foundation reporting study: what youth development funders

Foundation Reporting Study:What Youth Development Funders WantPREPARING YOUR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

NONPROFIT FOR FUNDING SUCCESS

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ContentsI N T R O D U CT I O N

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B E ST I N D I CATO R WH E N EVA LUAT I N G A YO UT H D EVE LO PM E N T O R G A N I Z AT I O N ’ S I M PACT

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TO P 3 R E P O RT I N G A R E A S WH E R E DATA A N D A N A LYT I C S A D D T H E M O ST VA LU E

DATA’ S P O S I T IVE I M PACT O N F U N D E R S

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PR E F E R R E D R E P O RT I N G VE H I C L E S

C H A N G E S I N R E P O RT I N G R E Q U I R E M E N TS

CO N C LU S I O N : WH AT YO UT H D EVE LO PM E N T A N D C H I L D S E R VI C E S F U N D E R S WA N T

S U R VEY D E M O G R A PH I C S

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Grants from foundations and charitable trusts are an important part of any nonprofit’s balanced funding portfolio. According to the latest Giving USA Annual Report on Philanthropy, grants from foundations made up 16% of all charitable giving, amounting to $66.9 billion. With this amount up 6% over the prior year, the money available from funders for nonprofits is increasing1.

Youth Development and Child Services nonprofits and collaboratives are an important focus area for many funders. As a follow-up to our research in What Funders Want: Foundation Reporting Study, we wanted to take a deeper look into the specifics of what funders who give to nonprofits in the youth development sector look for from organizations that apply for their grants. What do the funders of education nonprofits really want?

In this report, you’ll learn:

• The most important factors considered by funders when evaluating nonprofits in the youth development and child services sectors• The impact of data and analytics on reporting• Preferences for information, formatting, and channels when evaluating nonprofits in the youth development and child services sectors• Past, present, and future demands for reporting

Introduction

GRANTSPACE.ORG DEFINES A FOUNDATION AS: “A foundation is a non-governmental entity that is established as a nonprofit corporation or a charitable trust, with a principal purpose of making grants to unrelated organizations, institutions, or individuals for scientific, educational, cultural, religious, or other charitable purposes. This broad definition encompasses two foundation types: private foundations and grantmaking public charities.2”

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We surveyed a group of representatives from various foundations and charitable trusts, which we call funders, who selected Youth Development or Child Services as a sector that their organization or trust serves. The objective of this survey was to pinpoint criteria that funders use to determine where their funding dollars go. All responses were voluntary, confidential, and anonymous. The survey was distributed between November 2018 and January 2019.

Approach

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More than 4 out of 5 funders (83%) say Impact is among their most important considerations for funding. This is even higher than the baseline average across all nonprofit sectors (78%), meaning that proving your impact is of greater importance for Youth Development nonprofits. Mission (46%) and Sustainability (44%) round out the top three.

Top 3 Most Important Consideration Items for Funding Youth Development Organizations

* Other: Awards, Single Cause, Consumer/Watchdog Reports

83%

46%

44%

29%

24%

22%

13%

3%

10%

4%

4%

Impact

Mission

Sustainability

Legal Nonprofit Status

Stability

Financials

Past History

Timing

Organization Leaders

Many Causes

Public Relations


QUESTION: What is most important to your organization when considering funding an organization? Please choose your top 3.

19%Other *


What’s the single best indicator of a Youth Development nonprofit’s impact? Outcomes, by a landslide. 59% of funders look primarily to outcomes as a measure of impact. Ensure that your organization can measure and showcase outcomes to impress funders.

Best Indicator When Evaluating a Youth Development Organization’s Impact


56%

14%

9%

6%

2%

5%

2%

Outcomes

Adherence to Objectives

Consistency to Mission

Data

Popularity in Community

Outputs

Financials

QUESTION: What is the single best indicator when evaluating an organization’s impact?

6%Other


Knowing that Impact, Mission, and Sustainability are of utmost importance to funders, how does your Youth Development nonprofit demonstrate your ability to meet a funder’s top considerations? Outcomes again lead the way, with 78% of funders looking specifically for your program outcomes. Budgets (41%), Objectives (36%), and Impact Stories (34%) are also sought after by more than a third of funders.

Top 3 Things Funders Look forin Reporting


QUESTION: What specific information do you look for in reporting? Please choose your top 3.


78%

41%

36%

34%

32%

24%

21%

16%

11%

7%

Program Outcomes

Budgets

Objectives

Impact Stories

Program Outputs

Programs

Donation Usage

Past Performance

Mission

Other

To determine the outcomes your nonprofit produces to tell a powerful story of impact, you need data and analytics. When asked to choose the top three areas where data adds the most value, Outcomes (82%), Outputs (52%), and Budgets (46%) all received significant shares of votes. Be ready to back up critical proof points with high-quality data.

Top 3 Reporting Areas Where Data and Analytics Add the Most Value


82%

52%

46%

33%

24%

22%

19%

14%

6%

1%

Program Outcomes

Program Outputs

Budgets

Objectives

Past Performance

Programs

Impact Stories

Donation Usage

Mission

Other

QUESTION: For which of the following reporting areas do data and analytics add the most value? Please choose your top 3.


Data and analytics have a big impact on funding for Youth Development and Child Services nonprofits. 87% of funders are more likely to fund an organization that incorporates data into its reporting. In fact, 65% are very likely to prefer organizations with data!

Data’s Positive Impacton Funders


QUESTION: How likely are you to fund an organization that includes data in its reporting, rater than an organization that does not include data?

Somewhat Likely

21%

Neither Likely nor Unlikely

9%

Very Likely65%


Somewhat Unlikely

2%

Very Unlikely

2%

Funders make critical decisions based on the reports Youth Development organizations share. What are they looking for? Impact Stories and Graphs and Charts were cited as top two by 59% and 54% of funding organizations respectively. Keep these formats in mind as you create annual reports, as having your impact story already perfectly packaged can make new funding applications easier, faster, and more effective.

Preferred ReportingFormats


Infographics

31%

QUESTION: What reporting format do you prefer when determining an organization’s impact? Please choose your top 2.

Text

21%Impact Stories59%

Raw Data

31%

Other

3%Graphs and Charts54%

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How do Youth Development funders prefer to receive and analyze reporting information to determine impact? The answer is clear: digitally! Though this data represents funders as a whole, always be aware of specified format requirements from your individual funders.

Preferred ReportingVehicles


Spreadsheets

14%

QUESTION: How do you prefer to receive and analyze reporting information when determining an organization’s impact?

Physical Paper

3%Digital Documentation48%

Infographics

8%

Other

6%

Portal

19%

Slideshows

1%

Websites

1%


If it seems like reporting requirements from Youth Development nonprofit funders have increased in the past five years, it isn’t your imagination. 61% of funders say they have. And it’s not over yet – 68% say their reporting requirements will increase over the next five years!

Changes in Reporting Requirements

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QUESTION: How have your reporting requirements changed in the past 5 years?

Stayed the Same

32%

Decreased

7%

Increased61%

Stayed the Same

27%

Decreased

6%Increased

68%

IN THE LAST 5 YEARS IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS

QUESTION: How do you expect your reporting requirements to evolve in the next 5 years?

What Youth Development Funders Want Providing funders with the information they seek can have a big impact on the success of your Youth Development or Child Services nonprofit. With 83% of Youth Development funders placing Impact in their top three considerations for funding, it’s clear that your organization should know how to showcase impact.

More than 3 in 4 Youth Development funders (78%) cite Outcomes as an important determinant of a Youth Development organization’s Impact. Data and analytics play a huge role in how Youth Development nonprofits measure outcomes and impact. Nearly 9 out of 10 funders prefer data with reporting! And the importance of data cannot be understated, with 68% of funders planning to increase reporting requirements in the next five years. Data and analytics not only improve the significance of your outcomes and the power of your impact stories, but are specifically sought-after by funders.

Incorporating data into the areas that Youth Development and Child Services funders care about most, including impact, outcomes, budgets, and impact stories, will set your nonprofit up for funding success.

Conclusion:


Funding Sectors Surveyed:Arts & Culture, Child Services, Education, Environment, Health Services, Human Services, Housing, Homelessness, Collaboratives & Multi-Service Organizations, Reentry, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, Community Development, Youth Development, Workforce

SurveyDemographics


QUESTION: Approximately how much does your foundation or charitable trust give each year?


$0-$999,999

28%

$1,000,000-$9,999,99937%

Prefer Not to Answer

12%

$10,000,000-$50,000,000

14%

$50,000,000-$99,999,999

6%

$100,000,000 and above

3%

References


Charity Navigator https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=42

Grantspace https://grantspace.org/resources/knowledge-base/what-is-a-foundation/

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About SocialSolutions

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