CNE Impact Measurement & Reporting 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A nonprofit serving diverse populations should disaggregate its outcome data primarily to:
- Reduce total reporting costs
- Identify disparities in outcomes across subgroups (Correct answer)
- Simplify funder communications
- Comply with IRS Form 990 requirements
Correct answer: Identify disparities in outcomes across subgroups
Disaggregating data by demographics such as race, age, or income reveals whether certain groups benefit less than others.
Question 2: Which term describes the portion of observed change that would have occurred even without the nonprofit's intervention?
- Deadweight (Correct answer)
- Attribution
- Displacement
- Drop-off
Correct answer: Deadweight
Deadweight refers to outcomes that would have happened regardless of the program, which must be subtracted when calculating net impact.
Question 3: An annual impact report primarily intended for major donors should emphasize:
- Detailed program budgets and variance analysis
- Compelling outcome stories linked to strategic goals (Correct answer)
- Staff salary benchmarking data
- Board meeting minutes and governance updates
Correct answer: Compelling outcome stories linked to strategic goals
Major donors respond to narratives that connect their investment to meaningful change aligned with the mission.
Question 4: A nonprofit tracks 'number of clients served' monthly. This metric is best categorized as:
- Outcome indicator
- Impact indicator
- Output indicator (Correct answer)
- Efficiency indicator
Correct answer: Output indicator
Counting clients served measures program outputs — units of service delivered — not changes in client well-being.
Question 5: Which evaluation approach is best suited for programs that are still evolving and whose goals may shift over time?
- Summative evaluation
- Developmental evaluation (Correct answer)
- Impact evaluation
- Compliance audit
Correct answer: Developmental evaluation
Developmental evaluation supports real-time learning and adaptation in innovative or emergent programs.
Question 6: A nonprofit claims its job placement program caused participants to find employment. The main threat to this causal claim is:
- Small sample size only
- Selection bias and confounding variables (Correct answer)
- Too many outcome indicators
- High program fidelity
Correct answer: Selection bias and confounding variables
Without a control group, it is difficult to rule out that participants would have found jobs anyway due to pre-existing advantages.
Question 7: Which framework uses five dimensions — what, who, how much, contribution, and what would have happened — to assess social value?
- Balanced Scorecard
- SROI principles (Correct answer)
- Theory of Change
- IRIS+ catalog
Correct answer: SROI principles
The seven SROI principles guide analysts through these dimensions to rigorously calculate social return on investment.
CNE Impact Measurement & Reporting 3
A nonprofit serving diverse populations should disaggregate its outcome data primarily to: