Assessment
Feasibility
Can we undertake a new program without draining resources from others?
There’s a great new idea to better serve your community. But questions must be answered. Is there a real need? Is there competition that might make it redundant? Can there be funds to support it? Knowing these things before a full commitment is made can save time, money, and the reputation of your organization.
Financial Systems
Do our processes discourage fraud and abuse? Do we know what we need to know when we need to know it?
Financial management is central to accountability, the efficient use of resources, and, ultimately, to the effective provision of service. It is vital to have good financial systems, reporting, and tracking. In addition, effective control mechanisms are required to ensure that resources are used appropriately. Outfitters4’s finance experts can help organizations in all of these areas.
Fundraising
How well do our donor management and tracking systems work?
How well do you know and track your donors? Knowledge of their interests and giving patterns makes future efforts more effective. Do you have adequate systems in place to maintain and utilize this information?
HR Assessments
Are the right people on our bus?
In Good to Great, Jim Collins said to get the right people on the bus and the right people in the right seats on the bus. A human resources audit (a comparison of job descriptions with actual work done—and organizational needs—and a review of salaries in the context of regional norms) can ensure that the staff is being utilized effectively.
Marketing
Are we on our community's radar?
Is your organization invisible or only marginally recognized? A marketing audit can compare your communication practices with the needs identified in your marketing strategy. It will review materials, processes, tracking systems, results, and the appropriateness of the marketing budget. From this O4 will make recommendations for improvement.
Operational Processes
Is this the best we can do?
The nuts and bolts of how you do what you do are not often glamorous, but small tweaks can sometimes enable dramatic improvements in efficiency and capacity to serve. Outfitters4 can be that outside set of eyes that’s sometimes necessary to identify adjustments that will improve your work.
Program Assessment
How can we make the biggest difference?
Nonprofits are their programs. Program assessment assesses the merits of each program, maximizing effectiveness in achieving mission and considering opportunity cost. (Opportunity cost: What could be done if resources—human and financial—employed otherwise were redirected?) This assessment can provide the information necessary to make choices about continuation, expansion, and/or discontinuation.
Service Quality Assessment
Can we be of greater help?
Is what you are doing meeting the needs of those you serve? Even well run programs sometimes fall short because they don’t fully address the unique circumstances of the people you are reaching. Assessing your impact on those you serve provides valuable insight for use in program improvement.