Sample Dashboard for Internal Communication and Management

Purpose: Dashboards display preselected *critical measures* of organizational performance and effectiveness. No two organizations are alike.

The measures to present on a dashboard should reflect strategy, goals and mission, not every workplan detail.

Color Key:GREEN = on track,YELLOW = concern/discussion needed, and RED = Immediate ACTION & closer monitoring.

How to Use: CREATE the categories annually. MONITOR MONTHLY at management level & QUARTERLY at Board level.

Key Work Areas / Measure* of Success or Impact / Annual Goal
FY 201x / 6 months Ago
(Date) / Actual Results
(Now YTD)
Program Outcomes(*Samples) / Expand programs to 5 new communities. / 5 / 5 / 7
Ordinance passes by x DATE, 2 cities / 2 / 1 / 2 passed!
80% Job retention at 24mos. / 80% / 72% / 78%
Conduct external stakeholder interviews to evaluate program effectiveness. / 35 interviews / n/a / 20 done,15 to go
INSERT YOUR GOALS HERE
Fund Development / Fundraising benchmarks for next FY on track / 75% grants for next FY committed by June 30 / 50% / 70%
Member renewal rate increases. / 70% / 65% / 82%
Development Director / ED have identified and are cultivating a list of at top prospects for major gifts. 2-3 annual contacts per donor. / #50 @ 3 contacts/year / 10, one contact/yr / 35, 2 contacts
INSERT YOUR GOALS HERE

Dashboards are helpful for Organizational Focus, Consistency and Transparency in Management, but INFORMED ACTION is the most important purpose.

Choose indicators* that are tied to your strategic goals and make sure your systems are set up to get that data easilyand regularly.

If you act on red flags, you can keep on keel in challenging times all organizations face.

Key Indicators / Measure of Success or Impact / Annual Goal
FY 201x / 6 months Ago
(Date) / Actual Results
(Now YTD)
Visibility/
Communications / Increase online visibility and website consistency. Build from 90k visitors to 120k / 120,000 unique visitors / 115,000 unique visitors / 145,000 unique visitors
Increase networking and visibility through participation in conferences. / Be on 4 panels or give workshops / 4 / 5
INSERT YOUR GOALS HERE
Sustainability – Working environ. / Staff take personal time off: No staff are > 75% of their maximum PTO allotment. / 0 / 15 staff
> 75% max PTO / 7 / 15 staff / 7 / 15 staff
Staff development project: Racial Justice workshop series / 4 workshops, 90% staff participate / On track 1st session / Completed, 85% participated
INSERT YOUR GOALS HERE
Governance / Organizational Well being / Increase participation in fundraising = all board members comply w/ “give or get” policy. / 100% / 75% / 75%
Recruit diverse new candidates for open seats. Goal of 51% aremember/beneficiaries. / 51% / 34% / 45 %
Finance/ Compliance / Audit and tax filings on time. / Audit March, 990 filed in May / Audit started late / 990 pending
Turnaround on monthly financial reports / 24 days after month end / 42 days / 25 days
INSERT YOUR GOALS HERE
Unrestricted reserves = 3 or more months of annual budget. / 3 months $540k / 2.7 months $486k / 2.7 months $486k

This tool is free and can be adapted per creative commons guideline: Attribute (you must attribute the author), Noncommercial use only, Share Alike (if you adapt or build on this work you can distribute under license identical to this one). See Creative Commons:

GIFT 2010 Workshop Handout - Integrating Program, Fundraising and Financepage 1

Dashboard format adapted from La Piana Associates and BlueAvocado