Evaluating Nonprofits

What should be standard practice hasn’t been, but that unfortunate reality is beginning to change as governments are now asking, “What are the programmatic results of public funds being given to nonprofits to perform public service?”, as this story from the San Francisco Examiner reports.

An excerpt.

“The City spent nearly half a billion dollars last year contracting out social services to hundreds of nonprofits but lacked the ability to track how the money was spent.

“City Hall is now calling for accountability and oversight in how public money is doled out to these agencies in light of the fiscal crisis.

“The City recently closed a budget deficit in excess of $400 million and is facing a similarly sized deficit for next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

“Outside consultants are evaluating violence-prevention programs for youth in San Francisco’s most troubled neighborhoods, which The City is spending $10 million on, and at services treating those with substance abuse problems, which cost The City $50 million.

“This will help us make more strategic funding decisions and derive greater benefit from each dollar spent for San Francisco residents,” said Catherine Spaulding, an auditor with the City Controller’s Office.

“About $477.5 million was given last year to 841 nonprofit groups, providing an array of services.

“One nonprofit operating a substance abuse program with a focus on the Asian and Pacific Islander population was paid $18 million during that fiscal year, and two others, a housing clinic in the Tenderloin and a group that provides residential treatment for the mentally ill, were paid about $14 million each.

“The City paid 104 nonprofits in excess of $1 million each, and about 60 were paid between $500,000 and $1 million, according to the database overseen by the City Controller’s Office.

“The new studies are designed to provide The City with an improved system of measuring outcomes of the services to guide funding decisions for years to come, such as by judging a program’s success by client recidivism rates.

“One study will examine the $10 million annually given to 60 youth violence prevention groups working in five “hotspot” areas of crime, including the Tenderloin, South of Market and the Western Addition, and spending $1.4 million on job-training services.

“We feel strongly we need to have more outcome-based measures,” said Maria Su, executive director of the Department of Children Youth and Their Families, which funds some of the nonprofits.

“In a separate study, the nonprofits funded by the Public Health Department for substance abuse services are undergoing a three-year evaluation, with monitoring of those served.

“There are some groups that have not been evaluated, and you always want to evaluate your programs to ensure that there are good outcomes and to improve where there isn’t,” said Barbara Garcia, deputy health director.

“The studies come at a time that could help city officials make difficult funding choices during the tough financial times. But it could be a tough battle.

“Unfortunately, politics and political relationships in San Francisco often trump our concerted efforts to hold some nonprofits accountable for the outcomes their clients deserve,” Mayor Gavin Newsom’s spokesman Tony Winnicker said.”