Fw: VPPNews: January Issue
| "When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." George Washington CarverWhat is Social Entrepreneurship?Statement of Faith You can find other "Market with Meaning" but you definitely want to see "Profit with Purpose". I personally "Believe in Kingdom Transformation" because I know there is only ONE "Life for Significant". --- 2010年1月14日 星期四，Venture Philanthropy Partners <vvrana@vppartners.org> 寫道﹕
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'Social Outcomes': Missing the Forest for the Trees?
For the past month, I have worked through draft after draft of this column as I've struggled to properly express my concern about the growing movement to advance "social outcomes"-as well as "impact," "measurement," "metrics," "evaluation," "accountability," and a half-dozen other related concepts-for nonprofit organizations.
Here is my concern, as best as I can manage to articulate it. I am increasingly worried that the vast majority of funders and nonprofits are achieving, at best, marginal benefit from their efforts to implement outcomes thinking. Granted, there has been some truly meaningful progress. Select hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic have made great strides in assessing their outcomes and being transparent about their performance. And the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and a few others have keenly focused on the challenge of social outcomes and have dealt with them well. Yet many other efforts may end up misdirecting, even wasting, precious time and financial resources. In some extreme situations, well-intentioned efforts may actually risk producing adverse effects on nonprofits and those they serve.
Keep in mind this comes from a guy who has been strident in stressing the importance of outcomes and assessment for nonprofits for close to 15 years!
To What End?
The three words that have served me best throughout my business and nonprofit careers are "To what end?" I try to return to this simple question constantly during the life of any project or initiative, especially when I fear I'm drifting away from my original purpose or I'm starting to confuse ends and means.
The main reason the dialogue on social outcomes is off track is because we have failed to keep our eyes fixed on the ends we are trying to advance. Every ounce of our effort on social outcomes should be with one end in mind: helping nonprofits create greater benefits for the people and causes they serve. Period.
Most outcomes efforts today have drifted far from that end. Too often, measurement has become an end in and of itself.
- If greater benefits were the end, we would be laser focused on helping nonprofits find and use the right information to manage to their mission in a disciplined way.
- If greater benefits were the end, the sector's dialogue on outcomes would be 95% about mission and 5% about metrics. Today, we have the ratio reversed.
- If greater benefits were the end, we would be working to help nonprofits clarify the end results they are trying to achieve. Achieving clarity of purpose produces increased benefits even if you never put a single metric in place!
- If greater benefits were the end, funders and nonprofits would not settle for simplistic or surrogate metrics. As one small example, the assessment of a student's years of learning and development cannot be reduced down to the test scores that end up sampling but one or two facets of what she has learned (to say nothing of what she is capable of in the future).
- If greater benefits were the end, we would properly differentiate between operational performance and organizational effectiveness. What good is it to focus on an organization's overhead costs or fund development levels if we don't have a clue as to how effective the organization is at creating benefits for those it serves?
- If greater benefits were the end, we would own up to how much encouragement and support nonprofits need in order to define and assess what they do and how well they do it. We've approached this challenge as if it's about numbers when it's really about changing cultures. Changing culture requires large and persistent investments of time, talent, and money.
Below, I will try to add meat to these bones. Most important, I want to sound a clarion call that we have a fundamental problem that threatens to undermine years' worth of well-intentioned efforts to help nonprofits achieve greater impact.
Common Sense Left Behind
A vivid illustration of measurement run amok comes to us courtesy of No Child Left Behind.
I've had the opportunity to be engaged in K-12 education through VPP's work with schools in the National Capital Region, through my participation on a number of national educational initiatives, as an advisor to leaders in education, through my deep engagement with a school in Cleveland for bright students who learn differently, and in my role as a parent of three children. Based on these varied experiences, I believe that the good intentions of the No Child Left Behind Act have led schools and students astray.
Like most people, I believe we need ways to judge our schools and how well our students are doing. But No Child Left Behind does these things poorly. It's the classic example of metrics over mission.
The current regime of "memorization and testing" and the growing battery of standardized tests risk rewarding targeted test preparation while not informing us or the students themselves whether they are developing the relevant skills and competencies they and our society and economy so sorely need. Yes, it's very important to achieve-and measure-core competencies like reading and math. But where are the incentives for schools to educate young people to be curious, engaged citizens capable of critical thinking and problem solving? Where are the incentives to encourage collaborative development and learning? Where are the incentives for teaching young people to question, even challenge, "the system?" Where are the incentives to give students practical experience in the ways of life outside of school?
A good friend and mentor who is a nationally recognized education leader shed yet further light on this dilemma. He pointed to the work of Yale Professor Seymour Sarason, who wrote as early as the 1960s about his fear that outcomes theory and products represent a reductionist exercise that looks at only one or two parts of what the organization does, then draws conclusions based on whatever is sampled. To quote my friend, "Sampling may work fine for determining what's going on in someone's blood. But at school these days [the only things we're sampling] are reading and math test scores, because they are easy to acquire and report."
Too Hard on 'Soft' Outcomes
"To what end?" are three powerful words. But as I learned in my Catholic upbringing, two words that carry just as much power are mea culpa.
Here's an example of how I looked too narrowly at outcomes-and, as a result, risked knocking nonprofits off mission.
In the early years of Venture Philanthropy Partners, we got a lot of resistance to my push for "clearly defined outcomes" from leaders whose organizations placed a premium on being holistic with their services and functioning as "community builders." Although I agreed with them in concept, I felt that a focus on "community building" was too soft to be a legitimate outcome. Outcomes related to "community building" are, after all, radically ambiguous compared to outcomes like reduction in teenage pregnancy and substance abuse.
I now see better that serving the entire family (holistic services) and building community are some of the very things that create the environment-a web of support and community-that helps youth avoid high-risk behavior, get an education, and prepare for college or a job. But talking about "community building" was too intangible, and not readily measureable to us at the time-and, candidly, difficult to sell to our own stakeholders and the emerging field of nonprofit performance at large.
I regret not being more open in my thinking back then. Instead of pushing back on what we were hearing, we should have done more to understand "soft" achievements that may in fact be every bit as real and important as "harder" outcomes. I aspire to do a better job of making them part and parcel of future efforts to assess outcomes and performance-even if that means using qualitative and/or anecdotal indicators.
The point is this: When public or private funders establish performance metrics and then tie significant rewards or consequences to their achievement, organizations and people will migrate to the behaviors that will allow them to meet their defined targets. If the metrics are appropriate and closely tied to mission, this is a good thing. But if the metrics are overly simplistic and unmoored from mission, then organizations will go racing in the wrong direction. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, they'll get lost, but they'll be making good time.
Backseat Driving
Ultimately, the benefits of an outcome orientation must accrue to the nonprofit. Sadly, today most of the discussions around outcomes are being driven by funders, with too little regard for what nonprofit leaders need.
I strongly urge nonprofits and funders alike to be more open to seeing that assessment is most valuable and worthwhile if it is driven by the nonprofit itself. Attempts to define outcomes seldom produce positive results when they are imposed on organizations from the outside.
This is not to say that funders should avoid encouraging nonprofit leaders' efforts to assess their work. Far from it. My point is that funders should support and encourage nonprofits to self-assess with information that they can and will use to manage the organization. Nonprofit leaders need to own the process and be the primary beneficiary of it.
If we were to take that nonprofit-centric-rather than funder-centric-approach, we would all have a much higher likelihood of achieving what we're really setting out to accomplish. Nonprofit leaders would not be navigating with intuition alone. They would gain powerful tools to determine where they're headed, chart a logical course, and course-correct when they're off. And then, as a big ancillary benefit, they would be able to build broader support by sharing their valuable new information with funders and other stakeholders.
Shining Lights
Some nonprofits have made significant strides in adopting a culture focused on defining and achieving outcomes for the people they serve. One example I mentioned earlier is the Cleveland Clinic, which I serve as a trustee. The Cleveland Clinic, along with the Mayo Clinic and a few others, lead the field in their use of outcomes to assess their own effectiveness. The Cleveland Clinic now openly presents this information via its website.
Thanks to my good friends at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, in the field of human services I often hold up the work of Youth Villages. Youth Villages, which helps emotionally troubled children through a wide range of residential- and community-based treatment programs in 11 states, rigorously tracks all of the children it serves, during their treatment and often for two years after they discharge. In the words of CEO Pat Lawler, "The state...shouldn't be buying beds; they should buy outcomes, successful outcomes."
Youth Villages continues looking to improve the measures they use. Thanks to a forward-thinking grant from the Memphis-based Hyde Family Foundations, Youth Villages is working with Dr. Richard Barth, the Dean of the University of Maryland School of Social Work, to improve the outcome-evaluation process as a whole, better focus treatment plans so they can target the most effective services to individual children, and share its system with other providers around the country.
First Principles
We can help other nonprofit leaders achieve similar success if we refocus on the first-order question, "To what end?" To do that, we need to remember why we're engaging in a discussion of outcomes in the first place: to help nonprofit leaders to be more effective-that is, to deliver greater benefits to those they serve. Doing so will provide the basis for the accountability we all seek to have in place.
In my next column, I will offer practical suggestions to help nonprofit leaders-and those who want them to succeed-gain the methods and tools they need to determine where they're headed, chart a logical course, and course-correct when they're off.
VPP Investors Honor Sister's Memory with a Different Kind of Gala
VPP investors Bob and Paula Hisaoka have worked hard to make The Joan Hisaoka Make a Difference Gala more than just a fun evening that raises money for a cause. The Gala, which is going into its third year in 2010, is an inspiring, meaningful, and unique event that raises funds for some very important organizations that assist those living with cancer.
Joan Hisaoka, Bob's sister, passed away from cancer in 2008. During her battle with the disease, Joan attended classes, seminars, and sessions on personal healing and living with cancer at the DC organization Smith Farm Center. Joan's goal, Bob said, was to find someone else to run the prestigious public relations firm she had started and devote her life entirely to helping others living with cancer. Sadly, she passed away before she was able to do so. In order to honor her memory, Bob said, "Since we don't have the knowledge that Joan had, we did the next best thing [to working directly with those with cancer] - raise funds for those organizations that provide a critical piece of the healing process."
Bob and Paula Hisaoka at the 2009 Gala.
The past two galas have raised more than $1,300,000 for the Smith Farm Center, which will allow them to expand their building so that they can serve more and serve better. Smith Farm's work is based on the single, profound idea that each person harbors the innate ability to heal and find hope and meaning, even in the face of life's most serious challenges. The Smith Farm Center is the only freestanding organization in the District that provides a vast array of support services: counseling, retreats, and healing programs that range from health-supportive nutrition to creative expression. Smith Farm also has an artist-in-residence program that places local artists in hospitals, where they engage both cancer patients and medical staff in creative expression through a variety of mediums. Joan Hisaoka had a long relationship with Smith Farm Center, which has opened a Healing Arts Gallery in her name. Since the gala began, Bob Hisaoka has joined the Smith Farm Center board of directors in order to deepen his contribution to the organization.
"The support from the region's philanthropic community has been great. Many VPP investors have become involved, with four serving on the executive committee in 2009: Jack Davies, David Joubran, Richard Kay, and Gabriela Smith," Bob said. "We've also developed significant relationships with corporations including Cartier, Washington Life Magazine, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and Exclusive Resorts. The success of this event has resulted from the efforts of many people from several different communities coming together. It's not a one-person or two-person event; the partnerships are still growing."
Another reason the Joan Hisaoka Make a Difference Galas have been so successful is the creativity that has gone into planning them. Bob and Paula have focused the events on food and wine, tapping some of DC's top culinary talent. For the 2009 gala, for example, James Beard Award-winning chef Eric Ziebold of CityZen closed his restaurant for the evening so that he and his entire restaurant staff could service the Hisaokas' event. Ziebold created a four-course dinner with wine pairings that resulted in Washington Life magazine naming the 2009 Make a Difference Gala DC's Best Food and Wine event of the year.
However, dinner is only one aspect of the event. The evening, which in 2009 was emceed by MSNBC's Chief Washington Correspondent Norah O'Donnell, also includes both a live and silent auction full of unique experiences, including in-home dining with various award-winning DC chefs; dinner with the actor Ted Danson; golf with former Washington Redskins football players Art Monk and Charles Mann; and a Cartier package at the premier American art show, Art Basel, in Miami Beach, Florida.
For the 2010 Gala, scheduled for September 24th at the Mandarin Oriental, the Fairfax-based Life with Cancer will be the primary beneficiary, sharing the proceeds with the Smith Farm Center. Life with Cancer is dedicated to helping people meet the challenges of living with cancer by providing counseling and support to patients and survivors as well as to their children, family and friends. The wide range of services that Life with Cancer provides includes grief and bereavement support, classes and counseling for children, mind/body and wellness classes, and medical education. All of Life with Cancer's services are provided free of charge.
When asked about his future goals for the Joan Hisaoka Gala, Bob answered, "We'd like to raise awareness of organizations like these, make them more mainstream, and more accessible. We also hope the gala will become a bigger factor in fundraising for these and other groups." There seems to be no question that they are well on their way to meeting these expectations. "This is the 'make a difference' gala - that was Joan's goal," Bob said.
For more information, please contact Bob Hisaoka or visit http://www.joanhisaokagala.org/
VPP Investors and Team Share the Holiday Spirit with Year Up, NCR, VPP's Newest Investment Partner
"Year Up has shown me that opportunity isn't limited, no matter what walk of life you come from," said Vincent Pickett at the VPP and Year Up Holiday Celebration. Vincent is one of the many Year Up alumni who, having completed the year-long training and apprenticeship program, are now on the path to a successful career.
The Year Up site, where the event was held, was full of similarly motivated, articulate, and successful students. The evening began with a tour of the facility, punctuated by student presentations. Year Up Student Ambassadors led guests through the building, with stops in different classrooms to learn about how Year Up students spend their time in the program. In the Business Communications classroom, VPP investors and team members were given a presentation on the proper way to write a business email; in the Technical Skills room, students showed off their impressive knowledge of a computer motherboard; and finally, Year Up apprentices talked about their experiences with Year Up's corporate partners. The confidence radiating from the students was remarkable.
Year Up students; David Sylvester, VPP Partner; Jack Davies, VPP Investor; Mario Morino, VPP co-founder; Tynesia Boyea Robinson, Year Up Executive Director; and Carol Thompson Cole, VPP President and CEO Celebrate the Holidays.
Year Up's young adults had incredible things to say about the program. One apprentice who is completing her apprenticeship at AOL called Year Up a "life-changing experience," that is allowing her to truly fulfill her potential. Several others called the program a "dream come true" that is giving them a chance to be successful in ways they never thought possible.
Members of the VPP family were no less enthusiastic. As Mario Morino toasted the holiday season, he closed the evening by saying, "We've had the privilege tonight of meeting some incredible young people, full of drive, talent, and intelligence. Mark my words, someone in this room, some day, will make a great innovation, the kind of innovation our country needs to continue to compete in the global marketplace." And no one, from either organization, could doubt it.
Programs & Services
CentroNía's Adopt-A-Family Program Brought Hope to the Holiday
Thanks to Elvira Felix, Communications and Development Associate, for this update.
Due to the leadership of Enrique Torrico, Director of CentroNía's Family Institute, many CentroNía families had a very happy holiday. This holiday season, CentroNía's Adopt-A-Family Program assisted close to 60 families with presents. Participants were chosen based on family need, taking into account personal struggles and situations experienced throughout the year. Items given to families included winter clothing, household items, gift cards to major department stores, and educational toys and books.
Enrique Torrico with a bus full of holiday presents for local famillies.
Major donors to CentroNía families included George Washington University's Angel Tree Program, NBC 4, Norwood Elementary School, and the United States Office of Government Ethics, which reached out to purchase gifts for remaining families.
Beverly Johnson, Confidential Assistant to the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, coordinated the project. Speaking on behalf of the Office, she said, "It really helped us, as much as it did the families. We chose to give this way because we felt like we were a part of a family's life and we felt connected to a person. Plus, this is a great organization that does such a wonderful job for the community."
Santa, Portraits and Gifts: LAYC's Annual Client Holiday Party
Thanks to Mark Wellborn, Writer and Grants Manager, for this update.
On December 17th, the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) staff decked the halls for its annual client Holiday Party
This year, hundreds of youth and their families joined in the celebration that included an elaborate feast, games, arts and crafts projects for the younger guests, and of course, a visit from the two most important guests of all: Santa and Mrs. Claus! All of the youth -- and many adults -- had the opportunity to take a photo with the North Pole duo and tell them all the gifts that they wanted this year.
Volunteers wrap presents for LAYCS's annual holiday party. LAYC was also extremely fortunate to have Michael Galkovsky extend his photography services as part of the Help Portrait Project. The project, which took place across the country on December 12th, was a way for photographers to give back to their community by providing free portrait services.
The evening of fun and excitement was topped off with a gift for each young person who attended the event. Hundreds of gifts were handed out this year.
"This year, I truly got to feel like Santa Claus!" LAYC special events coordinator Millie Perez said. "Through the support of all our community friends and partners we were able to share the holiday spirit with everyone and no one who attended the party left empty handed."
AALEAD Collaboration in Virginia Beach Promotes Cultural Pride for At-Risk Youth
Thanks to Rick Chen, Manager of Development and Communications, for this update.
From December 4-6, Asian American LEAD and several Filipino American student organizations banded together to design a "Community Summit" at the Philippine Cultural Center of Virginia, located in Virginia Beach. These organizations work under the name FAYA (Filipino American Youth Alliance). Students put together a full day's worth of programs and workshops to discuss issues such as cultural identity, social issues, and the future of the students' role in the community.
AALEAD students participate in a discussion on leading healthy lifestyles. Photo credit: Don Kim
As students registered, they were introduced to different student organizers from the Summit. The day's workshops focused on personal stories, financial literacy, healthy lifestyles, and group dialogues. Between workshops, students heard from guest speakers who created the foundation for community organizing in the Filipino American community at Hampton Roads.
"Going to Virginia Beach was one of the most interesting trips we had at AALEAD," said student David Nguyen. "We learned a lot of stuff about the Filipino culture. We learned about how to save money and we also put together skits and performances...the trip to Virginia Beach inspired me and my cousin to help AALEAD use some of the ideas from the program down in Virginia Beach. The program down there is mostly student run with little or no adult help. If we could do what they are doing, we could make AALEAD an even better place for other people to come and join our program."
Boys & Girls of Greater Washington Get Smart!
Thanks to Leah Lamb, Chief Development Officer, for this update.
The Freddie Mac Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington celebrated five years of academic success for Washington youth. Since 2004, the Freddie Mac Foundation has funded the "Growing Smart, Getting Smart" program to improve math and reading skills in children ages 6-12.
Maurice, a first grader and member at Clubhouse #14, exemplifies the program's impact. When Maurice first came to the Club, he couldn't write or spell his name, and didn't know numbers or letters of the alphabet. Club staff developed and implemented an Individualized Education Plan, including a list of goals, activities, and strategies to improve his abilities. In a short time, Maurice has made major progress. He is now working on sight words, and has developed a deep love of drama. One of his proudest accomplishments was being able to check himself into the Club by writing his own name.
"We are so proud of the progress Maurice has made in such a short time! Maurice used to struggle with academics, but since Growing Smart, Getting Smart he has surpassed all of our expectations and continually learns to do things on his own," says Clubhouse #14 Branch Director, Jerome Beaner.
"Growing Smart, Getting Smart" is featured during Power Hour at six DC Clubs, when Club members receive homework assistance and face-to-face tutoring. In addition, Club members spend time in the Clubs’ Computer Labs to work on personalized lessons with SMART Tutor, a web-based academic enrichment program.
Capital & Financing
Global Defense and Aerospace Company, BAE Systems, Makes Five-Year Commitment to The Child and Family Network Centers
Thanks to Sandra Fleming, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, for this update.
On November 30th, Linda Hudson, President and CEO of BAE Systems North America, which has offices in Virginia and Maryland, hosted a reception in honor of The Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC). Hudson was joined by corporate leaders from the Arlington community as well as generals and admirals from Mission: Readiness. Mission: Readiness is a nonprofit organization led by retired senior military officials that calls for smart investments in American children, in order to ensure continued American security and prosperity.
Linda Hudson and other representatives from BAE Systems with Barbara Fox Mason, Executive Director of CFNC, celebrating their new partnership.
Over the past few months, individuals ranging from military leaders to a Nobel Prize winning economist have made headlines by endorsing early intervention for disadvantaged children. The message? "Spend money educating children before their fifth birthday and the financial return in building a future work force will be enormous." BAE Systems took that message to heart and made a significant investment in early childhood education by presenting a $100,000 check to CFNC's Executive Director, Barbara Fox Mason. "BAE's support is a powerful endorsement of our work and will benefit hundreds of Arlington's most vulnerable young children over the next five years," Mason said.
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