Guilt is not a product anyone loves.That might sound obvious, but for most nonprofits, foundations and government agencies, guilt is the best product we’re selling. Our appeals for funding are built around psychic benefits—give us money and you’ll feel good. Yet as the funding pool continues to shrink and competition grows fiercer, selling guilt simply isn’t sustainable.But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Last week I read an article on the Huffington Post’s Impact Blog that highlighted a relatively recent innovation in the realm of government finance - social impact bonds (SIBs).  SIBs are bond offerings specifically designed to fund social outcomes.  The premise behind this new idea is simple and makes a lot of intuitive sense.  

This week, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a directive elevating the importance of evaluating programs supported by federal agencies. This is an exciting step taken by OMB—one that demonstrates an overall shift we are seeing in performance measurement.