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Andres Cantor famously shouted “¡Goooooooolll!” for 38 seconds when Carli Lloyd completed a hat trick (!) in the World Cup from midfield (!!).

Cantor is known to Latin Americans as “Mr. Goal,” and I want you to hear his voice in your head when I talk about our subject today:

Goals. (Or… “¡Goooooooollls!”)

What does success look like? 

In general, for-profit companies benefit from “profit” being the default definition of success, whereas nonprofits have to define this on their own - and it is different for each one. 

One challenge I have when building data infrastructure for organizations is squishy goals like:

• “Establish a sense of belonging among refugee families in our community.”
• “Build a stronger, more food-secure community.”
• “Foster a lifelong love of reading and learning.”

I love all of these! I hope they happen. But we will never know because these goals are not measurable.

(They’re aspirational.)

A template for writing measurable goals

There are many excellent frameworks for setting goals, like OKRs and SMART goals, but many nonprofits that adopt these frameworks still struggle to write concrete goals in practice. 

Maybe this fill-in-the-blank sentence can help.

Let me rewrite the goals from above in this format.

• “Help 100 refugees become members of a church, gym, or affinity group by the end of 2026.”
• “Deliver 150,000 pounds of food to families by the end of 2026.”
• “Enroll 300 children in weekly read-aloud programs by the end of 2026.”

Each goal is measurable and time-bound (the M and T of a SMART goal).

It starts with a strong verb

Weak verbs are the kryptonite of strong goals. Words like “support,” “empower,” “foster,” and “encourage” are perfectly great words, but they don’t lend themselves to concrete goals. 

Look instead for words like: “deliver,” “enroll,” “distribute,” “train,” or “fund.” If it's easy to convert your verb into something you can count, that’s a good sign. We can count deliveries and enrollments, but counting units of empowerment or encouragement would be silly.

Measure vs. Metric

This may seem like splitting hairs, but it's helpful to distinguish between measures and metrics because it will change how you track and report on the data.

A measure is something you can count or sum (deliveries, pounds of food, dollars, memberships, registrations, etc.).

A metric is a calculated value, like ratios or percentages, to be monitored over time (cost per meal, attendance rate, client retention rate, pounds of food per household, etc).

Measures are easier to track and a good starting point if you’ve never set goals before. Metrics are built on top of measures and provide deeper context. 

Here are some examples to compare:

You can download this goal template to share with your team or try it out yourself.

Inputs vs. Outcomes

Our goals should usually be based on things that are within our control. For example, we want third graders to develop a lifelong love of reading, but we can’t make them. (Sorry parents!) 

What we can do is expose them to reading in powerful ways by people they admire, and hope that this leads to a love of reading. 

Attendance in read-aloud programs becomes a proxy for success.

We can measure attendance, but not a love of reading.

What funders want

In all my conversations with funders, the trait they value most is the ability to execute. Setting and achieving goals is one of the most powerful ways to demonstrate your organization's effectiveness.

Until next time,

Ted