Welcome!

Welcome to the Demonstrating Value blog, where the DV team shares tools, resources and information that will assist community-based organizations plan, manage and communicate the value of their work.

This blog complements the Demonstrating Value website, where you can find detailed information on Demonstrating Value tools and expertise. Blog posts will be published regularly, as new issues, ideas, tools and updates emerge. We invite you to join the community, comment on any of our blog posts and participate in the Demonstrating Value dialogue!

Calling all social entrepreneurs!

Join us at “Know it & Show it”, a learning event co-hosted by Vancity Community Foundation and SAP

On the evening of Thursday March 15th, 2012 you have the opportunity to learn how the Demonstrating Value  framework can help you show the value of your work to the community. “Know It and Show It” is the first in a series of social learning events for social entrepreneurs.

Are you a social entrepreneur, business consultant, or evaluation consultant? Do you want to connect with others and talk about using the Demonstrating Value framework for effective evaluation and communication of social impact? Join us on March 15th!

Learn more and register for Know it & Show it

 

Demonstrating Value featured as seToolbelt Resource of the Week!

seToolbelt.org is an open content resource hub that is committed to making free tools accessible to social entrepreneurs to help them plan, start, manage, and grow successful social enterprises. In this week’s seToolbelt Resource of the Week, Demonstrating Value is profiled. Take a look at this post to learn more about some key impact measurement tools developed by the Demonstrating Value initiative, including a Performance Snapshot webinar, the Organizational Sustainability Assessment Tool, and “Why You Matter”, a tool for mapping your social, environmental, and cultural impact.

The seToolbelt Resource of the Week is featured on Social Earth, a comprehensive news and information site for social entrepreneurs.

Check out the latest issue of The Value Herald!

In the Fall of 2011, Demonstrating Value launched its e-newsletter, The Value Herald. With this newsletter, Demonstrating Value shares quarterly updates on useful tips and tricks, inspiring ideas, and informative resources with you and your organization.

To read the latest Winter 2012 issue (and past issues), visit the newsletter archives.

NOWBC: Showing Impact with Narrative

NOWBC, a co-op formed in 2008, runs an online farmers’ market and delivery depot ‘clubs’ with a focus on seasonal, local, organic foods sourced directly from small farms and processors as well as local independent wholesalers. The dedicated volunteers and staff at NOWBC believe in the importance of knowing your local farmer and preserving sustainable farming knowledge and farmland. With a mission to build a sustainable local food system by connecting local farms and processors with consumers and building community around sustainable food choices, NOWBC is all about growing and sharing good food.

In their December 2011 e-newsletter, NOWBC shared a story that came to them via Discovery Organics, a supplier held in high regard by NOWBC. In this story, Discover Organics describes to NOWBC customers the community impact of their fair trade purchases. This story is simple, yet effective, and serves as a great example of using narrative for showing impact.

An Alternative Model of Change: The Future Can Be Different and Better

Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work

In early 2011, John Kania and Mark Kramer published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review entitled “Collective Impact”. This article received rave reviews. As the concept of collective impact percolated in the minds of readers, the authors were faced with an outpouring of responses and interest. In short, people liked this approach to collaboration and its ability to significantly address widespread social problems. When it came to social progress, collective impact seemed to emerge as the answer.

Kania and Kramer recently collaborated with Fay Hanleybrown to publish a follow-up article: Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work. The goal of this article is to provide more depth and guidance on how to put the collective impact principles into practice and emphasizes the increased relevance of the concept given the economic and social realities of today. The article builds on the point that collective impact is not just an elegant name for collaboration; rather, it is “…a fundamentally different, more disciplined, and higher performing approach to achieving large-scale social impact.” Another interesting revelation emerges in the article, highlighting that “[e]ven the attempt to use these ideas seems to stimulate renewed energy and optimism”.

What is Program Sustainability and How Can You Achieve It?

Webinar presented by Community Solutions Planning & Evaluation (Facilitator: Kylie Hutchinson)

January 31st and February 7th, 2012 (10:00 - 11:30 AM)

Are you concerned about the future sustainability of your programs and services? This three-hour webinar (conveniently split into two 90 minute segments one-week apart) will delve into the issue, as you learn what factors can increase the sustainability odds of your program and how to develop a formal sustainability plan. 

Registration: $75 plus HST Register here

Interested in this topic but unable to participate in the webinar? Visit the Community Solutions website for an assortment of resources, including 34 Factors Promoting the Sustainability of Programs.

Tools for enhancing online storytelling: Making the most of your tale

Have you ever found yourself wanting to tell your organization’s story “digitally”, but unsure how or even where to start? In this day of rapid technological changes and advances, we are fortunate to have a variety of useful tools at our fingertips that make online storytelling a simple – and fun – process. The folks at frogloop.com, the non-profit marketing blog produced by care2, have put together a list  of tools for nonprofits in their post 4 Tools to Help Any Nonprofit Tell Stories Online.

10 Ways to Show Your Impact: Part 2

Social Capital Partners: Our Approach

In Part 1 of “10 Ways to Show Your Impact”, we discussed five things you can do to show your value including: 1) be as clear as possible in describing your vision, mission, and strategies, 2) describe what differentiates you, 3) describe and show evidence of the value you create from the perspective of all your stakeholders, 4) tell your story and the stories of those you work with, and 5) create a map of how you are influencing change. Here in Part 2, we will show you five more ways you can express your impact as a community-based organization. While Part 1 focused more on qualitative measures, the tips in Part 2 will take a different spin on things with a greater focus on quantitative measures.

10 Ways to Show Your Impact: Part 1

Community-based organizations are in a tough position: they work tirelessly towards goals that will have positive social or environmental impacts and they know they create a lot of value for the communities they serve –  but, this value is hard to express and recognition from the community is hard to come by. The value created by community-based groups doesn’t get captured very well by standard financial statements because conventional accounting methods do not consider value beyond the financial returns. Expression of the value of social and environmental impacts often falls through the cracks.

So what are community-based organizations to do? How can they express this value to others and get the recognition they deserve?

Genuine Evaluation

Let’s chat about real, genuine, authentic, practical evaluation…

In their blog, Genuine Evaluation, Patricia Rogers and Jane Davidson share their enthusiasm for evaluation with weekly posts that reflect their commitment to improving the quality of evaluation. Blogging from Australia and New Zealand, Patricia and Jane employ an international approach from a distinctly Southern Hemisphere perspective.

An intriguing feature of the blog is the everyday language and practicality with which thoughts and ideas are expressed. Guest bloggers are also invited to contribute, adding a fresh burst of thinking from experienced and insightful evaluators from around the world.

Recent blog posts have discussed what’s new and exciting in evaluation and have also continued to enhance the collection of Friday Funnys. Take a look for yourself, and soak in these ideas and conversations on evaluation – an important element of tracking and expressing your success!