A recently released study from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) found that the majority of nonprofits want to be able to measure the success of their efforts and their effectiveness within communities. The fact that 81 percent of nonprofit leaders expressed a desire to measure performance counters a common perception that these organizations were not interested in gauging their performance in this way.

Foundations and donors are still recovering from the economic recession, which led to a drop in philanthropic giving. This has caused many to adjust their giving strategies, choosing to support programs that were able to demonstrate fact-based results.

"Nonprofits are routinely castigated for their unwillingness to make a hard-nosed assessment of their impact," said CEP president Phil Buchanan. "But when we actually stop and listen to nonprofits a very different picture emerges. The 177 nonprofit leaders we surveyed overwhelmingly care about measuring their impact."

However, more than 60 percent said they would benefit from additional help from their funders to put the proper tools for measurement in place. Nonprofits that want greater insight into their fundraising campaigns and programs can use fund accounting programs to audit their efforts and generate reports for stakeholders.