While we decide as a class which
Non-Profits to allocate the $10,000 I know
we all want to give it to an organization that would use the money most
effectively. However it may be difficult to fully access their efficiency.
Author Arrillaga-Andreessen addressed this in her book Giving 2.0: Transforming your
giving and our world, by saying “Even in the foundation sector, only a few
institutions have sufficient staff and infrastructure to conduct formal
evaluations.” Even though we may not be able to track the full effectiveness of
Non-Profit organizations that does not mean that they are not making a
difference.
The past 2 years I have been an
active participant in the Uplifting Through Unity Responsibility and Nurturing
(U-TURN) program, here at Binghamton University. It’s a program that takes
students to a maximum-security juvenile detention center to do counseling and
mentoring with young inmates. It is an attempt to offer advice and guidance to
young males so that they do not enter the prison system again. For security
purposes, we are not allowed to keep in contact with members of the juvenile
detention center once they leave. As a result, we also do not keep statistics
of how the gentlemen perform upon their release. Because of that I have always
wondered if I even made a difference in the young men’s lives or was I just wasting
my time.
However one of the most rewarding
moments in my life came when I ran into one of the U-TURN members, Randy, a
local Binghamton resident. Couple weeks after Randy’s release I ran into him at
Oakdale Mall and we spoke about his life now. He had a consistent job, he was
taking care of his kids and he had started a GED program. He thanked the U-TURN
program for the lessons he learned while we visited him at the facility. It was
truly gratifying to hear that he was doing so well.
I’ve always heard the quote “Numbers
Don’t Lie.” Especially in this money hungry world but now, as we look at
organizations to give a portion or the entire $10,000, I believe that we should
not put so much emphasis on statistical effectiveness or value. For many Non-Profit
organizations, their true impact is immeasurable.
David, it seems like your work and the work of U-TURN is being appreciated simply because you know that you helped at least one person. U-TURN seems like a solid program where, as you pointed out, it is extremely difficult to keep statistics on most aspects of the program since it deals with improving lives and not saving them. That being said, when statistics are available, I don’t see a reason to not emphasize its importance. From stats, we can learn so much information and effectively compare organizations. For example, if we come across information that says that an organization receives a million dollars worth of funding a year and saves 10 kids that have cancer and then we come across another organization that receives a hundred thousand dollars worth of funding and saved 10 kids that have cancer, it should not be overlooked. It provides a good basis for areas we should dig deeper. Statistics provides a valuable way to get information on the organizations and their effectiveness during the initial screening.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your point that statistics aren’t the whole part of the picture. My viewpoint is, once we have a few organizations that we like, the meeting with the representative is what we will use to determine what is actually going on in the company. This is where we can put an emotional value on each company and not worry as much about the numbers because it is very easy to manipulate numbers in order to make one seem better than you are. It would be interesting to see how we are going to deal with organizations that provide little statistical information regarding their successes if there are a lot. I’m sure some of these would be the best to give the money to, but if there are a lot it may be difficult to efficiently figure out if they are all worthy or not.
David,
DeleteI am very content with the fact that you posted about the UTURN program being that this was something I was hoping to post about for my next blog post. I to, was a mentor for the UTURN program and with my every sunday commitment, I couldn't help but wonder how much impact I was actually making on the females that I worked with. Like you said, this question is hard to answer being that we were nor able to keep in contact with any of the residents in the slightest way. This bothered me and upset me so much because I am very passionate about helping impoverished youth, and those 10 weeks just weren't enough for me: although I am very happy that I got the experience, I feel like this is one thing about the program that needed to be changed (I would like to see that in the future, mentors would be able to connect with mentees in a way that they would be a constant motivation or advice bearer, being that for some, we were the only positive role model in their life). {{SO SORRY FOR GOING ON A TANGENT}}
Now, going off your statement that we shouldn't put much emphasis on statistical value, I do not agree with this at all. Statistics can help us very much determine the obvious: the success and impact of the organization. All non-profits may not have this, but it would be very helpful if it is, so that we know our money will be going to an organization that continues to provide services for the individuals it intends to serve. I am very happy that you "bumped" into your mentee and was able to see that he was a changed being, but, there is a posibility that he could have been the only one out of all that changed: who knows. This is why statistical information will be useful. I would hate for us to invest in an organization that merely tells us what it does and "sells us a dream"; but doesn't really do what it says. This is where statistics would come in and be of great assistance for us. I do believe you are right David when you mention that there are some things that cannot be measured, but, for the things that are: we should use this information to our advantage.
I agree that the personal connections we make and the impacts we have are far more important than any statistics. I work with children in a 4H program and i love seeing these kids grow through the years and become more independent, confident and knowledgeable. There is no way to test or record this growth, other that recording the kids participation in leadership or personal growth events.
ReplyDeleteWith this in mind, most donors do not personally know the organization they are giving to. In these cases statistics are necessary so they donors know that the organization they are giving to is successful. For an organization to gain more funding and support they must have hard evidence of the impact they are having and the lives they are changing.
On an individual level, the most important parts of giving cannot be measured. On the larger scale, statistics are necessary for the growth, funding and development of current and future philanthropic organizations.
Melissa I completely agree! Not all programs can have a number on them. I think statistics are helpful for us in terms of knowing the impact of an organization if they are available. I think the important thing is for us to evaluate WHAT the organization does. In some cases, such as how many people have been helped, these statistics are helpful, but statistics alone cannot tell us impact. We need to use our own intuition in approximating how beneficial organizations are in helping communities. It is very difficult to know exactly, but we should really evaluate what the money is going toward precisely because otherwise we could just argue about statistics (which can be manipulated in funky ways anyway).
DeleteI often wondered that as well. Since we are not allowed to have contact with them after they are released, I often wonder what my impact is. But sometimes, at least what i've noticed, is you can see the impact on a weekly basis. For instance, last week my group asked them what do they want to do once they get out, we then took down that information and bring back to them ways they can move toward that specific goal. Often times it's a lack of education (not just school education, but education on how to go about something) that curtails someone who would otherwise have been on a steady path. Some of the youth in there didn't even know about programs such as EOP, or programs that help you get a job when your young. This one program (I don't know if it is everywhere) in Syracuse, that's ran through the police department, deals with the signing of a pact with local gang affiliated youth to award them with jobs if they agree to stop the violence. Alot of the young men I spoke with say they do what they did because they had a baby on the way, or a family to feed. They believed (i'm not saying without warrent either) it's easier to get a gun and rob than it is to get a job. But if they knew of such programs like the one ran through the Syracuse police department, maybe a few of their lives would have been different. But to get back to the point, I completely agree with David on this one, the numbers are nice and all, but there are not always a way to track your progress.
ReplyDelete