Resources

This document contains resources and websites that can assist grantmakers as we continue to assess and improve our learning and evaluation practices. It also provides a glossary of terms and basic background information to help ground us in common evaluation terminology and concepts.

The most difficult part of evaluation can be to know where to begin. There is so much information we could gather, but the key is determining what is most useful for what we need to know now to make better decisions and improve performance. This piece offers a matrix to guide thinking about what we want to learn from our evaluation, what tools and methods can support that learning and what key questions can help shape evaluation plans.

Philanthropy works to improve conditions in communities so that life is better for the people living in them. Grantmakers, including government funders, community foundations and private foundations that fund both locally and nationally, are investing in place-based community change efforts that take many forms.

Philanthropy works to improve conditions in communities so that life is better for the people living in them. Grantmakers, including government funders, community foundations and private foundations that fund both locally and nationally, are investing in place-based community change efforts that take many forms.

Due diligence is a process that helps grantmakers get to know grantseekers. Typically, it’s seen strictly as a means to ensure an organization’s financial and legal compliance. However, when done well, due diligence has the potential to provide insight into such critical attributes as the role of the organization’s board, the position the nonprofit holds in its field and community, and the level of alignment between our own mission and the goals of the grantseeker.

Denver-area United Way embraces need to strengthen the capacity of organizations and communities to measure impact and learn from results.

Grantmaker builds on longtime focus on evaluation by making organizational learning a priority.

Family foundation advances the cause of evaluative thinking among nonprofits through support for capacity building and knowledge sharing.

Looking for information about how funders evaluate the impact of Program Related Investments.

Many grantmakers agree that an increased focus on evaluation and learning can help us tease out insights on our true impact and how we can continue to do better. However, despite significant investments in evaluation in recent years, philanthropy continues to struggle to measure its work.