Cambridge-Isanti Community Education

Enhance your understanding of program evaluation within the nonprofit context. Find out how to improve your evaluation planning, data collection, data analysis and data use. Special attention will be paid to the real-world challenges that organizations may face when conducting evaluation, including staff time, costs and reporting evaluation results to funders. 

This course can be taken alone or as part of the 2 course Certificate in Nonprofit Administration.

Class Details

Unit 1: Introduction to Nonprofit Evaluation & the Logic Model

• What evaluation is and is not
• Why evaluation is important to nonprofit organizations and why your funders are asking you for it
• Planning for evaluation begins when you apply for the grant
• Types of evaluation, and the approaches best suited to nonprofit programs
• Planning tools for evaluation – introduction to the logic model
• Crafting accurate, concise outcome statements

Unit 2: Creating an Evaluation Plan

• What an evaluation plan is and why you need one
• Using outcomes from our logic model to create your evaluation plan
• Setting priorities for your evaluation (navigating barriers based on budget, funder requirements, staff time and staff capacity)
• Creating indicators for your outcomes
• Defining benchmarks and targets where appropriate

Unit 3: Collecting the Data

• Taking stock of the data you already use
• Making data collection systematic
• Choosing and/or creating data collection tools – output information, surveys, interviews, focus groups

Unit 4: Analysis, Reporting and Use – Putting it All Together

• Appropriate analysis of the common data collection tools covered in Unit 3
• Common analysis mistakes and how to avoid them
• Reporting to various stakeholders (funders, donors, Board of Directors and the community)
• Using data for program improvement

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