Good Measure shares resources based on the latest trends and innovations in data, measurement and analysis.
Philanthropic Response to COVID-19
A Call to Action: Philanthropy’s Commitment During COVID-19
The Council on Foundations is inviting funders and other leaders in the philanthropic sector to join them in making commitments to the people and communities hit hardest by the impacts of COVID-19 by signing this pledge of action. The pledge includes a number of tips and ideas for how foundations can respond to the crisis.
Archaic and Harmful Funder Practices We Can No Longer Put Up With
Vu Le of Nonprofit AF discusses ten funder practices that put a strain on nonprofit capacity, especially during this time of crisis.
Sample Agreement for Converting Project Grants to General Operating Support
A downloadable sample agreement from the Council on Foundations.
COVID-19’s Impact on the Nonprofit Sector: Results from a National Survey
Catchafire (a national Certified B Corp that matches skilled volunteers with nonprofits) recently surveyed 450+ nonprofits across the US to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on operations, fundraising, programming, etc. and their needs moving forward.
A Note from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) CEO, Marcus Walton, on COVID-19
GEO’s COVID-19 initial response includes helpful thoughts and perspectives from a funder lens, as well as links to several relevant reports including GEO’s Vision for Smarter Grantmaking.
A Dialogue with Foundation Leaders about Philanthropy’s Response
This webinar from Nonprofit Quarterly explores various strategies foundations can take now to support nonprofits, movements and communities.
How to Help the Most Vulnerable Through the Pandemic
Includes key strategies for both grant makers and nonprofits.
Learning in a Time of Crisis
A recent blog post from the consulting firm FSG includes recommendations for foundations can learn, reflect and iterate in the midst of this crisis.
Supporting Our Unsung Heroes in a Moment of Crisis
Phil Buchanan, CEO with the Center for Effective Philanthropy wrote a 4 part series on how foundations and individual donors can support their communities now.
Good Measure Resources
Annual Report
2021 Good Measure Annual Report
As we reflect on the lessons learned from centering community in our 2021 programming and finish our evaluation of Measuring What Matters, check out our 2021 annual report to learn more about insights we had from this year.
Guiding Principles
Funder Guiding Principles
A set of six guiding principles for Central Texas funders to support community partners' ability to use data to amplify impact.
Data Champion Guiding Principles
A set of seven guiding principles that offer key recommendations to guide the work of data and learning champions.
Measuring What Matters Project Summaries
Measuring What Matters is Good Measure’s annual program which supports organizational teams in completing a data & evaluation-related project. At the end of the program, teams present their project to the entire cohort. You can see examples of past Measuring What Matters projects below.
2020
2018
Examples of key learnings from the 2018 cohort of Measuring What Matters participants. Download PDF
Partners In Measurement Recordings
Session 3 - September 17, 2020 | Video Recording | Slide Deck
Community Resources
City of Austin Open Data Portal
This portal provides easy access to open data and information about Austin's city government. Various types of data can be accessed through the open data portal, including health, neighborhood, and public safety data sets.
RGK Center’s CONNECT Program
CONNECT is a platform focused on connecting organizations in the community that have a data, evaluation, or measurement - related project to tackle with graduate students from UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs, the RGK Center's Portfolio Program in Nonprofit Studies, and other graduate degree programs. The program matches organizations that have scoped a project with graduate students looking for applied and practical experience in the social and/or public sector.
Austin Area Sustainability Indicators (A2SI)
A2SI measures sustainability and quality of life in the six county greater Austin region. Through this platform, you can access dashboards on a variety of key community indicators like education & children, health, social equity and more.
Unpacking the Role of Data in Philanthropy: Prospects for an Integrated Framework
This publication reports qualitative research that explores the role of data in philanthropy and proposes an integrated framework. Interviews with charitable foundations in Central Texas, including members of Good Measure, reveal an orientation toward data that is becoming increasingly institutionalized.
Community Advancement Network (CAN)
CAN has created a dashboard of 17 socioeconomic indicators which provide an overview of the social health and well-being of Austin and Travis County. Through tracking the indicators in the reports CAN creates, it is possible to identify areas where collective attention and action are most needed.
2020 Blueprint for Educational Change – NEW Interactive Format
E3 Alliance publishes an annual report, now an interactive website, which identifies objectives and strategies on the current and future state of the educational pipeline in Central Texas. Grounded in data, the Blueprint shares positive progress of student success while detecting opportunities to direct resources that provide the most favorable impact on student outcomes. Use interactive tools to showcase different metrics, such as comparing regions or districts, and watch videos from education leaders across the region.
Videos
Saving Philanthropy
Kate Robinson's first documentary that profiles diverse social service organizations that have gained national attention for the measurable outcomes they achieve, and highlights the roles that internal management and forward thinking funders play in the process. Saving Philanthropy lays out in clear and digestible language the key components of a managing to outcomes strategy and utilizes interviews with leading voices in the sector to explore how to foster a managing outcomes culture.
Failing Forward: On The Road to Social Impact
A new documentary film produced by Kate Robinson, that aims to reframe what it takes to achieve social impact. The film explores how LifeWorks identified a programmatic failure, and made a bold, disruptive change that resulted in better outcomes for the young, vulnerable people they serve. At the heart of the film is the interdependent dynamic between a nonprofit, its board members, funders and community stakeholders, which is critical to fostering a culture of learning.
Data Tools & Training
Spreadsheeto Blog
Access over 100 tutorials for Excel 2016 (Windows) here. All tutorials include free exercises. Simply download the included sample file and start practicing your Excel skills today.
TimelineJS
TimelineJS is an open-source tool that enables anyone to build visually rich, interactive timelines. Beginners can create a timeline using just a Google spreadsheet, while experts can use their JSON skills to create custom installations, while keeping TimelineJS's core functionality.
Tableau Public
Tableau Public is a free software that allows anyone to connect to a spreadsheet or file and create interactive data visualizations for the web. It's free to use and provides great tutorials for all levels of users.
Organizations & Trainers
Leap of Reason
The Leap of Reason Initiative is aimed at inspiring and supporting great leaders and funders to build great organizations for greater societal impact.
Point K Evaluation Services
Point Learning Center provides a searchable resource collection for evaluation professionals at all levels, including workbooks, tip sheets, reports, articles, links and more.
Perform Well
PerformWell provides measurement tools and practical knowledge that human services professionals can use to manage their programs’ day-to-day performance.
Depict Data Studio
Ann K. Emery is a sought-after speaker who is determined to get your data out of spreadsheets and into stakeholders' hands. Each year she leads more than 50 workshops, webinars and keynotes for thousands of people with an aim of equipping organizations to visualize data more effectively. Access her book, data visualization checklist, step-by-step tutorials and more here!