Value for Money

Preface

Value is Changing …

Bill and Melinda Gates, cofounders of the world’s largest foundation, dedicated their 2017 annual letter to Warren Buffett. He donated the largest amount of money in the history of the Gates Foundation. In a cordial way, Buffett had asked the Gateses to describe the results of this contribution—essentially, he was asking for the value for money.

In their annual letter, the Gateses began with Buffett’s correspondence to them. They then showed the return on his investment. Essentially, the annual letter was Warren Buffett’s ROI for the roughly $30 billion investment in the Gates Foundation. The letter focused on the impacts of their various grants and initiatives. For one initiative, they actually showed the financial return on investment. This single act of responsibility and accountability portrays what is happening across the public and social sectors. Foundations, nonprofits, governments, nongovernmental organizations, religious institutions, universities, associations, and others are being held to higher levels of accountability than ever before.

Chaplains in hospital settings are being asked to show the value they deliver to healthcare organizations, otherwise, they face a reduction in numbers. The United Methodist Church is stepping up to this challenge by preparing chaplains to show the value of what they do in terms that funders can understand. This often means value for money and, in some cases, the financial ROI.

The president of the University ...