Programmatic

Your organization has a clear, intentional process for developing programs (such as social alchemy or lean startup) to move from innovation to impact and scale, while staying responsive to client and community needs through market and customer research.

 

Financial

Your organization generates enough resources to support its current needs without compromising its future stability.

 

Organizational

Your organization has the capacity to adapt and change as social, economic and policy conditions shift.

 

Proactive vs. Reactive Funding

Every organization needs a balance between proactive and reactive funding. When making decisions about programs, events, policy efforts and collaborations (and the grants associated with them), you need two complementary approaches:

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1) Proactive: Intentionally raising money for your most innovative and impactful programs

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2) Reactive: Staying nimble and ready to pursue opportunities that align with your mission

 

Together, these approaches are a grant decision-making system that shifts your organization from chasing money to building purpose. This ensures that your most important efforts flourish — without losing sight of the bigger picture.

 

Introducing the Mission-Money Matrix

Most nonprofits know the reactive approach well — applying for grants. Far fewer have a proactive process to assess and align funding and program priorities annually.

 

Our favorite tool to accomplish this goal is the Mission-Money Matrix. Often in the social sector, we fall in love with a program and assume “if we build it, they will come,” just like in the movie “Field of Dreams.” Even if this is true and people do come, we need to ensure that money follows. This is why the Mission-Money Matrix is a great tool for evaluating where your organization stands in each and every endeavor and determining where you want it to go.

 

Adapted from the Boston Consulting Group portfolio framework, this visual tool helps you analyze, discuss and decide where to focus your fundraising and program investments. It’s simple but powerful — a data-driven way to connect mission and money.

 

How to Use Mission-Money Matrix

The steps are straightforward:

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Step 1: Identify Your Portfolio: Include all major initiatives, including programs, policy change, social enterprise and collaborations, and even fundraising events.

Step 2: Calculate Net Financial Return: Determine whether each initiative produces a financial gain, loss or breakeven in real numbers. Just be sure to include both direct and indirect costs. We have found that a breakeven analysis is the easiest way to produce a relative assessment in the portfolio.

Step 3: Evaluate Mission Impact: Use your logic model or performance metrics to assess alignment, impact and reach. We have found that an A-C score is the easiest way to produce a relative assessment.

Step 4: Plot Your Results: Plot on the matrix with financial return on the horizontal and mission impact on the vertical.

 

Interpreting the Matrix

Once plotted, each initiative will fall into one of the four quadrants. You determine the best next steps to strengthen your position:

 

Stars: High Mission Impact / High Financial Return
Invest and grow these. They’re your signature programs — the proof points of your mission and model.

 

Hearts: High Mission Impact / Low Financial Return
Control costs, manage financial risk, and seek grants or sponsorships to sustain them. You can afford a few Hearts — but not too many.

 

Money Trees: Low Mission Impact / High Financial Return
Boost their mission connection and expand strategically. These programs often fund your Hearts.

 

Question Marks: Low Mission Impact / Low Financial Return
Reassess their role in your portfolio. Improve or consider divesting them to another organization better equipped to manage them.