WINTER 2009 NEWSLETTER

Getting Motivated to Measure Performance

The first quarter of every fiscal year is challenging for community investment (CI) teams. This period is a constant tug of war between the need to demonstrate the value of investments in the previous year, to integrate learning into planning for multi-year projects and to respond to new opportunities. Add these to the demands of annual report preparation! It is a busy, challenging time.

Everyone involved in LBG Canada is familiar with the oft-repeated phrase ‘motivation drives measurement.’ While this is unquestionably true, it is equally true that motivation drives planning and strategy. Motivation will influence how a community investment team selects investments, approaches its relationship with a community partner, and strive to achieve a project’s community and business goals. Motivation will affect how an investor seeks to engage employees, customers or suppliers in any particular investment.

In short, every voluntary community investment, regardless of size, form or theme, will always be driven by the motivation to make a philanthropic, social or commercially-driven investment in community. These three motivations are defined as follows:

Approaching each investment with clarity on the motivation behind the decision to invest will assist the CI professional to win that first quarter tug of war. More importantly, the results achieved will be seen as more valuable to audiences inside and outside the business. Every LBG Canada company needs to think about motivation in order to invest effectively and to demonstrate results, yet the idea of examining motivation is more instinctive to some than to others.

In a recent conversation with Darren Haines of Coast Capital Savings (an LBG Canada company since 2007), Darren outlined how considering five simple details of any community investment assists Coast Capital to clarify their motivations to invest. These are:

1. duration of the transaction;
2. expectations of the community partner to report on impact;
3. exposure to priority audiences;
4. expected timeframe to achieve a business benefit; and
5. the arena where the investment will occur.

This approach offers valuable insight into how to be clear on motivation. The table below explores these five details in more depth.

When you are evaluating a multi-year investment, was your initial motivation commercial? If so, did you achieve the brand exposure, product sales, research insight or skill development opportunity you were seeking? Why or why not? Your planning efforts will be focused on how to improve future commercial results.

Were you motivated by a particular issue? Your measurement and communications efforts will be focused on your community partner’s results, whether you can assist in furthering their progress next year, whether your key stakeholders know about your involvement and whether they might have opportunities to participate.

Are you a philanthropic investor? You will be gathering information on how wide your reach has been, the number of organizations you have supported and whether their goals are aligned with your investment priorities.

Companies involved in LBG Canada know that motivation to achieve commercial benefit does not need to diminish community benefit achieved. In fact, a highly motivated company will be planning to maximize community benefit because that is necessary to achieve business expectations. Smart corporate investors will be clear on motivation to ensure clarity in strategy and in setting priorities to effectively measure results.

Company showcase: Envision Financial
Linking Growth to Effective Measurement

Performance measurement and evaluation is one of the biggest challenges that community investment professionals face in managing their CI portfolios. Envision Financial’s Voom program illustrates how companies can use the LBG Canada framework to manage and plan the strategic growth of community programs.

Voom Credit Union is an award-winning educational initiative that Envision Financial designed for elementary school children. Simulating a real-life credit union, children participating in Voom gain an understanding about the importance of setting goals, which builds self-esteem. At the same time, they learn about the value of money and money management skills.

When the program was launched at Langley Montessori School (LMS), organizers estimated that less than 10% of the student body had their own bank account or understood the significance of saving money over time. At the end of the first year of the program, close to 70% of the student population had their own savings account! The majority could explain the importance of saving money.

Envision knew their Voom Credit Union program was an engaging, successful initiative and wanted to grow the program into other key markets. They also knew that the program’s success resulted from more than just Envision’s financial support. They needed a clear picture of the staff time, in-kind and project management cost required in order to plan a Voom expansion effectively.

The LBG Canada Data Tool is an effective planning tool

Within their LBG Canada Data Collection Tool project sheets, Envision gathered information on cash contributions, employee time volunteered (during and outside of working hours) and the value of in-kind donations. Both the management time and costs associated with administering and promoting the program were included in their assessment. The team also began to track the time commitment required by the teachers and students involved — all of which were important details to the program’s success.

With a clearer picture of the entire investment required to make Voom successful at Langley Montessori School, Envision was able to strategically plan, design and roll-out an achievable, successful growth strategy for Voom Credit Union. Today, a second program is now in full operation, having achieved the buy-in and support of the teachers, staff and students at Cougar Canyon Elementary, which is also in the Delta School District.

Effective Performance Measurement Begins at the Planning Stage

Performance measurement does not necessarily begin at the end of a project. In an ideal world, it is a key element of a broader goal setting, planning and evaluation process. Voom offers a terrific example of how companies can use the LBG Canada framework to plan and manage program expansion in order to achieve the maximum return for both the community and the business.

Free Webinars for Community Partners

SiMPACT has scheduled three introductory sessions for community partners of LBG Canada companies within the 2009 webinar calendar. Planned for April 28th, June 18th and November 5th, each webinar will be 45-50 minutes in length, involve up to 15 participants and provide and introductory overview to the LBG Canada approach. Each LBG Canada company will be encouraged invite their community partners - SiMPACT will create a web-based invitation that each company can forward to interested partners.

In this way, we can provide interested partners enough information to decide whether they would like more detail. We hope that this introduction will be enough for most, but will be happy to arrange further training, should that be of interest.

Please contact or for more information. Thanks to Erin Satterthwaite of Vale Inco for a great idea!

First LBG Canada Sub-Group

LBG Canada's first industry sub-group has been launched! LBG Canada credit unions and financial institutions have decided to form a sub-group. SiMPACT will be benchmarking their 2008 data as a sub-group. Throughout the course of the year, they will address trends and issues specific to their industry.

As LBG Canada grows, more and more sub-groups will be formed in order to add more value to the benchmarking and peer-to-peer learning. This is a great next step for the financial services companies involved. Your industry may be next!

Please contact or by email or at (403) 444-5683 with your suggestions.

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