Best Practices - Evaluation
The California Wellness Foundation: Reflection on Evaluating Our Grants
The California Wellness Foundation
This report summarizes TCWF's evaluation experiences as they shifted from proactive grantmaking to grantmaking in response to unsolicited letters of interest and allowing them to change their evaluating structure.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
This handbook discusses the importance of program evaluation and lays out a framework for organizations to integrate evaluation into their projects. The handbook outlines a summary of evaluation, levels of evaluation, a blueprint for conducting project-level evaluation and steps toward planning and implementing project-level evaluation.
Using Evaluation to Improve Grantmaking: What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Grantor
The Colorado Trust
Foundations can use evaluation as a tool for communicating effective grantmaking strategies, conducting cost-effective analyses, demonstrating stewardship and ensuring accountability. The report includes principals for effective grantee-focused and foundation-focused evaluation.
What's the Difference? How Foundation Trustees View Evaluation
FSG Social Impact Advisors
FSG interviewed dozens of foundation trustees, CEOs and evaluation experts to uncover critical issues and exciting ideas related to evaluation. This “toolkit” shares highlights from these interviews, and explores innovative new approaches. The toolkit is intended to help trustees and foundations engage in evaluation to help better plan work, improve implementation, and track progress toward goals.
From Insight to Action: New Directions in Foundation Evaluation
Foundation Strategy Group
Prepared after a year of research and nearly 100 interviews with foundation leaders and evaluation experts, this report identifies a fundamental transition in the way foundations use evaluation
The Foundation Performance Dashboard - Vital Statistics for Social Impact
Foundation Strategy Group
This newsletter highlights the foundation performance dashboard which can help foundations develop clear, concise, cost-effective, and integrated pictures of foundation performance.
Making Measures Work for You: Outcomes and Evaluation
GrantCraft
This report examines tensions that drive the debate about outcomes measurement, as well as common questions about its potential risks and rewards.
The Strong Field Framework: A Guide and Toolkit for Funders and Nonprofits Committed to Large-Scale Impact
The Bridgespan Group
This report was designed to help foundations and nonprofits assess the strengths and needs in fields they seek to build and prioritize their investments in field-building efforts. Funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the report includes information on how to get started, how to develop a research agenda and how to gather and analyze results. The report also contains a case study on Irvine's "multiple pathways" approach to field assessment.
Measuring and/or Estimating Social Value Creation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The report describes and analyzes eight approaches to integrating cost in measuring and/or estimating social value creation. These include two classical methodologies (cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis) and six promising approaches that have been developed by philanthropic and nonprofit organizations in the last decade.
Online Applications and Reporting
Project Streamline
This report examines what funders can do to improve their grant application and reporting processes, reduce the burden on nonprofits and free up more time for mission-critical activities.