Ronald McDonald House Charities: Social Return on Investment

Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia (RMHC) is a national charity that supports seriously ill children and their families. When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, it impacts the whole family. Lives can be turned upside down. That’s why RMHC provide a range of programs to help families stay together and close to the care they need. Through programs including Ronald McDonald Houses, Family Rooms, Family Retreats, and the Learning Program, RMHC is able to help 60,000 families every year.

Our impact

RMHC’s mission is to support the ever-changing needs of seriously ill children and their families. This report reveals the impact of the multiple ways in which the organisation seeks to fulfil this mission. After looking at the total contribution from supporters and partners, the report found for every $1 invested, RMHC is able to deliver $3.60 of social and economic value to society.

Vision and objectives

RMHC Australia commissioned SVA Consulting to undertake an evaluation of its programs, using a Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, to determine the socio-economic returns for all stakeholders. SVA was to conduct an independent evaluation of RMHC’s four flagship programs and to attribute value to the impact of these programs for the community, healthcare and education systems.

Role we played

In conjunction with RMHC, SVA Consulting:

• Calculated SROI ratios for each program and developed individual SROI reports, in addition to a consolidated report articulating the overarching impact RMHC has through its programs.
• Devised an approach to ethics approval and a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy
• Developed interview guides, surveys, data collection plan, consent forms and ethics approval applications
• Worked with RMHC to refine its theory of change for each program. The theory of change articulated and defined outcomes that RMHC was seeking to achieve and mapped how the various programs were contributing to these outcomes.
• Developed SROI impact maps for each program and used extensive data from surveys and interviews to estimate the extent to which outcomes could be attributed to RMHC

This report is an important moment for RMHC. It allows us to step back and understand the many ways in which our work impacts the lives of families, and the health and education systems. I continue to be touched by the scale of the impact that RMHC has on families. This is only possible through the ongoing efforts of thousands of people: families; volunteers; our staff; hospital and allied health staff; and our corporate partners.” Barbara Ryan • CEO (RMHC Australia)