Measuring Our Impact
Our most important monitoring and evaluation tool is our premier outcome measurement system that captures comprehensive data on our programs and their impact on our members. Individual members, their participation in programs, and the outcomes they achieve are all tracked. Our Executive Directors work with our team of program directors to set program outcomes and evaluate results each quarter. This process enables us to continually assess our programs throughout the year, enabling us to make curricula, staffing, and other adjustments as necessary to ensure each
program’s
maximum positive impact.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South is also a chartered member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). As a chartered member, we pay annual dues and are responsible for reporting financial information and program outcomes through completion of the national organization's annual report. In return for completion of the annual report, we are provided resources including a regional service director, program curriculum, and grant opportunities. As a chartered member of BGCA, we participate each year in the National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI)
– a system built to measure the impact of Boys & Girls Clubs in a consistent manner using a common set of research informed indicators of our priority outcomes.
NYOI’s key tool for gathering outcomes data is the National Outcomes Survey, administered to Club members each spring, collecting data about registered members’ demographics, attendance, and participation. Local data management systems are connected to BGCA’s national system, allowing BGCA to compile data on the national population served by Clubs. NYOI’s other primary source of data is the National Outcomes Survey, designed to measure indicators of youth achievement
in Academic Success, Good Character and Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. Some survey questions replicate language used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, allowing BGCA to compare Club youth outcomes to national averages.
The NYOI survey also asks members about their perceptions of the Club. Their responses allow us to assess how effectively Clubs are implementing the Formula for Impact and delivering an experience that supports positive youth development. BGCA processes the responses from surveys completed in Clubs each spring, furnishes each participating Club organization with its members’ survey data, then aggregates and analyzes the data to render national results. BGCA's most recent National Youth Outcomes Report can be found on our
Reports & Publications
page.