The New Scoreboard: Measure Your Community Impact

We’ve all been there. Registration is up, the budget is in the black, and the U15s brought home the provincial banner. We’re feeling great.

But then, you’re filling out a new grant application and it asks the question that pops your balloon: “Describe how your organization has a real impact on your community.”

In the relentless cycle of running a sport organization, we get caught up on the day-to-day: managing schedules, balancing budgets, and, yes, winning competitions. We measure what’s easy to count. Heck, we may have forgotten to send out the end-of-season evaluations! But the traditional scoreboard doesn’t capture the true, transformative power of what we do.

Funders, partners, and parents are no longer just taking our word for it. They want to see the proof. They want to know how their investment of time and money is making a true difference, not just developing better athletes. It’s time to create a new scoreboard.

From Aspiration to Action: Defining Your Impact

Before you can measure your impact, you have to define it. A powerful discussion is the best place to start. What is the ultimate change you are trying to create? This moves your values from a poster on the wall to the core of your operation. 

For many, the goal is to foster a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment. This isn’t a vague hope; it’s a measurable outcome. As funding bodies like Sask Sport, viaSport, and Sport Manitoba emphasize, a key objective is to increase participation for under-represented groups and ensure everyone reports a greater feeling of belonging. 

Your new scoreboard isn’t about abandoning athletic excellence. It’s about proving you’re achieving a double bottom line: developing great athletes and building a stronger community.

Four Metrics for Your New Scoreboard

So, where do you start? Don't get overwhelmed by complex methodologies. Begin by tracking a few simple, powerful metrics that tell a compelling story.

1. Inclusion and Belonging: The most fundamental measure of success is whether people feel welcome. Are you creating an environment where every participant feels safe, respected, and valued?

• How to Measure It: Use simple, anonymous pre- and post-season surveys (Google Forms is perfect for this). Ask participants to rate statements like, "I feel like I belong at this club," or "I feel safe and respected by my coaches and teammates."
• Why It Matters: This data provides direct evidence that you are creating a positive culture. Tracking your membership demographics against your community’s population also shows if you are truly serving everyone.  

2. Youth Leadership and Skill Development: You’re not just teaching sport-specific skills; you’re building future leaders. This is a powerful and often overlooked area of impact.

• How to Measure It: Track the number of youth athletes who step into leadership roles. How many took a referee or coaching clinic this year? How many teen athletes are "micro-volunteering" at club events? This is a powerful strategy for building your next generation of coaches and board members. 
• Why It Matters: It proves you are providing tangible life skills that extend far beyond the field of play, a key outcome that resonates deeply with parents and community funders.

3. Community Contribution: Your organization is a vital community hub, and the volunteer hours contributed are a massive economic and social benefit. It’s time to quantify it.

• How to Measure It: Use a simple sign-in sheet or app to track volunteer hours for coaches, managers, and board members. At the end of the year, multiply the total hours by the accepted provincial volunteer wage rate.
• Why It Matters: Presenting a six-figure number that represents your "volunteer economic impact" is a stunningly effective way to demonstrate your organization's value to municipal councils and corporate sponsors.

4. Well-being and Connection: Sport has a profound impact on mental and physical health. While you may not be a healthcare provider, you can gather data that points to your positive contribution.

• How to Measure It: In your surveys, include questions about well-being. Ask participants if being part of the club has helped them "feel less stressed," "make new friends," or "feel more connected to their community."
• Why It Matters: In a world facing a youth mental health crisis, demonstrating that your program is part of the solution is arguably the most powerful impact story you can tell. For a deeper dive, resources from the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) offer fantastic insights into the connection between sport and well-being.

Telling Your Story, Proving Your Worth

Measuring your impact is no longer a "nice to have." It is a strategic imperative for any sport organization that wants to thrive.

Imagine your next AGM or meeting with a potential funder. Instead of just presenting registration numbers, you share a single slide that says:

• 92% of our participants report feeling a strong sense of belonging.
• We provided 35 youth athletes with formal leadership training this season.
• Our volunteers contributed over $150,000 in economic value to the community.
• 88% of parents said our club positively impacted their child's mental health.

That is the new scoreboard. That is how you turn your passion into a legacy, proving that your organization is not just delivering sport, but strengthening the very fabric of your community.

Ready to build a strategy that gets results? The work of measuring your impact can feel daunting, but it doesn't have to be. If you're ready to move from aspiration to action, let's chat.

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How does your organization measure success? Share one metric you track that goes beyond wins and losses in the comments below!