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The authors conducted research on multiple organizations in Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Carolina that are doing advocacy, civic engagement, and community organizing work, with a specific emphasis on measuring the results of their work. The series places particular emphasis on measuring the economic impact of organizing work (e.g. new dollars devoted to affordable housing, increased wages, new health care benefits). The author details the results of these outcomes in terms of a ratio between the cost of their organizing campaign and the economic benefits that accrue as a result of campaign wins. In addition to this economic evaluation, the author details the impacts of organizing work that cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
In documenting the impact of organizing in these various states, the authors pay particular attention to the following areas:
§ Economic Security
§ Environmental Justice
§ Civil and Human Rights
§ Health, and
§ Education
In addition to the economic analysis, the authors also document their findings on civic engagement and its impact on leadership development in all three states. Other non-economic evaluation criteria discussed by the authors include the use of a racial equity lens in organizing work, as well as the importance of organizations working across multiple strategies (e.g. combining advocacy, organizing, and service provision).
By framing the results of organizing work in terms of a return on investment, the authors gives organizations and potential funders a framework through which they can evaluate the results of their financial commitments to organizing. Though the author also documents non-quantitative impacts of organizing, the majority of the reports focus on this economic analysis of organizing.
The appendices offer a detailed breakdown of the wins of each organization, which may be useful for RECO users interested in finding out more about how to quantify the economic results of organizing.
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