What now?

Well what can I say that hasn't been said?

Its quite apparent that accountability measures do not always measure organizational effectiveness, or even sometimes, accountability. I wonder what kind of metrics can be used to both ensure accountability for funders and organizations. Or feedback that is more useful for organizational improvement at least? If organizations are not seeking to better themselves, then whats the point? There might come a time when a particular organization loses a prominent and reliable funder, and if they have spent their time only appeasing that funder's wishes and not becoming more effective, that same organization might go under. This theoretical scenario might become a reality for stagnant nonprofits that have become totally reliant upon government funds.

So, when it comes down to it, I think there is a real need for different evaluative tools that measure an organization's effectiveness in terms of mission, and not necessarily donors. I know this is not always possible due to scarce financial resources, but I think its worthwhile to come up with metrics to improve your organization, even if you are meeting accountability standards of funders.

For the most part, service beneficiaries are a currently untapped resource in evaluating both effectiveness and accountability in an efficient way.