Becoming A ‘Blue Chip’ Provider Organization

A recent article in the Columbus Dispatch, United Way’s Change of Focus Has Some Nonprofits Scrambling, offered an example of a growing trend among community funding organizations: outcomes-focused funding.

What is outcomes-focused funding? It is an approach that attempts to define and measure the social return on grants and social investments. The goal is to bring alignment between social impact goals and funding.

The United Way of Central Ohio has changed how they distribute funding. Traditionally, the organization has funded a broad range of social service organizations that provided a variety of programs for individuals in the . . .