Whenever I ask a nonprofit fundraiser or board member about their organization's impact, I know what kind of response I'm going to get. I'll hear about how many people they've served or the number of participants in last year's programs. With good reason, the fundraiser or board member is focused on the programmatic inputs and outcomes of their work, the efforts that are having a positive effect on the people their mission statement says they seek to benefit.

While there's nothing wrong with these answers to my questions about impact, they aren't comprehensive enough. Those measures don't take into account the full spectrum of the ways in which the organization is making an impact on the issue. And the most significant of those impacts come through the community a nonprofit builds.

Your nonprofit may be advocating for policy change or helping others do so, raising the public's level of knowledge about an issue, changing attitudes and beliefs about the issue or the people affected, and helping engage stakeholders, institutions, and even lawmakers. All of these effects are part of the impact of your work that, together, contribute to the whole. They do not arise separately from your donor base, your advocates, or your volunteers, but together, they become the community you build that can influence the overall scope of the work you do, your ultimate success and, in the long run, effect the changes you seek.

The THNK School of Creative Leadership states: "A community stands alone by bringing together people that share a common belief, a lifestyle preference or inherited customs. Think about the bonding agents of a fraternity or a political movement...the solidifier is always within the boundaries of a shared belief or goal."

Your community is those who a) desire a connection to a social issue they consider important; and b) want to be connected to the issue and each other through your organization. They want to act alongside you, not for you, to inform others, pressure key stakeholders, and hold others accountable for their words and actions. Whether they do so through their dollars, voice, or time, they want their contributions to add value to the work already being done.

Read the full article about KEYWORD by [u'Mitch Nauffts'] at PhilanTopic