Social Solutions and Urban Institute to Create First Online Resource for Improving Nonprofit Performance

BALTIMORE, November 3, 2009 — Social Solutions, the leading provider of performance management software for human services, and the Urban Institute a nonpartisan policy research organization are teaming up to create the Outcomes and Effective Practices Portal, the first comprehensive online resource to equip nonprofits with the information and measurement tools needed to enhance performance.

The portal will feature detailed guides to help agencies identify and use proven and promising practices to serve their clients effectively, and a library of tools to assess whether their lives have improved as intended. Portal content will be developed in conjunction with well-known organizations and consultants.

“Our experience has been that it is extremely difficult for nonprofits to find this type of information in a manner that is accessible and useful in practice,” says Social Solutions Vice President Jeff Mason. “The development of this portal demonstrates Social Solutions ongoing commitment to our customers and to improving the overall performance of the sector.”

Groups such as the Alliance for Effective Social Investing are advocating that more funds be directed to high-performing organizations. With this new portal, nonprofits that want to improve their performance will have ready access to the specific information needed to become more effective providers of top-quality programs and services. The Outcomes and Effective Practices Portal supports nonprofits’ increasing efforts to use actual performance metrics, rather than the standard overhead–program expense ratio and similar measures.

“There is a change occurring in the sector that will require more nonprofits to focus on effective performance management and outcome achievement,” said Elizabeth T. Boris, the founding director of the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. “Our intention with this portal is to provide easy access to the knowledge and tools that can help organizations manage their performance more effectively, and ultimately attract more support for their programs.”

The partners will launch the portal’s proof of concept at Social Solutions upcoming ETOlution 2009 Conference in Baltimore. A first phase of the portal is slated to go live next spring.

About the Urban Institute
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation. It provides information, analyses, and perspectives to public and private decision-makers to help them address these problems and strives to deepen citizens’ understanding of the issues and tradeoffs that policymakers face.

About Social Solutions and ETO Software®
Social Solutions challenges and equips human service providers and their funders to turn good intent into measurable change by relating efforts to outcomes. The company’s ETO (Efforts to Outcomes) performance management software, tailored to the unique mission of each nonprofit, gives organizations a clear picture of which efforts are having the greatest impact on the social issues they strive to address. With this knowledge, organizations can reinforce what's working, adjust what isn't, and more easily report quantified successes to key stakeholders.