OK, nothing and nobody is perfect.
But this comes pretty close.
Last week The Agitator wrote back-to-back articles on Finding Stories for Fundraising and Nonprofit KPIs.Think of these as addressing the right and left side of the brain respectively — emotion and reasoning.
In the latter piece, I suggested that the “winning combination” for fundraisers was marrying stories and results.
Then like magic, to illustrate the point, Bethanie Constant sent me this report — UMFS Outcomes 2009 — from her organization, United Methodist Family Services of Virginia.
The goal of UMFS — if they’ll forgive my oversimplification — is to move troubled youth into progressively less restrictive environments while offering them deeper relationships … with positive results that endure.
Offering a comprehensive range of measures, with key indicators benchmarked against relevant ‘best practices’ and standards, this report documents just how successful UMFS is at achieving that outcome. Additionally, it brings the outcomes to life by combining them with compelling stories about their clients.
It’s a terrific report … pretty damn close to perfection! How could a donor not be both moved and impressed? I urge you to take a look.
Bethanie and your colleagues at UMFS … you deserve a raise!
Tom
P.S. It’s not an Annual Report, so there are no financials indicating what was spent to achieve these results. But for my money, all Bethanie needs to do is slap a cover letter on this Outcomes Report with a few key budget comments and a pointer to the right section of UMFS’ website.
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Bethanie is hardworking and dedicated – she probably does deserve a raise, certainly the equivalent of a nice pat on the back is always well appreciated. It’s nice to see some recognition and positive feedback in the business world!
Thank you for sharing this report, which is lovely on so many different levels.
As a stats geek, I offer a small ding for the bold pullout statement on page 17 : “UMYS ranks in the top 100% for ….”
Don’t we all rank in the top 100%?
I am impressed with the report as well as the recognition of it! It is refreshing to see someone’s hard work appreciated and acknowledged. I believe the reason for Bethanie’s Success is her sincere passion for what she does and the people she does it for. Congratuations on a job well done.