Kate Williams-Whitley, Cofounder of EIG Insights, on Measuring Physical and Spiritual Impact in Giving (Ep. 139)

The Finish Line Podcast

Kate Williams-Whitley is the cofounder and Chief Impact Officer of EIG Insights. Early in her career, several pivotal experiences led Kate to realize the need for data in the nonprofit space to help leaders steward their decisions and finances well. Now through EIG Insights, Kate provides customized consulting services for nonprofits, helping them to identify their core theory of change and ensure that they are measuring the correct metrics to understand their physical and spiritual impacts.

Kate is brimming with helpful wisdom for nonprofits and givers alike on how to know they’re making a tangible and lasting difference with their efforts and generosity.

Major Topics Include:

• Kate’s faith and professional background
• How a family legacy of generosity and a trip to Malawi shaped her career
• The story of EIG Insights
• The complexity of impact evaluation
• Kate’s process of helping nonprofits develop a theory of change
• Measuring spiritual development
• The gift of impact data
• Thinking though impact as a giver
• Considering cost effectiveness in interventions
• Advice for givers on choosing the causes that matter most to them

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

• “What do I do well, what does the world need, and how can I merge those in way that shows the Kingdom of God on Earth?”
• “When we try to implement a solution internationally that sounds smart from our Western ideal or outsider view, it generally doesn’t go well.”
• “Something that works in one community isn’t guaranteed to work in another community at the same time because people are complex. But there are many ways to study and see if it’s working or not.”
• “I’m in this to help change lives and improve the overall human condition, and I think the most strategic way to do that is good data.”
• “Anything that you can define well can be measured.”
• “I think impact data is the biggest gift you could give to a leadership team.”
• “For a nonprofit to work well, you need a fully aligned theory of change, a program model that makes sense, and data to know if it’s actually happening the way that you think it is.”
• “We shouldn’t be scared of measuring what God does.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

• EIG Insights
• Excellence in Giving (see our interview with founder Al Mueller)
• Compassion International
• Accord Research Network
• All Access Podcast
• All Access International (see our interview with founder, Lane Kipp)
• Dovetail Impact Foundation
• The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
• The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

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