Evaluation in Small Development Non-Profits

Evaluation in Small Development Non-Profits PDF Author: Leanne M. Kelly
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 303058979X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Research on evaluation shows that low-use and non-use of evaluation is common, yet evaluation is hailed as beneficial and worthwhile. The worth of evaluation is tied to its utilisation, presenting a paradox if evaluation is both revered and underutilised. This book investigates this paradox in the under-researched context of small development non-profit organisations, which have specific resource constraints and ‘bottom up’ community development values that complicate their ability to do and use evaluation in line with top down directives. The book examines the utility, meaningfulness, and purpose of evaluation from small non-profit perspectives, and explores whether evaluation has value for these organisations. For development practice, it presents evaluative alternatives that reconceptualise evaluation as part of the active process of development rather than as an interval-based add-on. For evaluation theory, it highlights a historical preoccupation with improving evaluation without assessing its inherent worth, and considers alternative ways to enhance the value of evaluation for small non-profits.

Evaluation in Small Development Non-Profits

Evaluation in Small Development Non-Profits PDF Author: Leanne M. Kelly
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 303058979X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Get Book Here

Book Description
Research on evaluation shows that low-use and non-use of evaluation is common, yet evaluation is hailed as beneficial and worthwhile. The worth of evaluation is tied to its utilisation, presenting a paradox if evaluation is both revered and underutilised. This book investigates this paradox in the under-researched context of small development non-profit organisations, which have specific resource constraints and ‘bottom up’ community development values that complicate their ability to do and use evaluation in line with top down directives. The book examines the utility, meaningfulness, and purpose of evaluation from small non-profit perspectives, and explores whether evaluation has value for these organisations. For development practice, it presents evaluative alternatives that reconceptualise evaluation as part of the active process of development rather than as an interval-based add-on. For evaluation theory, it highlights a historical preoccupation with improving evaluation without assessing its inherent worth, and considers alternative ways to enhance the value of evaluation for small non-profits.

Leap of Reason

Leap of Reason PDF Author: Mario Morino
Publisher: Mario Morino
ISBN: 098349200X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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Book Description
Leap of Reason is the product of decades of hard-won insights from philanthropist Mario Morino, McKinsey & Company, and top social-sector innovators. It is intended to spark the critically important conversations that every nonprofit board and leadership team should have in this new era of austerity. The authors make a convincing case that the nation's growing fiscal crisis will force all of us in the social sector to be clearer about our aspirations, more intentional in defining our approaches, more rigorous in gauging our progress, more willing to admit mistakes, more capable of quickly adapting and improving--all with an unrelenting focus on improving lives.

Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership

Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership PDF Author: Joan Garry
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119293065
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Nonprofit leadership is messy Nonprofits leaders are optimistic by nature. They believe with time, energy, smarts, strategy and sheer will, they can change the world. But as staff or board leader, you know nonprofits present unique challenges. Too many cooks, not enough money, an abundance of passion. It’s enough to make you feel overwhelmed and alone. The people you help need you to be successful. But there are so many obstacles: a micromanaging board that doesn’t understand its true role; insufficient fundraising and donors who make unreasonable demands; unclear and inconsistent messaging and marketing; a leader who’s a star in her sector but a difficult boss… And yet, many nonprofits do thrive. Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership will show you how to do just that. Funny, honest, intensely actionable, and based on her decades of experience, this is the book Joan Garry wishes she had when she led GLAAD out of a financial crisis in 1997. Joan will teach you how to: Build a powerhouse board Create an impressive and sustainable fundraising program Become seen as a ‘workplace of choice’ Be a compelling public face of your nonprofit This book will renew your passion for your mission and organization, and help you make a bigger difference in the world.

Engine of Impact

Engine of Impact PDF Author: William F. Meehan III
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503603628
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
We are entering a new era—an era of impact. The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history will soon be under way, bringing with it the potential for huge increases in philanthropic funding. Engine of Impact shows how nonprofits can apply the principles of strategic leadership to attract greater financial support and leverage that funding to maximum effect. As Good to Great author Jim Collins writes in his foreword, this book offers "a detailed roadmap of disciplined thought and action for turning a good nonprofit into one that can achieve great impact at scale." William F. Meehan III and Kim Starkey Jonker identify seven essential components of strategic leadership that set high-achieving organizations apart from the rest of the nonprofit sector. Together, these components form an "engine of impact"—a system that organizations must build, tune, and fuel if they hope to make a real difference in the world. Drawing on decades of teaching, advising, grantmaking, and research, Meehan and Jonker provide an actionable guide that executives, staff, board members, and donors can use to jumpstart their own performance and to achieve extraordinary results for their organization. Along with setting forth best practices using real-world examples, the authors outline common management challenges faced by nonprofits, showing how these challenges differ from those faced by for-profit businesses in important and often-overlooked ways. By offering crucial insights on the fundamentals of nonprofit management, this book will help leaders equip their organizations to fire on all cylinders and unleash the full potential of the nonprofit sector. Visit www.engineofimpact.org for additional information.

The Non Nonprofit

The Non Nonprofit PDF Author: Steve Rothschild
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118180224
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
A top business leader shares the business principles he used to launch both a top company and a thriving nonprofit Nonprofit leaders know that solving pervasive social problems requires passion and creativity as well as tangible results. The Non Nonprofit shares the same business principles that drive the world's best companies, showing how they can (and should) be applied to the realm of nonprofits. Steve Rothschild personally crossed sectors when he left corporate America to found Twin Cities RISE!, a highly successful poverty reduction program. His honest story, and success and missteps, create an essential roadmap for any social venture looking to prove and boost its impact. Distills essential nonprofit principles such as having a clear and appropriate purpose, creating economic value from social benefit, and establishing mutual accountability Shares successful approaches from innovative organizations such as Grameen Bank, Playworks, Common Ground, Habitat for Humanity, Lumni, Caring Bridge, College Summit and RISE! Draws from the author's success in founding and building Twin Cities RISE!, which trains unemployed Minnesotans for living wage jobs. RISE! serves 1,500 participants each year As insightful as it is inspiring, The Non Nonprofit can help maximize the positive impact of any nonprofit.

The Goldilocks Challenge

The Goldilocks Challenge PDF Author: Mary Kay Gugerty
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199366101
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
The social sector provides services to a wide range of people throughout the world with the aim of creating social value. While doing good is great, doing it well is even better. These organizations, whether nonprofit, for-profit, or public, increasingly need to demonstrate that their efforts are making a positive impact on the world, especially as competition for funding and other scarce resources increases. This heightened focus on impact is positive: learning whether we are making a difference enhances our ability to address pressing social problems effectively and is critical to wise stewardship of resources. Yet demonstrating efficacy remains a big hurdle for most organizations. The Goldilocks Challenge provides a parsimonious framework for measuring the strategies and impact of social sector organizations. A good data strategy starts first with a sound theory of change that helps organizations decide what elements they should monitor and measure. With a theory of change providing solid underpinning, the Goldilocks framework then puts forward four key principles, the CART principles: Credible data that are high quality and analyzed appropriately, Actionable data will actually influence future decisions; Responsible data create more benefits than costs; and Transportable data build knowledge that can be used in the future and by others. Mary Kay Gugerty and Dean Karlan combine their extensive experience working with nonprofits, for-profits and government with their understanding of measuring effectiveness in this insightful guide to thinking about and implementing evidence-based change. This book is an invaluable asset for nonprofit, social enterprise and government leaders, managers, and funders-including anyone considering making a charitable contribution to a nonprofit-to ensure that these organizations get it "just right" by knowing what data to collect, how to collect it, how it can be analyzed, and drawing implications from the analysis. Everyone who wants to make positive change should focus on the top priority: using data to learn, innovate, and improve program implementation over time. Gugerty and Karlan show how.

Evaluation in Small Development Non-Profits

Evaluation in Small Development Non-Profits PDF Author: Leanne M. Kelly
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783030589806
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
'Does size matter? As a first, this volume explains why the scale of a development NGO should determine how it goes about gathering, analysing and applying information to learn about and improve its efforts. It convincingly demonstrates why monitoring and evaluation systems of big NGOs are simply inappropriate for the, by far larger, number of their smaller counterparts. For the NGO majority, before turning to canons in the field, start with this book.' -Alan Fowler, Co-founder of the International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC), Oxford, UK 'Leanne Kelly's new book provides a very timely and original insight into the relatively understudied area of evaluation in small NGOs. In particular, her exploration of the disjuncture between methodological rigour and the degree to which evaluation findings are actually used, raises important questions about what we mean by 'quality' in the evaluation field. An important read for both evaluators, practitioners and funding agencies.' -Chris Roche, Professor of Development Practice, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Research on evaluation shows that low-use and non-use of evaluation is common, yet evaluation is hailed as beneficial and worthwhile. The worth of evaluation is tied to its utilisation, presenting a paradox if evaluation is both revered and underutilised. This book investigates this paradox in the under-researched context of small development non-profit organisations, which have specific resource constraints and 'bottom up' community development values that complicate their ability to do and use evaluation in line with top down directives. The book examines the utility, meaningfulness, and purpose of evaluation from small non-profit perspectives, and explores whether evaluation has value for these organisations. For development practice, it presents evaluative alternatives that reconceptualise evaluation as part of the active process of development rather than as an interval-based add-on. For evaluation theory, it highlights a historical preoccupation with improving evaluation without assessing its inherent worth, and considers alternative ways to enhance the value of evaluation for small non-profits. Leanne M. Kelly has spent most of the past two decades working in social services and community development not-for-profits across four continents. She has worked for small, medium, and large not-for-profits with the majority of her roles focused on evaluation.

Forces for Good

Forces for Good PDF Author: Leslie R. Crutchfield
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118118804
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
An updated edition of a groundbreaking book on best practices for nonprofits What makes great nonprofits great? In the original book, authors Crutchfield and McLeod Grant employed a rigorous research methodology derived from for-profit books like Built to Last. They studied 12 nonprofits that have achieved extraordinary levels of impact—from Habitat for Humanity to the Heritage Foundation—and distilled six counterintuitive practices that these organizations use to change the world. Features a new introduction that explores the new context in which nonprofits operate and the consequences for these organizations Includes a new chapter on applying the Six Practices to small, local nonprofits, including some examples of these organizations Contains an update on the 12 organizations featured in the original book—how they have fared, what they've learned, and where they are now in their growth trajectory This book has lessons for all readers interested in creating significant social change, including nonprofit managers, donors, and volunteers.

Internal Evaluation in Non-Profit Organisations

Internal Evaluation in Non-Profit Organisations PDF Author: Leanne M. Kelly
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000592790
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 157

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Book Description
Focused on the interpersonal aspects of internal evaluation in non-profit organisations, this book presents practice-based discussions centred on six key topics identified through the authors’ experience as evaluation practitioners. Internal Evaluation in Non-Profit Organisations: Practitioner Perspectives on Theory, Research, and Practice is not a step-by-step how-to guide; instead, each chapter unpacks an aspect of internal evaluation in non-profits that is paid insufficient heed in the existing literature. Written by and for internal evaluation practitioners, the book contains a plethora of practical strategies and critical analysis of thought-provoking topics that are of particular interest and importance to internal evaluators in non-profit settings. The authors understand the pressures facing practitioners and non-profit organisations and share their insights around improving evaluation’s ability to be efficient, embedded, useful, and meaningful. This book will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and students focusing on non-profit management and will hold specific value for internal evaluators who want to harness their unique and influential position to help organisations achieve their goals. Further, this book is ideal for individuals wanting to think critically about evaluation and improve evaluation utilisation by developing their professional capability, building teamwork skills, using informal everyday data, incorporating theory, and developing fruitful relationships with external evaluators.

Nonprofit Essentials

Nonprofit Essentials PDF Author: Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118044975
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Praise for Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan "Linda provides a very practical outlook on how to succeed in developing and implementing a fundraising plan for a nonprofit organization. The importance of the various players and their roles—staff, board, and volunteers—is critical for any nonprofit organization, and the information in Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan could effectively be used by any size organization to organize and execute an effective development strategy." —Diane Hartz Warsoff, Executive Director Utah Nonprofits Association "An excellent road map for creating a development plan and building the necessary staff and volunteer ownership of the plan, Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan is a valuable resource for every nonprofit that wants to raise increased funds more effectively and efficiently. Its tips and real-world scenario sections help to make the case that organizations must take the time to plan adequately if they want to be successful." —Barbara L. Ciconte, CFRE, Senior Vice President Donor Strategies, Inc. "Linda Lysakowski's Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan provides the resources, tools, guidance, and step-by-step processes for any organization to successfully create and manage a development plan. Her inclusion of tips and techniques, real-world stories, and her focus on organization-wide involvement make this essential reading not only for development officers, but for senior staff and board members." —Eugene A. Scanlan, PhD, CFRE, President eScanlan Company One of the most significant factors in the success of any fundraising program is the ability and willingness of the organization to take the time to develop an integrated development plan with realistic budgets, timelines, and areas of responsibility. Part of the AFP/ Wiley Fund Development Series, Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan takes the reader through the development planning process and helps both novice development officers and seasoned professionals to create a plan that contributes to an organization's realization of its mission. Exhorting readers to ensure their plan is a living instrument and not just a document sitting on a shelf, nonprofit expert Linda Lysakowski includes examples of typical development plan formats as well as timelines for the planning process to help users identify the level of detail that will be required. Whether large or small, your organization will benefit from Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan. This professional guide's nuts-and-bolts presentation equips your organization to create a dynamic development plan that fosters enthusiasm, cultivates a sense of confidence, and helps track success.