Investing in the Effectiveness + Future of Nonprofits
Join us for a panel conversation! Lessons Learned from an Evaluation Capacity Building Initiative
You’ll hear from Caring for Denver about their journey to shift the paradigm of grantmaker-nonprofit relationships in the social sector and how they support nonprofits to build meaningful data and evaluation practices.
One of the goals for the Caring for Denver Learning and Evaluation Partnership was to strengthen their nonprofit partner confidence and capacity with data and evaluation and to do so in ways that align with each organization’s mission and values.
In this session we explore questions such as...
What are some key takeaways about what it takes for a Grantmaker to successfully support evaluation capacity building?
What was the experience like for nonprofits and how did it benefit their work?
What were the challenges and lessons learned along the way?
What advice would you give a Grantmaker that is considering a similar approach to supporting nonprofit partners or grantees?
Moderator: Kristen Pozzoboni, PhD., Director of Impact Services - ResultsLab
PANELISTS
Rebecca Ochtera, Director of Learning & Evaluation at Caring for Denver
Haley Sammen, Lead Evaluation & Learning Partner at Caring for Denver
Grantees - Nonprofit Experience
Caring for Denver Foundation is one of those organizations that has stepped into this journey through their equity-centered approach to funding. Addressing Denver’s mental health and substance misuse needs is a complex task; there is no one right answer. Because the solutions are diverse and evolving, we use evaluation with emergent learning to guide decision-making and strategy.
Caring for Denver collaborates with its grantee partners to identify metrics and measurement practices that are simultaneously responsive to community needs, align with each nonprofit’s values, and are relevant to its co-created, “Shared Impact Plan.”
For three years, ResultsLab served as an extension to Caring for Denver’s Evaluation and Learning team, providing thought partnership to their innovative approach, and supporting a group of the foundation’s nonprofit partners to engage in meaningful data practices.