Good Spirits: Transforming Social Impact Data and Measurable Outcomes - SureImpact
- Curio412
- 13 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Good Spirits are quarterly interviews with business leaders. During Good Spirits, we bring you a distilled look at business owners who are working to make a better future by giving back to their community through their work or philanthropy. These leaders inspire and empower us to make a positive difference in our own backyards.
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Transcript
Carolyn Keller: Hi, this is Carolyn and welcome to our 8th episode of Good Spirits. I'm here with Sheri Chaney Jones of SureImpact.
Today we explore how data, technology, and a passion for problem-solving are helping mission-driven organizations improve the lives of the people they serve.
Get ready for practical advice, real stories, and a look behind the scenes of a company that's on a mission to ensure that every organization doing good has access to the data—and insights—they need.
Sheri Chaney Jones: Thank you, Carolyn, I'm glad to be here!
Sheri has dedicated her career to one big question: How can we use data to predict social change and tackle the world’s toughest problems? With over 25 years of experience as a program evaluator in government and nonprofits, she brings both the heart and know-how needed to move the needle.
Sheri’s journey began in program evaluation, focusing on government and nonprofit grants and initiatives in Ohio. Early in her career, she realized the power of data—not just to measure what’s happened, but to advocate for resources and drive policy at the state level.
"I was a government funder for about 10 years. I was looking at the impact of our grants as well as our own programs and using that data to lobby to legislature, the state of Ohio commissioners, and other funding bodies to attract more dollars into our agencies. In 2010, after the great Recession and helping my agency, which was the State of Ohio's Department of Aging at the time, prove how they were saving $250 million a year in Medicaid through some of their programs, I wanted to help as many organizations as possible have that type of insight and have that type of impact. So, I started a consulting company called Measurement Resources, grew that from myself to a national firm where we're working with same clients, government nonprofits, social enterprises, helping them collect the right data, use that data to tell their story and grow their impact."
Sheri and her team kept running into a technological wall:
"Our customers were saying, 'Sheri, we love the insights your firm is providing us. What technology should we be using so we have this data at our fingertips whenever we want?' What I wanted to recommend didn’t exist."
That’s how SureImpact was born: out of a need for a platform that combines robust insights with everyday accessibility for organizations doing good.
The Challenge: Measuring Impact Beyond Numbers
It’s easy to count the number of people you serve—but is that the true measure of your organization’s impact?
Sheri’s career taught her a surprising lesson. At her first job with juvenile courts, Sheri and her colleagues thought they were helping kids. But when they checked the numbers, they found the outcomes were actually worse:
“We started to measure kids’ recidivism back into the juvenile justice system. Although the program designers thought we were doing really great programming, there was something fundamentally wrong… [We were] increasing the likelihood that they would go back.”
This experience shaped her career—and her determination to help others avoid the same pitfalls.
The Three Buckets of Good Data
Who do you serve?
Track your clients or participants.
Gather basic demographics only if they matter to your mission—don’t collect what you won’t use. Examples: zip code (if place matters), gender (if focusing on girls or women), or other relevant characteristics.
What services or interventions are delivered?
Know the details of programs, activities, or resources provided.
How are people better off because of what you do?
This is the hardest part—and the most critical.
Digging Deeper: Find Your “Why”
To uncover what you should track under “better off,” Sheri suggests:
Ask yourself:
Why does our organization exist?
Why do our funders support us?
Why do people participate?
The answers to these why questions should become your measurable outcomes.
“As you're answering those 'why' questions, those 'whys' become your outcomes. Those are the things you want to start to track to be able to show to your funders: 'Here, we're accomplishing the goals and why you want to fund us.'”
Turning “Why” Into Measurable Outcomes
Make those reasons into things you can actually see and measure:
Use surveys (pre- and post-program)
Interview participants or partners
Collect feedback after services
Quantify changes in skills, attitudes, or life circumstances
How SureImpact Helps: Frameworks, Flexibility, and Dashboards
Every non-profit and mission-driven organization is unique—so how do you build a tool that adapts to everyone’s impact questions?
Sheri and her team have created hundreds of “impact measurement frameworks” for different sectors: early childhood education, housing stability, income growth, and more...
While accounting may have strict best practices for every business, the social sector is more varied. That’s why SureImpact built a flexible system that offers guidance—with the ability to customize:
Choose from over 300+ metrics in the platform
Customize for your unique mission and program
Leverage industry standards where they exist
Purpose and Vision: Sheri’s ‘Why’
What keeps Sheri going? It’s her commitment to making real-time impact data an everyday tool for every organization doing good.
“I truly believe in my vision for SureImpact… every mission-driven organization should have real-time impact data to help them make decisions.”
Let’s face it: If a for-profit CEO showed up at a board meeting without any clue about how the business was performing, they’d be out of a job. Yet in the nonprofit sector:
“Research that I’ve conducted shows that only 25% are measuring and communicating those outcomes, that ‘how are people better off’—and managing to those. But that's why we exist.”
Sheri wants to help move that needle from 25% to 100%, making outcome-focused decision making the standard across the sector.
Data in Action: A Real-World Case Study
So what does meaningful data look like in practice? Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how SureImpact helps real organizations make a difference.
Middle School Afterschool & Summer Programming—A Fresh Look
In Central Ohio, a collaborative of 18 afterschool organizations used SureImpact to look not just at what they were doing, but who they were reaching—and who they weren’t.
What They Learned:
Middle-schoolers (under age 15), a key age for juvenile crime prevention, were often under-served compared to younger or older youth.
SureImpact’s dashboards helped visualize which zip codes had the most youth crime—and the least program participation.
Using outcome tools (like the DESA social-emotional assessment and simple student surveys), organizations could measure actual progress in youth confidence, sense of safety, and personal growth.
“If the city’s main goal… is to help reduce juvenile crime by getting young people into these programs, we likely won’t see change if those with the biggest need aren’t being reached. That’s the power of using data to address complex problems.”
Behind the Scenes: Building SureImpact’s Platform
Sheri never set out to build a tech company—but looking back, it almost seems inevitable.
From her very first Microsoft Access project (building tools to help case managers recommend jobs) to years of translating human needs for IT staff, Sheri’s unique mix of skills and frustrations led naturally to SureImpact.
When it came time to develop SureImpact, Sheri thought like a program evaluator first and a software builder second.
How the Platform Works
Interactive Dashboards: Visualize data by zip code, demographic, or program.
Integrated Best Practices: Hundreds of outcome measures suitable for different missions.
No-Code Analytics: Labels and fields are meaningful for users—but under the hood, the platform’s logic means data can be aggregated, compared, and reported instantly, no matter the specific labels used.
Client Management: Take attendance, manage cases, track services, and outcomes—all in one place.
Measuring SureImpact’s Success
How do Sheri and her team know they’re making a difference? For SureImpact, adoption and engagement are key metrics. They created an Impact Champion seal to encourage and recognize organizations not just for buying the software, but actually using it to drive better outcomes.
A Vision for the Future of Social Impact
Growing SureImpact isn’t just about selling more software. Sheri’s biggest hope is about shifting the entire nonprofit and impact sector:
“I would love for SureImpact customers—or even if you’re not using SureImpact, but have your own data—to help transform the sector… so we have the same level of respect and understanding as our for-profit peers.”
In an environment where funding is tightening and expectations are rising, it’s critical that nonprofits can show exactly how they’re making lives better.
Client Success Story: The Siemer Institute
One of SureImpact’s earliest clients, the Siemer Institute, offers a textbook case of using data to drive results.
Their Theory of Change: Focus on children’s educational outcomes by addressing housing stability.
Siemer Institute grants communities dollars to stabilize families at risk of homelessness.
Local nonprofits have flexibility in how they serve, but must track:
Demographics
Three outcomes: income stability, housing stability, educational stability for children
The Results: “We have four years of longitudinal data showing as rental assistance money came in and out, how that spiked housing stability… Income and housing stability success rates have increased over the years because there’s more visibility. What we focus on grows.”
Today, Siemer’s consistent measurement framework lets them show funders, policymakers, and national partners exactly how their work is changing lives.
Advice for Social Entrepreneurs
If you’re an entrepreneur driven to do good in the world, Sheri offers two big pieces of advice:
1. Stay Relentlessly Focused on Social Impact
“There might be a push to care about some other metrics beyond the social change. What we measure and what we focus on grows. Make sure your measurement strategy includes your social impact metrics.”
That means baking impact goals into your business dashboard along with financial metrics—and talking about both, not just one or the other, at every team and board meeting.
2. The Journey Is Not Easy—But You’re Not Alone
“Whatever you’re going through is normal… Just keep taking the next faithful step.”
Every founder faces hard days, shifting priorities, and unexpected challenges. Remember—every small step forward counts.
For anyone interested in learning more about SureImpact, please reach out to Sheri Chaney Jones at sheri@sureimpact.net or visit their website at Measure And Share Impact Story | SureImpact | United States
Curio412 is a consultancy for businesses and nonprofits who want to improve their bottom line, build relationships, and scale meaningful impact. We believe in creating lasting impact. Which is why we share knowledge and tell stories to keep nonprofits, business, social enterprises, and charitable organizations informed about current trends, ideas, and impact.
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