Bob Ottenhoff, President and CEO, GuideStar:

…donors will increasingly want to make sure that their contributions are being spent well and making an impact. Increased donor expectations will require nonprofits to be better at demonstrating their efficiency and effectiveness.

In other words, the bar is being raised. Today, transparency and accountability are characteristics that are required and expected. They are not options. Increased donor expectations will require nonprofits to be better at demonstrating their efficiency and effectiveness. The conversation is now moving on from questions such as “What do you?” and “Does your organization do what it says it is doing?” to questions like “How do you do it?” and “What are the results of your work?”

At the same time that our donors and the public are asking for more, professional grantmakers are also paying more attention to issues such as impact and what it means to be a high-performing organization.