The following is a cross-post from the International Transparency Solutions Blog:

I had a great conversation last week with Karim Harji, a Kenyan from Mombassa who now lives in Toronto doing social investment. We got on the topic of social investments and metrics vs. storytelling. Karim made the point that the nonprofit sector has relied heavily on storytelling as a means to advance their cause and raise funds. This morning I was reading this blog post, “Stories Can Change the World”, where the author writes, “Storytelling is the most important tool for any innovator. It is the best way to create emotional connections to your ideas and innovations.”

But the problem I see often in the nonprofit world, and to a degree in the social enterprise world, is that “emotional connections” are used to detract attention from important metrics such as Social Return on Investment (SROI), Real Return on Investment (ROI), and overall program effectiveness. Stories don’t tell you overhead costs or administrative salaries. They don’t tell you the associated costs (social, environmental, and financial).

So do we give our money to the best storytellers, or the most effective programs?

I think it’s obvious there needs to be a balance of both. While stories can elicit emotional connections and brand evangelism, storytelling needs to be authenticated and supported by some kind of standardized metrics system. This actually goes to the root of the discussions I’ve had on my blog about B-Corporations and Cause Marketing (Part 2). Authenticity matters!

This is one of the goals we’re trying to accomplish at International Transparency Solutions. We’re working towards creating a globally accepted set of “Standards of Transparency and Accountability.” Similar to programs in the US like Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator, we’re creating a certification program that will span worldwide bringing “global credibility to the local level.”

We need your help, though! Our Standards of Transparency and Accountability have been published on our blog. They were built off of standards put forth by the Better Business Bureau, and we want to vet them through you! You can leave comments and suggestions and we will evaluate and integrate them into the document. Please help us by spreading the word about this to your friends and colleagues. Let’s generate some great discussion around this!