Nonprofits must use their resources wisely and effectively to remain in operation. Doing that requires seeing which programs have the biggest payoffs and comparing the outcomes versus the staff members and monetary resources used. Since nonprofits often have smaller teams and tighter budgets than corporate enterprises, they must continually measure impact against the resources used. You may think that sounds difficult, and indeed, it can be tricky. However, a matrix map can make the task substantially more straightforward. Matrix maps can help nonprofits by showing how and where the organization has an impact.

1. How to Use Matrix Maps To
Identify Organizational Impact

2. A matrix map can make the task
substantially more straightforward
Matrix maps can help nonprofits by
showing how and where the
organization has an impact

3. What Is a Matrix Map?
The simplest way to describe a
matrix map is as a visual aid that
shows the link between an
organization’s activities and its
profitability

4. A horizontal axis A vertical axis
Colored circles of various
sizes
THE THREE MAIN PARTS OF A
MATRIX MAP ARE

5. The horizontal axis shows the
profitability. There’s a zero in the
center of the line, and then red
numbers on the left and black ones
to the right
A Breakdown of the Matrix Map
Components

6. A program goes to the left side of the axis if it lost money, and it sits on the
right when it helps an organization make a profit

7. Colored Circles of
Various Sizes
The number of people affected
The amount a program contributes to
community enrichment
How closely an effort aligns with an
organization’s mission statement
The extent to which the organization fills a
previously unmet need
The number or kind of partnerships created
because of a program

9. Besides the visibility matrix maps
provide, what other benefits do
they give nonprofits?
Why Do Matrix Maps Help
Nonprofits

10. Give people a renewed
appreciation for how everyone
contributes to an organization
Let board members see how
people have to work together
Save people from making
misinformed assumptions about
program costs
Help an organization’s members
thrive by providing an easily
understandable visual aid
Show the relative number of
programs that break even or
lose money
Enable nonprofits to quickly
spot the programs that fail to
justify the expenses

11. The first essential step is to list all
your business lines or programs.
Also, don’t overlook a major
fundraising drive, such as an annual
gala. It should be one of the
business lines.
How to Design and Use Your
Matrix Map

12. The contribution to the intended impact: How well does
this particular program/business line achieve the overall
mission of the organization?
Excellence in execution: Does our organization have the
skills and resources to deliver this program/business line
with consistently high quality?

13. After the participants narrow down
the four kinds of impact, a
nonprofit determines the mission
impact score by figuring out the
average
Calculating the Mission
Impact Score

14. Let’s go back to the
theoretical women’s refuge
example and look at how it
could reach a mission
impact score
4 The contribution to the intended
impact
3
3
2
Excellence in execution
Meets a significant unmet need
Helps leverage external and
internal relationships
Remember that this is a numerical
value between one and five

15. When designing and using
the matrix map, you create a
mission impact score using
the formula above for all your
programs
Investigating the Types of
Expenses That Factor Into Profits
or Losses

16. Direct costs: The expenses that go solely toward making
that single program happen
Shared costs: Any expenses that relate to this program,
as well as at least one other
Administrative or indirect costs: These are the expenses
nonprofit bears to function, such as employee salaries,
office supplies and monthly rent or utility bills

17. Once a nonprofit gathers all
the information above, it can
use Excel to make a chart.
The most appropriate Excel
chart style for a matrix map is
the bubble chart.
Converting the Data Into a Chart

18. Colored Circles of
Various Sizes
Do we have a sustainable mix of resources to
support ongoing growth?
Is our funding stream generally stable or fluctuating?
Are the programs that require the most resources
How would other things benefit from the change?
Are there other local nonprofits that have programs
similar to our lowest-impact ones?

19. MATRIX MAPS PROMOTE
NONPROFIT SUCCESS
The goal is for a nonprofit’s programs to be highly profitable
and impactful. However, it’s not always easy for an
organization to know for sure which programs come closest
to meeting those ideal characteristics.
Matrix maps can help nonprofits confirm which of their
offerings have the desired effects and which might need
retooling or discontinuation.

20. Read The Entire Blog Here
https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-
blog/matrix-maps-to-identify-impact/