Funders hold significant power over grantee partners to decide which metrics to track for grant evaluations, retaining the ability ultimately to define success, a report from Echoing Green and the Center for Culturally Responsive Engagement (CCRE) at Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) finds.

Funded by Robin Hood Foundation and supported by Candid, the report, The Weight of POWER: The Role of Metrics & Evaluation at the Intersection of Social Justice (37 pages, PDF), examined who has power to define vision, mission, and metrics, what metrics are collected and how they are used, what effect metrics have on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) leaders, and how the sector can create more equitable funding streams. Based on a literature scan as well as a survey of 409 nonprofit leaders, social innovators, and philanthropic funders and 22 interviews, the study found that the greatest challenges BIPOC leaders associate with metrics requested by funders are lack of data infrastructure and lack of evaluation staff or consultants—challenges that are exacerbated by funding terms that are too short to demonstrate impact, funders requesting metrics that do not accurately reflect the work, and burdensome reporting requirements. While grant recipients typically collect metrics to meet funders’ needs—most commonly for program monitoring, participant outcomes, and program outcomes, nonprofit leaders aspire to collect and use other data to inform programmatic plans and communicate successes to community members.

To ensure equitable funding streams for BIPOC-led social justice organizations, the report calls for shifting power and developing transformative relationships with grant partners to promote shared decision-making power and equity-focused evaluation; reassessing traditional measures of success and progress by co-creating metrics, outcomes, and priorities with grant partners, using culturally responsive and community-centered approaches; investing in evaluation innovation by providing funding to build data infrastructure and strengthen evaluation capacity; and providing flexible, multiyear funding and reducing the reporting burden.

“We hope this report provides both the high-level insights and tangible steps needed for philanthropic funders to support social impact leaders in new and expansive ways,” said Liza Mueller, Echoing Green vice president of thought leadership. “Ultimately, the goal is for BIPOC leaders to be trusted and equitably resourced, so they can create transformative solutions for the communities they work with and for.”

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