Monday Muscle: What are the real needs?

The weekly tip/tool/inspiration to start your week strong

When you begin planning a social cause or a project to benefit the community, it is important to do your homework. How do you know if the community will respond well to your project? Do you actually know the root cause of the problem you’re trying to solve?

We call this conducting “needs assessments”. A needs assessment ensures that you’re addressing the real needs of the community, rather than the perceived needs. Why is it important?

• Building a program or service that isn’t needed or wanted is a waste of time & money
• Helps keep the focus on the needs of those being served, not just on what you want to do
• Can provide more insights that an outsider would miss
• Helps test assumptions and reduces the risk of doing more harm than good

This worksheet by Top Nonprofits gives you some ideas to help get you started on assessing the needs of the area or population being served.