Get your counts right to get funded
Why You CareÂ
Duplicated and unduplicated counts offer valuable insights into an organization's reach and services.
However, funders often require unduplicated counts.  They show the unique number of individuals served or outcomes achieved, so it's important to understand this concept and get it right.
What you Must Know
Defining Duplicated and Unduplicated Counts
Duplicated Count: The total number of units served, including repeat services to the same unit.
Unduplicated Count: The number of unique units served. Each unit is counted only once, regardless of how many times it received services.Â
If your organization serves people, then those "units" are often people.
Learning Duplicated and Unduplicated Counts by Example
Shelter Example
A shelter provided 22 bed-nights over five days. Sixteen (16) different individuals used the shelter. Five (5) individuals stayed multiple nights.
Unduplicated count of individuals served: 16. The unduplicated count includes only "unique" units served, and we have 16 different individuals.
Duplicated count of individuals served: 22. The duplicated count is the total number of units served, and it's ok to count the same unit more than once.
Multi-Program Organizations Example
Organizations with multiple programs must use care when reporting total individuals served. Imagine a nonprofit that offers job training and financial literacy programs.
Duplicated Count: We count the person twice in our "total individuals served" report
Unduplicated Count: We count the person once in our "total individuals served" report because we only count each unique "unit" (a person) one time.
Key Differences Between Duplicated and Unduplicated Counts
Duplicated Count:
Represents the total number of units served, including repeat services to the same unit.
Focuses on the overall volume of services provided.
Useful for internal tracking and understanding total activity.
Example: count a person enrolled in 2 programs twice when reporting total duplicated individuals served.
Unduplicated Count:
Represents the number of unique units served, counting each unit only once.
Focuses on the number of distinct individuals or entities reached.
Essential for reporting to funders and demonstrating true reach.
Example: count a person enrolled in 2 programs only once when reporting total unduplicated individuals served.
Dive Deeper into Duplicated and Unduplicated Counts
Learn more! Here are some other posts on this topic.
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Founder, CountBubble, LLC