The terms ‘goals’ and ‘objectives’ are often confused by NPO staff members and volunteers. Importantly, these are understood by donors. Therefore, it’s vital that these are clear within the NPO sector, particularly by those applying to companies and donor trusts/foundations for funding.
Well-run organisations’ projects have theories of change (which should have been developed in response to identified problems or crises) – or these should have been ‘retrofitted’ by now. Goals and objectives should have been clearly spelled out when theories of change were written and included in the initial project business plan (which is not a funding proposal!).
Goals for project activities should demonstrate the hope that problems will be addressed these might read:
The goal of this project is to offer homeless children on the streets on the streets of Cape Town: meals, accommodation, appropriate education, and counselling.
Or:
The goal of this project is to ensure that learners in the Langa township, near Cape Town, have access to safe afternoon care, healthy meals, supervised homework and the option of sports coaching or creative artistic activities.
Goals are not planned with a form of scientific measurement. Rather, they are achieved when hopes or dreams are realised.
Conversely, objectives should be specified using SMART. They should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
Objectives for the above examples could be:
The objectives of this project are to decrease the number of homeless children on the streets of Cape Town, who are without support services, by 30% per year, over the next three years: 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2028.
The objectives of this project are to ensure that the current 70% of learners in Langa who have no safe after-school facilities, are subject to negative peer pressure, have no homework supervision, healthy lunch or supervised sports or arts coaching, are reduced to 45% over the next 24 months – 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026 – by opening five safe venues, each accommodating 80 learners, close to schools.
Objectives must be clearly defined (rather than the hopes expressed in goals) and must include percentages of change envisaged, clarify and number those intended to be served, and how the planned activities will happen – by when.
