Folly #35: Veteran Funders
Can you walk a mile in someone else's uncomfortable boots?
Today we observe Veteran’s Day.
Veteran: 1a) a former member of the armed forces; 1b) an old soldier of long service; or 2) a person of long experience usually in some occupation or skill
Some veteran funders are experienced and focus on supporting former members of the armed forces. So they should know a bit about metrics. Which would you pick?
A program that serves healthy meals to hundreds of veterans each week.
Or:
A journalism training intensive for 12 veterans to find their voice, heal from trauma, and have the potential to reach thousands as professional writers or speakers.
Funders want numbers. I have yet to meet the small-to-medium-sized nonprofit (I’ll define that as <$2M annual budget) with a staff position for metrics and evaluation. And I suspect that the 92-question grant application (written, endured and submitted by me for program #2 above) was denied because the number directly served was too small in that funder’s opinion. Of course, they wouldn’t give feedback so we’ll never know.
Let’s celebrate the rare funder who helps.
Years ago I worked with the amazing team at Center for Care Innovations. They build real relationships with grantees. They even have a library of resources to help nonprofits define metrics. Here’s (more or less) the conversation the CCI team had with our Executive Director:
CCI: What metrics do you use to measure program impact?
ED: We’re a small team working on an intensive program for youth mental health. Our metrics are anecdotal. Our lived experience has shown us what works.
CCI: That’s wonderful! Let’s have a quick call so you can tell us what seems to work and what information is easy to gather. We want you to define the metrics that you’ll report on at the end of the grant period.
Brilliant!
There are lots of indicators to show what works – and what doesn’t. Look at startups and all the mistakes they make. So how can we get veteran funders (using meaning #2) to accept that having flexibility around metrics and grantee-defined success factors is still a good use of grant funds? More served is not necessarily more impact.
Heck, with a “milestone” birthday around the corner, I may be a veteran human being. Maybe if we saw human as an occupation rather than an inheritance, we’d all be more skilled at seeing the other side’s perspective.
Sharing a personal shout out to a very special person. Happy birthday to April, with love and gratitude from Crystal.