People like to measure things…sometimes just for the fun of it. Intellect. Steps taken. Calories eaten. Aaron Rodgers’ total completed passes in 2015.

But there is a more serious side to measuring things. Our lives and safety often depend on correct measurements: blood pressure, blood counts, weight loads in construction, thrust in aerodynamics. In the investment and business worlds, the Holy Grail of measuring success is return on investment (ROI).

In the world of philanthropy and the nonprofit organizations we support, we talk about “Impact Investing,” and—like other types of investment—we depend on measurements to determine the ROI. What kind of a social and environmental impact are we having on the problem we are trying to solve? What meaningful change (return) can we claim as a result of our investment?

Resources or income in the nonprofit world include cash, stock, volunteer time and in-kind donations. Kohler Co. Corporate Giving donates cash, plumbing products and raffle baskets to hundreds of nonprofits every year. Kohler Stewardship supports associate volunteerism in Kohler locations around the world. With an investment this large, the importance of ensuring that resources are directed to the right places is obvious. Whether you personally donate $10 or $10 million each year, you also are making an investment, and you deserve to know the ROI.

This can be tricky. At the crux of it all is determining what actually should be measured and how to do that. Rarely is it as simple as measuring the number of activities and people attending. For example, to say that a youth program is a success because 25 percent more children attended in 2015 begs all sorts of questions such as: How many children cannot or do not attend and why? How does this program make their lives better? Is the cost per child reasonable?

Program activities sometimes masquerade as outcomes: after-school programs, feeding, teaching and training for example. But outcomes are the results of program activities: increased graduation rates or literacy, changes in behavior, improved policies, better health, etc. Unlike activities which are easy to measure, outcomes speak to change, and change often occurs slowly.

As individuals, it can be confusing and time-consuming to request, review and assess measurable outcomes for the nonprofits to which we donate. Making charitable contributions to our local United Way ensures that support is funneled to those programs identified as vital to Sheboygan County’s health through comprehensive community assessments. Furthermore those programs are required to provide proof (measurable outcomes) of meaningful change which are rigorously scrutinized annually by United Way volunteers.

The social and environmental change that occurs through community investment in nonprofit organizations requires clear disclosure of meaningful outcomes. Know the difference between activities and outcomes, and ensure that your ROI is strong.

Lauren Hofland, Senior Corporate Giving Analyst at Kohler Company, volunteers for United Way of Sheboygan County on the Community Action Team (CAT). CAT volunteers analyze funding applications and make investment recommendations to the United Way Board of Directors.