Christian school relevance has many dimensions. At its heart is the value a school provides for all those it touches. In our society we often think of value as being limited to the economic benefit something or someone provides. That is a reasonable first reaction since our for-profit activities usually dominate our conversations, news, and decisions. However, one of the reasons nonprofit schools exist is to bring value to our communities in ways that for-profit, public schools, and government agencies fail to. Therefore, it makes sense for us to take a moment and think about all of the ways a nonprofit school could provide value for its community.
There are six dimensions of value. Few Christian schools are able to add value to their communities in all areas. In addition, schools need to do more to communicate the value they do provide. When they do talk about their value, they usually talk about the school’s immediate value (academic achievement) and spiritual development. They neglect to mention intermediate or long-term (durable) value (how lives are changed beyond spiritual growth). It is the durable value that is most compelling when trying to attract support. Durable value also contributes the most to a school’s sustainability.
In each of the following area, how does your school create value that your community will recognize and appreciate?
Community – How does your school contribute to the wellbeing of your community? Examples: Public safety, reduce crime and violence, ecology, beautification, accessibility, and recreation.
Emotional – How does your school contributes to your community’s emotional health? Examples: Increased pride in the community, greater peace, increased optimism, and more harmonious relations between groups.
Financial – How does your school increase the financial well-being of your community? Examples: Increase employment, stable employment, and more self-sufficient families.
Health – How does your school improve the health of your community’s residents? Examples: Health and fitness services, recycling, and better nutrition.
Intellectual – How does your school improve the intellectual development of your community’s residents? Examples: Increase high school graduation, develop a love of learning, increase curiosity, engage multiple generations in problem solving, and keep citizens informed about issues.
Spiritual – How does your school improve the spiritual health of your community? Examples: Faith development, love shared, increase mercy, greater charity, and provide hope.
The value your school creates occurs in two ways. One is through your student services. The other is as collateral benefits of your services (how your students impact their families and the other lives they touch). Both can be measured. The value of each should be reported to your community and supporters. Whether you report the value as an aggregate or as components depends on your audience.
Next Step:
Identify the unheralded value of your school
Survey your supporters to determine which of your unheralded values are most important to them and how they would like you to report your value
Determine how to increase your school’s value and the durability of its value
One of the dominant themes in management is to be results driven. Mission Enablers agrees that being results driven is important. In addition, we feel that the value to the community is more important than the results themselves. For example, empowering students to explore new ideas is a good result. Helping them use what they learned to develop solutions to problems that affect others creates significantly more value. The increase in value raises support and sustainability. The increase in value also reinforces the relevance of your mission and attracts more students, donors, high-quality board members, and other supporters.
Take It Further:
Look for programing changes that can extend the value of your school without diluting or redefining your mission
