White Papers for Nonprofits

How are you ever going to hit the mark if you don’t even know where the target is? This is the most important reason why needs assessments are critical to nonprofits: to identify the actual needs that your target audience has and not your perceived ideas about the target audience’s needs. Organizations can only make the most effective, appropriate, and timely programs and services by understanding actual needs, existing assets, and the system currently in play. In this way, needs assessments are critical to decision-making.

But what does a needs assessment tell you? What are its characteristics? How can it be used? What does the process look like?

Check out this whitepaper to answer those questions (and be sure to review the sources for more information as well).

Writing an evaluation plan doesn’t have to be burdensome. You simply need to be systematic about it. Putting in the time upfront to detail appropriate processes, questions/statements, etc. will make this step far more fluid. In this step, you need to document the how; this step is literally plugging information into boxes. But what goes into it? What does it look like? This whitepaper summarizes the various elements, focusing on the data collection piece. It also provides an example and a template idea.

Read this whitepaper (and check out the sources page)…

Effective program evaluations start with asking the right questions. Knowing exactly what you need to evaluate will make the rest of the decisions far more clear. Most funders are concerned with nonprofits reporting outcomes, things related to shifts in knowledge, attitudinal, skills, aspirations, behaviors, and community impact that can be attributed to the participant’s involvement in the program.

Because the majority of program evaluations for nonprofits revolve around outcomes, this whitepaper focuses on outcome-based evaluations. It offers insight into writing outcome statements, selecting performance indicators for measuring success, and key resources to help with both. Read this whitepaper (and check out the sources page)…

Good intentions, wishful thinking, and random testimonies simply do not cut it any more. Social and public sectors are increasingly moving funds and resources towards evidence-based efforts, and this means nonprofits must demonstrate (verify) their mission efficacy. In other words, nonprofits must show that their programs are working). Program evaluations cannot be seen as a one-off occurrence, but must be integrated into the life of the program.

Regardless of size and budget, there are always incremental moves that nonprofits can make towards performance improvement. This whitepaper offers insight into whether you are ready to begin evaluation efforts, the type of evaluation you may need, descriptions of the process, and where to get started. Read this whitepaper (and check out the sources page)…

The fear of low performance most likely keeps a great many nonprofits from diving into evaluations. It’s easier to leave your proverbial head in the sand than to face the reality that things aren’t working and risk losing funding. The thing about foundations and high-end donors is this: they believe in the work that you do and want to see you and your mission succeed. Finding out that your programs are failing presents you with the opportunity for improvement, and this is actually GOOD news. Donors value transparency and accountability, so making the hard decisions that bring you back to the table will more often than not keep your funders on your side.

But what goes into course correction? This whitepaper focuses on the process of improvement and offers a step-by-step reflection plan.

Read this whitepaper (and check out the sources page)…

Knowing where your program is intended on going and how it plans to get there is a crucial part of both program planning and evaluation. We call these road maps logic models. Having a plan in place safeguards against mission drift, ensuring that outcomes align with your agency’s mission. Increasingly, they are becoming a requirement for funding – especially for large grants.

But what goes into it? Where do you start? How do you read it? This whitepaper summarizes the various elements, explains why they are done, and offers recommendations on how and where to get started.

Read this whitepaper (and check out the sources page)…