1. Reach: unduplicated youth served
Count each young person once, no matter how many sessions they attended. Unduplicated counts are more honest than total visits and are what most funders mean by youth served. Break it down by age, site, and program where you can.
2. Participation: average daily attendance
Average daily attendance shows how many young people are actually present on a typical day, compared with how many enrolled. It is one of the clearest signals of engagement.
3. Dosage: hours of programming received
Dosage measures how much of the program each young person actually experienced. Reporting the share of participants who reached a meaningful threshold of hours connects participation to outcomes.
4. Retention across the program cycle
What share of youth who started the season were still attending at the end? Retention reflects relationships, fit, and family support — and it is difficult to improve without knowing it.
5. Progress on the outcomes you promised
Tie results back to the goals in your proposal: skill assessments, surveys on confidence or belonging, grades, completion, or milestones. Be specific about how you measured, and report honestly when results are mixed. Credibility is what earns multi-year support.
Collect it as you go
Every one of these metrics depends on attendance and participant data captured consistently throughout the year. Programs that record it at the door can build a report in an afternoon instead of reconstructing it from paper sign-in sheets.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions.
Sources
GO FURTHER