How Do You Measure a Life Change?

One of the foremost challenges facing many nonprofits is the challenge of reporting success.  Is the program working?  Is it accomplishing its goal?  Is it worth investing in?  LINC North Texas believes that our programs are worth investing in, because we believe that they change lives.  But don't take our word for it.  Really!  You should be able to see concrete proof that they change lives.  Grant-making foundations have been leading the way in pushing charities to scientifically prove their results.  They are famous for saying, "Measure your outcomes, not your outputs."  Here at LINC NT, we take that seriously, and we are launching a major campaign to do just that.

The most popular measure of a program's success, whether it's at a nonprofit or a church, is attendance.  That's an output.  For example, last year we served 1246 students and many of their parents through our Student Advancement & Leadership Initiative.  That's great, but at the end of the day, does it matter?  They could have all slept through class, or gone home and immediately forgotten everything.  One of LINC NT's outcomes for SALI is for students to learn essential character and leadership skills that will enable them to succeed in school and beyond.  Measuring attendance doesn't indicate success.  To do that, we have to find out whether these students are better people after SALI than they were before.  That is a much more challenging task, but the journey is rewarding.  Not only are we able to show our significance to foundations and people like you, but we are able to find out for ourselves what improvements we need to make.

A recent survey of 702 students shows the impact of SALI is significant.  After SALI, 294 students said they resolved a conflict with what they learned.  More than fifty percent of students said they argue less with their parents due to learned conflict resolution skills.  In addition, 83% of students said they would take some form of action when witnessing a student being bullied.  This fall, we are taking it to the next level.  With a precise system of pre- and post-tests over two-year segments of SALI, and with the help of two awesome volunteers (Michael, who helps design surveys; and Sara, who is a data mining expert), we intend to show scientifically that SALI is achieving its outcomes.  We look forward to reporting that success here!

At the end of the day, I believe that this shift from measuring outputs to outcomes is a valuable change beyond LINC NT.  Are there places in our everyday lives where we need to change the scorecard?  Many people today report being busier and busier each year, but at the same time we tend to feel drained, unfulfilled, and unimportant.  At the end of the day, do we measure a successful day by how hard we worked, or how well we achieved our goals?  What if our goals went beyond working hard to things like making a positive impact on people around us, and to things like glorifying God in every aspect of our day?  How could our lives be more fulfilling by changing the scorecard every day?

Through the Eyes of an Intern

It’s a little hard to believe that this is my last week interning with LINC NT. I’m loath to leave this place – partly because I don’t want to start school yet, but mostly because it’s a wonderful place to work.

The people here are funny, intelligent, and hardworking. They put God above all else, holding devotionals in the mornings. They care about what they do, and they care about each other. They’ve been kind enough to accept me into their family this summer, and that love and sense of unity is what’s really struck me the most.

I’ve also been able to witness the effect of their work firsthand. About a month ago, I attended one of the Bible studies that Beto started. It was wonderful. I got to talk to the kids in this family, and we had a great time. My friend and I ended up staying long after the official Bible study ended, going to watch fireworks with the whole family and politely declining the million snacks that were offered us. The family was so kind and welcoming, and that’s both a product of culture and the healing that has been taking place as God uses LINC NT.

In the same way that they work to foster community among the families in this city, they also foster community in the office. Stacy and Colleen cheerily invited me to their desk on my first day and have included me since. John is ready to help out with everything from Tylenol to fixing computers, even driving Oscar to the airport. Beto has treated me like a member of his own family, taking me out to eat and always speaking to me in Spanish, the “language of heaven”. And I’ve got to write something nice about Oscar, since he’s my boss…just kidding. He’ll tease you ceaselessly, but he also cares immensely about the ministry and the people that work for him, and he makes sure you know that.

Working here has been both fun and rewarding. I’m so glad to help out with such a wonderful and effective ministry, whether I’m organizing files or writing stories. I have been so blessed to meet everyone here, and I’m going to miss them all immensely when I leave.

 - Kristen O'Neal

Where Is Your Treasure?

Not all poverty is created equal. I was reminded this past week that there is a sharp distinction between voluntary poverty, or "poor in spirit," and involuntary poverty. Francis of Assisi, along with many other spiritual forefathers, famously renounced worldly possessions, seeking to grow closer to God and the pattern established in Scripture. Billions today, however, live in a state of poverty that has been pushed upon them. For some few, it is because of poor choices. For the vast majority, however, it is because of their ethnicity, their birthplace, their society, disease, disability, and more things beyond their control. Many of these spiritual forefathers believed that choosing to live in poverty brought them closer to these downtrodden people on the margins of society, which happens to be the place where Jesus frequently was found hanging out. There are upsetting statistics coming out. From 2005-2009, median household wealth among Hispanics in the US dropped by 66% (the same figure for white households was 16%). That left about a third of Hispanics and blacks with zero or negative net assets. Another quarter had no assets other than a vehicle. In 2011, only 36% of American households had savings to cover a $1000 emergency. That's a very small crisis indeed, for a homeowner or a vehicle owner! A recent Dallas report defined "household asset poverty" as being unable to live for 3 months at the federal poverty line if they lost their income. By this definition, 39% of Dallas households are asset poor. Fully half of minority households are asset poor. What are we, as Christians, to do when we face this type of forced poverty? Some, such as Francis, chose to subject themselves to poverty. Even Francis recognized, however, that God did not call all Christians to live in such a way. He founded the "third order" of the Franciscans to provide a way for Christians to live "poor in spirit," as Jesus called them in the Sermon on the Mount. By choosing to allow God to use their resources instead of calling them their own, they cultivated a posture of reliance on God rather than reliance on their own assets. Is God calling American Christians to a similar posture today? What does it look like, in today's world of asset-building insurance policies, retirement accounts, and Social Security, to depend on God rather than our own safety nets? Sources: Kochhar, Rakesh, and Richard Fry and Paul Taylor. “Hispanic Household Wealth Fell by 66% from 2005 to 2009.” Pew Hispanic Center report, released July 26, 2011. Downloaded 30 April 2012 from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2011/07/26/the-toll-of-the-great-recession/ Corporation for Enterprise Development. Assets & Opportunity Profile. February 2012. www.cfed.org