Yeah, SROI can be gamed but we’re thinking that having enough eyeballs looking at it will cause enough ruckus to stop the gaming from happening. We’re evaluating ways to let people change the SROI numbers in a collaborative effort but we’re not at all focused on it as of yet.

In particular, I’m interpreting that you’re going to be asking nonprofits to calculate their own SROI. I think that’s an incredibly key piece, and really intriguing. Yes, obviously there will be some issues with gaming, and with the fact that very few people have anything particular useful to measure their SROI at the moment. But giving incentive to think carefully about SROIs is really useful in of itself, and if the calculations for each org are shared, presumably the effectiveness and accuracy will grow over time, as more orgs contribute, and the ability to convince people of a crazy high SROI will decrease as there’s more precedent for how things will be measured.

“Many donors, especially younger people, don’t really feel connected to nonprofits as a result. They want to do good but they also want to see the money actually do work.”

Great post. You’re right that donors want to understand the impact of their contributions. These are the types of issues that New Progressive Coalition (NPC) has been tackling for the past year in the political arena. We provide donors with products and services to help them make more effective political giving decisions. We have collectively worked in politics for years and during this time have listened closely to the frustration of donors. They told us that they are tired of being treated like ATM machines and want to better understand how their contributions are affecting political change. We created an online marketplace for organizations to post proposals, but donors needed more than a profile to guide their giving decisions.

In response, NPC developed our proprietary Political Return on Investment (PROI)â„¢ framework. The PROIâ„¢ methodology delivers a greater transparency so that donors feel more comfortable giving to innovative political organizations and are able to understand the impact of their contributions. It also allows organizations to better articulate the value of their work and gain insight into the process of how giving decisions are made.

NPC’s PROIâ„¢ framework quantifies data submitted by organizations across the sectors that make up a political movement–an approach aimed at breaking down traditional issue silos and encouraging political innovation. The metrics and indictors developed for the PROIâ„¢ framework were evaluated and rigorously tested by a group of leading political investors and organizations. The idea for our PROIâ„¢ framework was heavily influenced by efforts surrounding SROI (Social Return on Investment) and our second generation methodology emphasizes transparency as well as usability.

NPC will be using this unique PROIâ„¢ framework as the methodology behind our flagship product which we will be launching this fall. Our goal is to transform donors into political investors. Our products encourage calculated risk-taking and investment in innovative and effective organizations so that real political change can occur.

We are excited about our work and encourage you to check out our website at http://www.newprogressivecoalition.com. We look forward to your thoughts and hearing about your progress.

Alison Koler
Marcom Manager
New Progressive Coalition