Feb. 26, 2018
Making an impact – Thoughts on Allocating Jewish Philanthropic Time and Resources in 2018
This article originally appeared in eJewish Philanthropy on February 21, 2018.
By Larry Brooks
In his book, Good to Great and The Social Sectors, Jim Collins articulated a question many struggled to ask. Namely, how could the nonprofit sector shift its focus from inputs to outputs, which moves us closer to measuring the genuine impact of the organization’s work? Collins’ words paved the way for even more important queries, including not only how does a nonprofit measure impact, but also how does it articulate its impact.
These ideas marked an inflection point in the way we approach and engage charitable giving. We now better understand how to examine social sector organizations and how to determine if they are measurably, thoughtfully, and successfully making an impact. This outputs-focused approach advances the entire social sector. Repair The World (Repair), an organization I am fortunate to support, focuses on these three areas in a truly meaningful way, and is worth examining.