Most corporate-nonprofit partnerships start with shared enthusiasm, but not all of them last. What separates partnerships that stall from ones that deepen often comes down to measurement: how impact is defined in early conversations, who informs that definition (the funder vs. those you are serving), and whether both sides trust that the data reflects real outcomes, not just visible activity.

This session explores how engaging community voices early, before strategies and metrics are finalized, leads to stronger and more credible impact measurement. Drawing on Active Minds' experience centering youth voice in program design and measurement, Public Inc.'s work helping brands connect purpose to strategy, and AMEX Global Business Travel/The Hartford's perspective as a corporate partner, speakers will share how community-informed measurement builds trust, strengthens alignment, and helps nonprofits bring partners along on the journey of why they measure what they do in order to drive long-term investment.

Attendees will leave with practical strategies to:

• Define impact before defining metrics
• Align measurement expectations across partners early
• Communicate measurement limitations without losing credibility
• Ground impact goals in lived experience to avoid misaligned or performative outcomes, and likewise, use community-informed design as a signal of credibility, trust, and long-term alignment