Valuation For Arbitration Book

During a levy year, this book would prove to be invaluable. Finding a way to appeal to voters' pocketbooks is a must when you want to pass a levy. To explain to voters that their tax dollars are an investment in a service that will appreciate over time is essential!

Favorite Tidbits:

The National Center for Charitable Statistics says that 1/2 of those who give to charitable organizations give less than $500. Only 6% give more than $5,000. 50% of donors give to churches or religious organizations.

The American Cancer Society, the Red Cross & the Salvation Army are the top non-religious nonprofit fundraisers in the United States. Marketing efforts to raise funds cost an average of 8.3% of these organizations' total income.

When establishing ROI, emphasize the following: What are you going to do? How much will it cost? What will be accomplished?

People give the most when the right person with the right cause are combined.

The requests we most likely will respond positively to, are those which are personal, are compatible with those issues we believe are important, and are made by a person we respect.

Various areas of focus: The value of the organization as an entity (i.e. the jobs an organization creates), service delivery values, societal costs avoided and social outcomes enhanced.

Ways to calculate ROI: local economic impact, social impact per dollar invested, return per dollar spent.

Five steps to demonstrating value:
1. Determine the motivations of your stakeholders (i.e. taxpayers)
2. Develop a program with definable outcomes.
3. Translate outcomes into specific benefits.
4. Demonstrate effectiveness in investment terms.
5. Report results on a regular basis.

Primary versus Supporting Customers: a primary customer is the person whose life is changed through your work. A supporting customer is a volunteer, member, partner, funder, referral source, employee or other who must be satisfied.

Education, health and economic development are the most popular areas in which enhanced outcomes can be demonstrated.

Ways to Apply ROI to Libraries:

Come up with a return-on-investment analysis of your primary missions, such as your ready-to-read initiative and how it saves tax dollars by not requiring as many teachers in public school or as much specialized attention/training, graduating more kids from high school, fewer kids being held back a grade, etc.

Come up with a return-on-investment analysis of your job search help efforts by gathering statistics of how long it takes patrons to re-enter the workforce with your help versus the national average, etc.