Measuring intangible value

Intangible value is a real thing, and finding proxies to measure it can remove a lot of the mystery.

There's a family in my neighborhood who comes around every year with Christmas cookies. Homemade. Delicious.

They've got three daughters who apparently love to bake. Actually I think only one of them really loves to bake, and the others go along. Happily, as far as I can tell.

They must put in hours of work. All the neighbors get a little box with handwritten notes on the cutest little hand-painted cards I ever saw.

Besides the investment of time and care and creativity, there’s got to be some financial cost involved too. The boxes, ingredients, quality paints and papers.

Why do they do it?

They're obviously not promoting a business or trying to sell anything. They're not fundraising for their school, or trying to get their dad elected to city council.

What are they getting out of this?

You could say they're not getting anything out of it.

But can that really be true? Would they put in all this time and creative effort and even money, if they really weren't getting something out of it?

Somewhere, in the deep complexity of their human existence, they think it's worth it.

Here's the thing:

Not every value is financial. We all make decisions all the time to invest in things that bring us an intangible value.

The same goes for your members, your donors, your staff, your board, even yourself.

Putting a name on those intangibles can help to highlight their value.

Security, pride, peace of mind, a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, knowing that you're making the world a better place.

All of them count.

And to one degree or another, in fact to some measurable degree, they're all worth investing in.

The magic lies and figuring out what they’re worth to you, and then finding a way to make that investment, and to reap that very real value.

All the best,
A.