Don't forget about relationships.

We have finally finished the Katie Paine book, Measure What Matters. I am so glad that we are done with this book and I look forward to taking the quiz on it so that we are officially done with it. These last two chapters were very similar. The chapters talked about nonprofits and higher education. In the nonprofit chapter, on of the topics was "not measuring is not an option." This stood out to me because this entire book was about measurement, so why would not measuring even be an option? Anyways, Paine lists three reasons why measurement and accountability have become more important.

1. Social Media. Social media has brought about new ways of researching community stakeholders. You have to have measurement in order to find what is most effective.
2. Metrics. Nonprofits need to start acting like for-profits in terms of measurement. There is a greater competition among nonprofits and having effective metrics to measure with. With a greater form of metrics, measuring will keep you competitive.
3. Accountability. Accountability is a huge trait that people are paying more attention to. There is an increase in demand for detailed evaluations of programs and initiatives that will cause an organization to be viewed as accountable or not. 

I believe that these are all true when looking at why measuring social media is important. I also believe that one more should be added, relationships. Without those key relationships with stakeholders, trustees, business and other important relationships, a nonprofit organization can struggle. Relationships can be measured and they need to be constantly analyzed. An organization should always be aware of who their target audience is and what their needs are. Nonprofit or for-profit, relationships are important. Building lasting relationships will assist in all three of the reasons listed above. There is a perception about measurement success that states that only "the biggest nonprofits can afford the money and person-power to really evaluate results." This is no longer true, especially with the help of social media and relationships.