Metrics

I have seen several articles and references asking the question, “How do we know aid works?”  There are books (e.g. Toxic Charity, When Helping Hurts) and numerous articles and studies on this.  (Here is a recent one:  http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/05/15/406757551/what-it-takes-to-lift-families-out-of-poverty)  People at conferences talk a lot about KPIs (key performance indicators,) metrics, OBEs (outcome based evaluation,) etc.  Believe me, I get it.  I spent 29.5 years at IBM.  We had “metrics” tattooed on our chests.  As goal oriented Americans, this resonates with us.  We treat our charitable giving as investments and we want a good ROI.

But…(you knew there would be a “but”) The truth is, in the field, measuring results is difficult.  For an already overworked staff, it is a huge burden.  Often the metrics are difficult to define and correlating the gains to the gifts can be next to impossible.  Measuring outcomes is incredibly labor intensive.  The idea of monitoring a “control group” which receives nothing seems cruel and counter-cultural to us.  In reality, we are surrounded by  a control group – all the people we want to help but can’t.  It breaks our hearts.  Engaging with them to measure how bad off they continue to be just doesn’t work for us.

However…(of course there is a “however”) We are as concerned as anyone that we are doing the right thing, using our resources wisely, being good stewards of the generosity of others, and leading as many people to a better, sustainable life. We agree that pure charity has limited application, we get the ” a hand up vs a hand out” concept.  Our ministries and our organizational vision and mission reflect that.  We are constantly taking stock of our programs and actions to ensure we are developing people’s ability to be self-sufficient.

Metrics?  Sometimes anecdotal measures (measures that typically “don’t count”) are all we have.  Here’s one for you.

Jorge, far left, and family

Jorge has been out of the Children’s Home for about 6 years.  Like the others, he came from a horrific environment of abuse and poverty.  Now, he lives with his mother, a dear but still impoverished woman.  He finished high school and is now in University.  He remains devoted to his brothers and sisters, many of whom are still in the Children’s Home.  He just recently wrote this song for a CD our Praise Band will be recording.  Mind you, he isn’t in the praise band!  He simply felt moved to contribute music to it.

6 years later, this young man has been able to graduate from high school, enter university and writes a song to the Lord he loves.  How’s that for results?