{"id":10777,"date":"2016-05-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pro-migration.local\/blog\/soft-roi-hard-roi-why-assess-both\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T11:31:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:31:46","slug":"soft-roi-hard-roi-why-assess-both","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gofundme.to\/__proxy\/pro.gofundme.com\/c\/blog\/soft-roi-hard-roi-why-assess-both\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft ROI and Hard ROI: Why You Should Assess Both"},"content":{"rendered":"

Typically, when nonprofits think of a return on an investment (ROI), they think of a quantifiable impact on their fundraising, such as dollars raised for their cause or number of supporters acquired. But you can also generate positive ROI through \u201csofter\u201d indicators that may not have an immediate impact on financial targets, such as increased brand awareness, brand affinity, and engagement. While they\u2019re not measured in dollars, these metrics are often indirectly connected to a positive financial return down the line, and thus considered important for holistic, long-term success.<\/p>\n

To help you track the right indicators and improve your organization\u2019s overall health and growth, we break down the difference between hard ROI and soft ROI, the importance of balancing both, and a few examples of soft ROI metrics that are worth your attention.<\/p>\n

Hard ROI<\/h2>\n

As a reminder, ROI is a profitability ratio that can be calculated for your overall organization by looking at your gains and expenses cumulatively, or on a per investment\/initiative\/project basis.<\/p>\n

ROI = ((gain \u2013 cost)\/cost) * 100 <\/em><\/p>\n

Hard ROI<\/a> refers to measurements that tend to be easy to quantify and can contribute to your organization\u2019s success. Examples include:<\/p>\n