Improving Organizational Operating Performance
To be cost effective and have
impact, nonprofit owners and developers must be entrepreneurial and must be productive and cost-effective. To achieve these
results, community development real estate institutions (CDRIs) need tools to identify operational strengths and challenges,
respond appropriately to each, and to assess and mitigate risk.
These organizations can lower
operating costs and improve operations by comparing financial and operational data with their peers in the affordable housing
industry. Through the use of comparative data, nonprofit owners can consider alternative business models to increase revenues
and build a stronger capital base. This data can also help decrease “back room” costs through shared
functions such as professional development, human resource programs, accounting, and information technology (IT) needs.
To that end, STRENGTH MATTERS® is engaged in a performance benchmarking
data warehouse project that is making use of pioneering technologies.This technology enables comparison of financial information,
and eventually operational information across peer organizations. It also creates an open-source environment for internal
financial management reporting tools, exponentially speeding up the financial sophistication of the field to better match
its growth. Organizations gain the advantage of access to reporting tools developed in collaboration with other organizations,
moving the industry ahead from the current status of individual organizations working in a vacuum to build individual financial
tools needed to manage their growth.
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Performance Benchmarking Working Group
The goal of this working group is to create a performance benchmarking data warehouse
for nonprofit owners and developers to help them improve operations and become stronger organizations based on comparative
peer analyses.
The STRENGTH MATTERS® co-sponsors have engaged CoopMetrics to develop the mapping
technology and analytics for this effort. CoopMetrics has developed a sophisticated web-based technology that enables independent
businesses in the same industry to compare their financial and operating data with peers to positively impact their operations.
Seven member organizations of the sponsoring networks are participating in an alpha group to provide feedback
on the mapping and to design analytical reports and key financial indicators that will be most useful for comparing financial
and operating data.
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