Q & A: Annual Reviews for Nonprofits

Q. I know that our employees deserve annual reviews and that you recommend board self-assessments, but what other aspects of our organization needs annual evaluations?

A. At least once a year you should evaluate your:

  • Mission Statement
  • Strategic Plan
  • Campaign Materials
  • Methodology for tracking and managing donors
  • Systems for thanking donors
  • Board Performance
  • Individual Board Member Performance
  • Employee Performance
  • Current staff levels
  • Training systems for board members and staff

Each type of evaluation is different. To evaluate your mission statement might only take the board five minutes to agree to stay the course, but if it is determined that your system for tracking donors must be updated for efficiency, you may require a time-consuming comparison.

Consultants can help in most of these areas, but you must know what you are trying to achieve to move forward. You can contact us by clicking here if you are interested in learning more about Mersky, Jaffe & Associates and our systems and forms for various evaluations or, as always, just to seek advice.