've been working on a report this past week about how to measure impact in the social sector. Here's my intro:

At the most fundamental level, charities or non-profit organizations exist to better society in some form or another. Despite the good intentions, non-profits often face a variety of different obstacles and problems. These issues involve funding disparities to an inefficient use of resources. With hundreds of thousands of charities around the world vying for limited funding and resources, maximizing a nonprofit’s impact to society is absolutely essential. Having an effective tool to quantify societal impact results in more effective planning by the non-profit, an increased understanding of the charity’s work, and a greater understanding of the social value created by the charity.

If you're interested in reading the full report, e-mail me. (Later because I haven't quite finished it yet :P)

Also, check out the book The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder of the Acumen Fund (www.acumenfund.org). No one explains more eloquently than Jackie N. how powerful the intersection of business and philanthropy can be.