The ROI Question: How to Prove Your Program's Value to Funders

I was in a funder meeting last month with a program director who was sweating bullets.

Her corporate sponsor had just asked: "What's the ROI on this program? How do we know it's worth the investment?"

She froze.

Then she started rattling off metrics: "We ran two cohorts, supported 30 startups, hosted 15 workshops, connected founders to 50+ mentors..."

The sponsor cut her off.

"I didn't ask what you did. I asked what value you created. Did those startups succeed? Did we get anything out of this? Should we keep funding you?"

Silence.

See, here's the thing about the ROI question: most program managers hate it because they don't have a good answer.

They can tell you what they did (activities). They can tell you what happened (outputs). But they struggle to connect those dots to actual value—for founders, for the ecosystem, and for the funders who are writing the checks.

And when funders don't see clear value, funding dries up.

So let me show you how to answer the ROI question in a way that's honest, evidence-based, and actually convincing.

Why the ROI Question Is So Hard

Before we get into solutions, let's acknowledge why this question is brutal.

1. Different stakeholders want different ROI

   Your corporate sponsor cares about innovation pipeline and brand association.

   Your government funder cares about economic impact (jobs created, tax revenue, regional growth).
   

   Your foundation funder cares about social impact (serving underrepresented founders, driving systemic change).
   

   And your founders? They care about building sustainable businesses.
   

   These aren't the same ROI. And you can't optimize for all of them at once.
   

2. Attribution is messy

   Did your program cause that founder's success, or would they have succeeded anyway?
   

   If a founder raises $2M six months after your program, how much of that is because of your mentorship, your investor intros, your curriculum—and how much is just the founder's hustle and market timing?
   

   Isolating program impact from external factors is nearly impossible.
   

3. Timelines don't match expectations

   Most funders want to see ROI within 12-18 months. But real startup outcomes take 3-5 years (or longer).
   

   If you're measuring success at demo day, you're measuring way too early. But if you wait five years to report impact, your funding will have dried up by then.
   

4. The metrics funders care about aren't always the metrics that matter

   Funders love big numbers: "30 startups supported! $10M raised! 100 jobs created!"
   

   But those numbers don't tell you whether founders built sustainable businesses, whether your program actually helped, or whether the impact will last.
   

   So you're stuck choosing between impressive-sounding vanity metrics and honest outcome-based metrics that are harder to sell.
   

The Framework:

Proving Value to Different Stakeholder Types

Alright, so how do you actually prove ROI?

First, you need to understand who you're proving it to and what kind of value they care about.

Here's how to build ROI cases for four common funder types:

Funder Type 1: Corporate Sponsors

What they care about:

• Brand association and reputation ("We support innovation")

• Deal flow and pipeline (access to startups for potential partnerships, acquisitions, or pilots)

• Talent pipeline (recruiting founders or employees from your cohort)

• Innovation insights (understanding market trends, emerging tech)

ROI metrics that resonate:

• Number of pilot programs or partnerships between startups and the sponsor

• Number of startups that became customers, vendors, or acquisition targets

• Media mentions and brand visibility (sponsor featured in press, events, etc.)

• Talent acquisition (founders or employees hired by sponsor)

How to report it:

Bad: "We ran two cohorts and supported 30 startups."

Good: "15 of our startups piloted technology with your business units, resulting in 3 vendor relationships worth $500K in annual spend. Your brand was featured in 20+ media mentions as an innovation leader. And you interviewed 5 founders from our cohort for open roles."

Why this works: You're showing tangible business value—not just "we did stuff." The sponsor can see what they got for their money.

Funder Type 2: Government / Economic Development

What they care about:

• Job creation (direct and indirect)

• Economic impact (tax revenue, GDP contribution, regional growth)

• Ecosystem development (building a thriving startup community)

• Serving target populations (underrepresented founders, distressed regions)

ROI metrics that resonate:

• Jobs created (founders + employees hired)

• Capital raised (often multiplied as "leveraged capital"—every $1 invested generates $10+ in follow-on funding)

• Revenue generated (collective revenue of cohort startups)

• Geographic retention (what percentage of startups stayed in the region?)

How to report it:

Bad: "We supported 30 startups."

Good: "Our program invested $500K and generated $12M in follow-on funding (24x leverage). Startups created 85 jobs in the region, generated $3M in collective revenue, and contributed an estimated $450K in annual tax revenue. 80% of founders stayed in-state post-program."

Why this works: You're speaking their language—economic multipliers, job creation, regional impact. This is the ROI they need to justify continued funding.

Funder Type 3: Foundations / Philanthropic Funders

What they care about:

• Mission alignment (Are you serving the populations they care about?)

• Social impact (systemic change, equity, access)

• Long-term sustainability (Are you building something that will outlast their grant?)

• Lessons learned (What can be replicated or scaled?)

ROI metrics that resonate:

• Demographics served (% underrepresented founders, first-time entrepreneurs, etc.)

• Barriers removed (access to capital, networks, expertise)

• Long-term outcomes for target populations (survival rates, revenue growth)

• Replicability (Can this model be adopted by others?)

How to report it:

Bad: "We supported 30 startups."

Good: "75% of our cohort identified as underrepresented founders (women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+). We provided access to $8M in capital that these founders wouldn't have reached otherwise. 12 months post-program, 70% are still operating—compared to a 50% industry average. Our playbook has been adopted by 3 other programs in underserved regions."

Why this works: You're showing mission-driven impact and systemic change—not just outputs. Foundations want to fund programs that move the needle.

Funder Type 4: Venture Capital / Investor Funds

What they care about:

• Deal flow (access to high-quality startups)

• Investment returns (if they take equity)

• Portfolio support (are your startups succeeding post-investment?)

• Market intelligence (seeing emerging trends early)

ROI metrics that resonate:

• Investment opportunities surfaced (how many startups did they meet?)

• Deals closed (how many did they invest in?)

• Portfolio performance (how are those investments doing?)

• Time saved (did you pre-vet startups, saving them diligence time?)

How to report it:

Bad: "We ran two cohorts."

Good: "You met 30 startups from our cohort, invested in 5, and passed on 25 (saving ~200 hours of diligence time). Of the 5 you invested in, 4 are still operating with strong traction, and 1 has already returned 3x. Our pre-vetting process increased your hit rate from 10% to 20%."

Why this works: You're showing clear financial value—better deal flow, higher quality, time saved, strong returns. This is ROI they can calculate.

The 5-Part ROI Reporting Framework

No matter which funder type you're dealing with, here's the structure I recommend for ROI reports:

Part 1: Investment Summary

What you report:

• Total funding received

• How funds were allocated (team, operations, founder support, etc.)

• Cost per startup supported

Example: "In 2025, [Funder] invested $500K in our program. This supported 2 cohorts (30 startups), including $300K in direct founder support, $150K in team costs, and $50K in operations. Cost per startup: $16,667."

Why this matters: Funders need to see how their money was spent before you can prove ROI.

Part 2: Program Activities (What You Did)

What you report:

• Cohort size and composition

• Key program components (curriculum, mentorship, events)

• Engagement metrics (attendance, participation)

Example: "We ran 2 cohorts (30 startups), delivered 40 workshops, facilitated 200+ mentor sessions, hosted demo day with 150 investors, and provided 1:1 coaching to every founder."

Why this matters: Funders want to see you executed the program. But don't stop here—this is outputs, not outcomes.

Part 3: Founder Outcomes (What Changed)

What you report:

• Follow-on funding raised (with context: amount, source, stage)

• Revenue traction (MRR/ARR, growth rates)

• Jobs created (founders + employees hired)

• 12-month survival rate

• Founder capability development (pre/post assessments)

Example: "12 months post-program, 70% of startups are still operating. They've raised $8M in follow-on funding (60% from institutional investors), generated $2M in collective revenue, and hired 45 employees. Founders report 80% improvement in key capabilities (customer discovery, go-to-market, financial modeling)."

Why this matters: This is the core of your ROI case—proof that founders are succeeding because of your program.

Part 4: Stakeholder Value

(What the Funder Got)

What you report (tailored to funder type):

• Corporate: Pilots, partnerships, brand visibility, talent pipeline

• Government: Jobs, tax revenue, capital leverage, regional retention

• Foundation: Mission alignment, equity outcomes, systemic change

• Investor: Deal flow, investments made, portfolio performance

Example (for corporate sponsor): "Your investment generated: 8 pilot programs with your business units, 2 vendor relationships, 30+ media mentions featuring your brand, and 3 founder hires into your organization."

Why this matters: You're showing what the funder got out of this—not just what founders achieved.

Part 5: Future Outlook and Recommendations

What you report:

• What's working (double down on this)

• What's not working (and how you'll fix it)

• What you need to scale or sustain impact

Example: "Our mentorship model is driving strong founder outcomes (80% satisfaction, measurable capability growth). However, our investor intro process needs improvement—only 30% of intros converted to meetings. Next year, we'll focus on higher-quality investor curation and better founder prep. To sustain this impact, we're requesting $600K for 2026."

Why this matters: Funders want to see you're learning, iterating, and planning for sustainability—not just asking for money on autopilot.

Common ROI Reporting Mistakes

Before you draft your next funder report, watch out for these traps:

Mistake 1: Only reporting vanity metrics

"We supported 50 startups!" sounds impressive until the funder asks, "How many are still operating?"

Always pair activity metrics with outcome metrics.

Mistake 2: Claiming credit for everything

If a founder raises $5M from a VC they already knew before your program, don't claim full credit. Be honest about attribution.

Mistake 3: Ignoring failures

If 30% of your cohort shut down, don't hide it. Report it, explain why (market conditions? founder fit? program gaps?), and show what you're doing differently.

Mistake 4: Using jargon and buzzwords

"We catalyzed ecosystem synergies to drive innovation velocity" means nothing. Use plain language and concrete numbers.

Mistake 5: Waiting until renewal time to report

Don't go silent for 12 months and then show up asking for more money. Report quarterly or bi-annually so funders see ongoing progress.

How to Build Your ROI Case

(Step-by-Step)

Alright, so you're sold on the need for ROI reporting. How do you actually build this?

Step 1: Clarify what your funder cares about

Have an honest conversation (or send a survey): "What does success look like to you? What metrics matter most?"

Don't guess. Ask.

Step 2: Set up tracking systems

You can't prove ROI if you're not tracking the right data.

Set up:

• Founder tracking (funding, revenue, team size, survival)

• Engagement tracking (attendance, mentor sessions, capability assessments)

• Stakeholder value tracking (partnerships, hires, media mentions)

Do this before the program starts, not after.

Step 3: Collect data consistently

Quarterly check-ins with founders. Post-program surveys. Annual deep dives.

Make it easy for founders to share data (short surveys, incentivize with value exchange).

Step 4: Build your ROI narrative

Don't just dump data on funders. Tell a story:

• Context: What problem were we solving?

• Investment: What did you fund?

• Activities: What did we do?

• Outcomes: What changed for founders?

• Value: What did you (the funder) get out of this?

• Future: What's next?

Step 5: Report regularly and honestly

Quarterly updates keep funders engaged. Annual deep dives prove long-term impact.

And if something's not working? Say so. Funders respect honesty and iteration.

The Bottom Line

The ROI question isn't going away.

If you can't prove your program's value, funders will find programs that can.

But here's the good news: proving ROI isn't about spinning numbers or exaggerating impact. It's about tracking the right metrics, understanding what your funders care about, and reporting honestly on what's working and what's not.

Different funders care about different things. Corporate sponsors want pilots and brand visibility. Government funders want jobs and economic impact. Foundations want mission-driven outcomes. Investors want deal flow and returns.

Tailor your ROI case to the funder. Track the metrics that matter to them. Report regularly and transparently.

And if you do that, the ROI question stops being something you dread and becomes an opportunity to prove—clearly, confidently, and convincingly—that your program is worth every dollar.

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Need help building your ROI case? I've created an ROI Reporting Framework with customizable templates for corporate, government, foundation, and investor funders—plus a data collection system and sample reports. Download it here.

You might also find the Stakeholder Value Tracker useful—it's a simple tool for tracking the specific value your program creates for each funder type. Grab it here.

This post is part of a series on program design and operations for accelerators, incubators, and startup studios. If you found this useful, you might also like: "The Program Goals Trap," "Measuring What Matters," and "Beyond Demo Day: Setting Post-Program Success Metrics."