Measurables

A lot of nonprofits have their own ways of measuring success: exceeding fundraising goals, the number of X reached in this program or that, likes on Facebook or followers on Twitter.

All good things….

And while Ace is attentive to measurables like this, we have other ways in which we gauge the effectiveness of our work. Just last week we reached a HUGE milestone and one that we’re celebrating:

We’ve been approached by the park to lead something new.

Our programs are bursting at the seams. We’re reaching max capacity at both our literacy program on Monday’s as well as our After School program on Wednesday’s. (Good problems we’re facing, I suppose.) As more and more students are finding their ways into our programs, the park has been introduced to more and more parents as they wait for their kids to get done with Ace programming.

Just last week the leadership at the park shared with us what they’re hearing from our parents. We’re teaching their kids the building blocks of English literacy. Our kids are gaining new skills and building more confidence. And parents [in seeing this] are communicating the same desire: Teach us English too!
With this new information, the park could have responded in a number of different ways. They could have ignored it. They could have tried to tackle it themselves. They could have approached a handful of other organizations in our neighborhood to help.

They turned to Ace.

As we are continually reflecting upon and trying to measure the effectiveness of our work–this [albeit subtle] response from the park speaks volumes and a resounding SUCCESS!!

This response communicates a reputation that we’re developing:
Of being community-first.
Of being responsive.
Of being trustworthy and reliable.
Of being capable of (and a track record of) doing excellent work.
Of being a neighborhood collaborator.

God continues to shower us with His goodness and favor. Yes, we’ve exceeded our fundraising goals the past few years. Yes, more kids are coming to our programs (and keep coming back!). Yes, we’re gaining more likes and followers on our social media platforms. All good things…

Sometimes the biggest indicators of growth and success come in a subtle response, with a listening ear and a servant-ready heart.

Let’s do more together!

[Sidenote: We are hoping to launch something new for our parents wanting to learn English. And you don’t need to be fluent in Spanish to do it. (Fluency in English is what’s most important:) If you’re interested in learning more about how you can be part of our answer, part of our response, email me at tim.anderson@aceinthecity.org.]