Posted in NewsNotes Archive
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Power in Numbers: Learning
The practice of program evaluation has always been shaped by the demands of its many stakeholders, including nonprofit organizations, their clients, community members, and evaluators themselves. Nonprofits often are at the tail-end of the whip, with demands from funders driving evaluation methods and practices. Through their control of resources, funders have determined many of the goals, uses, and methodologies of evaluation. However, there are ways to both satisfy funders’ needs and to make evaluation useful for nonprofits.
To begin, a bit of background on the forces that have shaped funders' evaluation needs is helpful. At the federal level, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) required government agencies to specify measurable results of their work. As a result of GPRA, evaluations of federal programs were designed to meet the new accountabilityrequirements. The language of GPRA promoted use of logic models, and interest in logic models on the part of the evaluation community increased correspondingly. In the foundation world, a series of articles by The Boston Globe in 2003 and congressional attention to the nonprofit status of foundations led to foundations becoming focused on demonstrating results. For nonprofits, these forces have translated into increasing demands for outcome measurement, which can feel like a bureaucratic exercise. However, nonprofit leaders who look at this pressure to provide data as a gift are the most likely to be successful. The keys are using the right evaluation methods and then using the data for the nonprofit’s own learning and improvement. For organizations whose work includes efforts to reform systems, standard evaluation methods miss many of the important types of outcomes. Systems change outcomes – changes in relationships, resource allocations, policy, etc. – are important to measure and report. In recent years, new evaluation approaches based on systems thinking tools that can help assess these types of outcomes have been developed. Appreciative inquiry, systems dynamics modeling, social network mapping and action-to-outcome mapping are a few of these new tools. (The American Evaluation Association website (www.eval.org) has a library with many helpful resources on evaluation methods.) The learning cycle -- sometimes described as “plan-do-check-act cycle” –- is a useful framework for how to use data collected (by whatever method) for improvement. The logic is simple: plan your program, carry it out, check to see if expected results were achieved and act on what you learned by revising the program. In practice, making the time to reflect on the data – the “act” part of the cycle – often gets short shrift in the drive to collect ever larger amounts of data. As nonprofit leaders, being aware of your funders’ needs -- and constraints -- about data and its use is a helpful first step in the evaluation process. If you are fortunate, you have a program officer with whom you can have this discussion explicitly so that you understand how the funder will use the data. (Helping your funder meet their obligations is always a good strategy!) However, choosing methods that meet your own data and learning needs is just as important. Being able to use the data to inform practice – of both the funders and the nonprofits – is the real power of evaluation. Dr. Behrens is DIrector of Special Projects, Johnson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University. |
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Convergence 2011: What's Art Got To Do With It?
Tuesday, September 20, 11:45am - 5:30pm
Convergence is Washtenaw County's annual gathering and knowledge swap for the creative, cultural, and artistic community. Includes lunch, snacks, keynote speech, 2x breakout sessions, and an expert panel, followed by continued evening networking. More information and registration.
The Southeast Michigan Volunteer Collaborative created the "Serve the D" survey to gain information and stories of service from people who volunteer across Metro Detroit. To make it easier to get involved in your community and help organizations be more effective at utilizing resources please take the survey! The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation has announced their Fall Grants Cycle for nonprofits serving the Washtenaw County area. There are six different grant programs, including a Coordinated Funding initiative that is a collaboration with the United Way of Washtenaw County and the Office of Community and Economic Development.
The application deadline is Tuesday, September 27 at midnight. Visit the foundation's website to learn more. Gain insight to the changing political climate in Michigan and learn how to lend your voice to strengthen the nonprofit sector. Breakout sessions, lunch, panel discussions and networking opportunities make this a valuable day. More information and registration. Please register by Monday, September 26. Stay for a tour of the capitol building at 3:45 pm -- you’ll be glad you did. Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) Minigrants
Applications are due October 3 for the MCACA minigrant 2012 program. This is for projects beginning January 1 through September 30, 2012. Detroit area arts organizations can find more information at this link. Washtenaw County Arts Alliance members look here for more information. Guidelines and links that include other parts of the state can be found here. This is NEW's networking event in Detroit for nonprofit organizations in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties. Community members interested in serving on boards or committees can to meet staff members and current board members and the connections begin. The format is like speed dating:
After the event, NEW facilitates contacts between organizations and individuals based on a rating sheet we collect at the end of the evening. A cross-section of arts and culture, human service, environmental, educational and animal welfare groups will be chosen to participate. There will be a selection process to make sure we have a good cross-section of organizations at the event. Organizations interested in participating should contact Dan Robin This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (313-887-7788 x300) to discuss the selection process and how your organization might fit into the event. Individuals are invited to register for just $5 online.
This hands-on workshop will present an overview of online resources that can assist you in getting operating and programmatic grants for your nonprofit. These resources (available freely to the public at any University Library building) list and describe thousands of current funding opportunities. Karen Downing, the Foundations and Grants Librarian at the University of Michigan will discuss and demonstrate the various web-based funding databases currently available. She will illustrate search strategies, and you will have time to look for funding for your organization. Additionally, there will be discussion about matching sponsor and nonprofit priorities, and resources to help with proposal writing.
Board Chair 101
Charting Impact 101 Webinar First, learn a bit about Charting Impact, a new initiative of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, GuideStar USA and Independent Sector that aims to clarify for the public and donors what nonprofits want to achieve and what they have already accomplished. Then register for this free step-by-step webinar. You’ll learn how to create a successful Charting Impact Report, navigate the Charting Impact website, and explore how your organization can structure a thoughtful process for answering the five deceptively simple questions. More information.
You Got a Grant! --- Now What? Webinar
Get Connected: Best Practices for Measuring Social Impact
Grant Writing Part 2: Developing Competitive Grant Proposals
Grantwriting USA’s Grant Writing Class
Principles and Techniques of Fundraising
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