BlocksBlocks
    August 2010 
Five Ways Leaders Can Leverage Evaluation
as a Learning Tool

In this economy, nonprofit leaders face unprecedented pressure -- from funders, clients, and the communities they serve -- to deliver on organizational mission. More than ever, performance is judged less by the amount of service delivered and more by the outcomes achieved. Surrounded by this "accountability" mindset, there must be ways for leaders to take evaluation beyond judgment and begin to focus on learning; here are five very effective ways to use evaluation as a tool for:
  1. Organizational learning
  2. Strategic planning through logic modeling
  3. Garnering support from funders and donors
  4. Using information for decision-making
  5. Community leadership and credibility
Blocks
Fund Advocacy or Direct Service?
Finding the Right Balance
Jared For better or worse, the recent economic crisis has changed the way some funders are thinking about their support for advocacy and direct services. To some, the idea of advocacy is unappealing -- it connotes protests and raises IRS concerns.  For others, direct services seem too "simple," merely plugging a hole when the core of the social problem remains unchanged.  All too often, these strategies are seen to represent opposing values: you either fundamentally believe in advocacy or direct services, but certainly not both.

Recently, Philanthropy New York held a panel discussion to help funders consider how to strike their own balance between direct services and advocacy in a way that best matches their goals and achieves the greatest impact. The session's moderator, Ashley Blanchard, Senior Consultant at TCC Group, shares her thoughts in Philanthopy NY's blog, Smart Assets.
Blocks
The New Volunteerism
Jared
Join TCC Senior Vice President and Director of Research Peter York at CompassPoint's Nonprofit Day 2010 on August 31 in San Francisco, for a discussion of "The New Volunteerism: What You Should Know About the Next Wave of Service."

This plenary session will explore key trends in volunteerism -- a topic of growing interest and attention among corporations and nonprofits.  A panel of experts, including Karen Baker, Secretary of Service and Volunteering for California, will consider the nature and potential impact of the expanding volunteerism movement on nonprofits and the communities they serve and the relationship between effective use of volunteers and nonprofit sustainability.
 
Blocks
Maximizing Foundation Effectiveness
 
On September 16, Senior Vice President Paul Connolly and Consultant Chris Cardona will present "Maximizing Foundation Effectiveness" at the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy in Hartford.

This workshop will help funders better understand how to build not only the capacity of their grantees, but also their own organizational capacity.  The session explores how strategic planning can enable a foundation to devise program strategy, build organizational capacity, and create a framework for performance assessment.  Pat Baker, CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation, will be a co-panelist, and the Graustein Fund will host the session, which is tailored to staff leaders and trustees of grantmaking organizations.
Blocks
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