August 21, 2022

In 200-300 words, write up a background on the organization you have selected for your project, addressing some of the following components A brief description of the organization a

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT A BID IF YOU DO NOT HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH GRADUATE-LEVEL WRITING. MUST FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE FOLLOWED, AND NO PLAGIARISM. USE THE SOURCES INCLUDED.

Week 4 – Discussion 1

Topic: Kids in Distress

Organization Background

Step 9 in the text provides an overview of the organizational background component. In 200-300 words, write up a background on the organization you have selected for your project, addressing some of the following components (addressed on page 88 of the text):

a. A brief description of the organization and its mission and vision, as well as a description of how it came to be (its history).

b. The demographics of the community your organization serves, followed by the ways in which both the board members and the staff reflect those demographics. This information is growing steadily in importance to funders, as they want to make sure that the nonprofit is in the best position to truly understand and connect with the community it strives to serve.

c. A description of the organization’s position and role in the community. Who are the organization’s collaborating partners in the community?

d. A discussion of the ways the organization is unique in comparison to others providing similar services.

Week 4 – Discussion 2

The Grant Writing Process

Search the Internet and/or the online library for articles on the “how-to’s” of writing grants. Summarize the article you select in 150-200 words. What key points should a grant writer keep in mind in order to successfully persuade potential funders with a well-formulated grant proposal?

Week 4 – Assignment

Evaluation Planning

Download Worksheet 6.1: Evaluation Planning Questionnaire. Once you have opened Worksheet 6.1, select “save as,” and save it to your own computer as a Word document. Answer each question on the questionnaire by typing your responses directly into the worksheet, and upload the completed worksheet as part of your written assignment.

Note: You will use this paper and completed questionnaire to craft the evaluation component that will be included in your grant proposal/final project due in Week Six (a Sample Evaluation Component is included on page 56 of the text).

Resources

Required Text

O'Neal-McElrath, T. (2013). Winning grants step by step: The complete workbook for planning, developing and writing successful proposals (Links to an external site.) (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-118-37834-2

· Step 6: Preparing the Evaluation Component

· Step 9: Writing the Organization Background Component

· Worksheets .

Kids In Distress

http://www.kidinc.org/

Step 6 Preparing the Evaluation Component

EVERYTHING COMPLETED UP TO THIS POINT in the development of the organization’s proposal (problem statement, goals, objectives, and methods) naturally leads to this component, as evaluation answers critical questions that both the organization and the funder have, such as

• Was the program successful?

• Did it do what it was designed to do?

• What impact did the program have on the community or target population?

• What did the organization learn from this experience that can be leveraged?

• What didn’t work—and why or why not?

• What’s different in the community or the lives of those targeted as a result of the program?

Just as the preparation of the goals, objectives, and methods required clarity, focus, and strategy, it is now more important than ever to plan how the organization will evaluate what it proposes to do. This step explores learning how to write an authentic and effective evaluation plan so that the organization can effectively demonstrate the success of its program and mea- sure program impact—and also capture the lessons learned. An exercise will help grantseekers think about what their evaluation plans should contain.

O'Neal-McElrath, Tori, and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1469450. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-03-21 10:46:00.

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56 Winning Grants Step by Step

Purpose of the Evaluation Component

Evaluation is a process that determines the impact, effectiveness, and effi ciency of a program. It reveals what worked and—equally important—what did not. Decisions made during this process can help the organization plan for the program’s future, and the process can produce an organized and objective report documenting the return on investment for funders and the realized benefi ts to the community the organization serves. How a program will be evaluated must be determined prior to implementation so that the organiza- tion can build evaluation measurements into the fi nal program plan—before the program or its expansion is launched. Always keep in mind that funders expect to hear from organizations how they defi ne and measure the success of a program, whether they explicitly request an evaluation or not.

Specifi c Virtues of Evaluation

First, a good evaluation component strengthens the proposal from the funder’s perspective. Grantseekers are asking potential grantmakers to invest in their organization and program—and they are asking the funding staff to be their advocate. They want the funder to bet on the fact that the world as the nonprofi t sees it will be improved in some specifi c way as a result of the proposed program. Essentially, proposed programs serve to test a hypoth- esis: “If we do this, then that will happen.” A solid evaluation component

Defi nitions Impact. “The fundamental intended or unintended long-term change occurring in organizations, com- munities, or systems as a result of program activities.”

Leverage. “A method of grantmaking practiced by some foundations. Leverage occurs when a small amount of money is given with the express purpose of attracting funding from other sources or of providing the organization with the tools it needs to raise other kinds of funds. Leverage may also be defi ned as building momentum from one eff ort to the next.”

Defi nition Return on Investment (ROI). “The amount of benefi t (return) based on the amount of resources (funds) used to produce it.”

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Step 6—Preparing the Evaluation Component 57

in a proposal reassures a funder that the organization is interested, as the funder is, in learning whether this hypothesis is correct.

Second, through evaluation, the organization will learn about the program’s strengths and areas of weakness. The process alone of think- ing through the evaluation design can strengthen a program before it’s even implemented. From there, the organization can take the knowledge gained through an actual evaluation and share it with staff and volunteers to improve programs as they are being implemented. This knowledge may also be shared with others in the fi eld so that they, too, can learn the lessons of the program’s work.

The third benefi t is to the public—the impact. Dollars granted from foundations and corporate giving programs are dollars dedicated to chari- table good; therefore, with each grant an organization receives, it becomes a recipient of public trust once again. Because of that, the organization has an obligation to ensure that its programs are actually having a positive impact on the community as a whole or on the target audience that it purports to serve within the community. Evaluation is one of the strongest and most effective tools any nonprofi t has to verify and document that it is indeed fulfi lling its obligation to make a positive impact on the community it serves.

Internal or External Evaluation

Some foundations will allow organizations to designate from 5 to 10 per- cent (sometimes more) of the total program budget for evaluation; others will not. Therefore, organizations need to consider how they will evaluate their programs for the purpose of documenting results, key fi ndings, and lessons learned. There are some organizations that will spend time up front, crystallizing their evaluation components and coming to feel confi dent that they have both the staffi ng and the expertise in place to objectively and thor- oughly handle the evaluation internally. Other organizations will decide to engage an outside evaluator, for any number of reasons, such as (1) lacking expertise among the staff, (2) having the staff expertise but lacking the staff time to dedicate to evaluation, or (3) wanting the evaluation to be deemed as objective as possible. These are three of the most common reasons for hiring an outside evaluator. In any case, organizations should provide some background information in the proposal that indicates which direction it

Defi nition Hypothesis. “The assumed proposition that is tested in a research process.”

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Winning Grants Step by Step58

intends to take. The proposal budget should also refl ect an expense line item for evaluation.

Content of the Evaluation Component

The ability to fully understand both the big picture of the program and the individual pieces that make up that big picture is a must. Evaluation design requires dedicated thinking. First, one needs to consider the organization’s defi nition of success—the “so what?” factor. Then one must determine the relationship between the expected outcomes and the activities described in the proposal. Finally, one needs to identify the most important aspects of the program, then identify why it is important to evaluate them.

Organizations conduct evaluations primarily to accomplish six specifi c goals:

1. Find out whether or not the hypothesis was correct: Did what the organization originally propose actually do what the organization expected that it would?

2. Determine whether the methods that were specifi ed were indeed used and the objectives met.

3. Determine whether an impact was made on the problem identifi ed.

4. Obtain feedback from the clients served and other members of the community.

5. Maintain some control over the project.

6. Make midcourse corrections along the way to increase the program’s chances of success.

When preparing the evaluation section of the proposal, answering the following questions will help to frame what will be stated:

1. What is the specifi c purpose of the organization’s evaluation?

2. How will the fi ndings be used?

3. What will the organization know after the evaluation that it does not know now?

4. What will the organization do after the evaluation that it cannot do now because of lack of information?

5. How will the lives of the people or community served by the organi- zation be better?

6. Did the organization use the funder’s investment wisely? Were the funds effectively managed or leveraged?

7. Was the program budget accurate?

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Step 6—Preparing the Evaluation Component 59

Unlike previous editions of this workbook, the accompanying website cre- ates the platform to provide a plethora of information on program evaluation. Within the confi nes of the actual workbook, a broad overview is provided that can be of some assistance as grantseekers determine the parameters most appropriate for the program. Generally, there are two approaches to data collection: quantitative methods and qualitative methods.

Quantitative methods are, as the name implies, methods to quantify (measure or count) data. Using this method, data are collected that can be analyzed statistically, via averages, means, percentiles, and the like. Accord- ing to the Nonprofi t Good Practice Guide Glossary (www.npgoodpractice .org/Glossary), this approach “involves the use of numerical measurement and data analysis based on statistical methods. It is an assessment process that answers the question, ‘How much did we do?’” These analyses allow organizations to make statements about cause-and-effect relationships. Employ quantitative methods for questions focused on

• Understanding the quantities or frequency of particular aspects of a program (such as number of enrollees or number of dropouts)

• Determining whether a cause-and-effect relationship is present

• Comparing two different methods seeking to achieve the same outcomes

• Establishing numerical baselines (through such means as pretests, posttests, and quarterly or yearly follow-ups)

Qualitative methods, in contrast, are based on direct contact with the people involved with a program. These methods consist of interviews (group or individual), observation (direct or fi eld), and personal stories told both in writing and in photo or video, as well as review of selected docu- ments. According to the Nonprofi t Good Practice Guide Glossary (www .npgoodpractice.org/Glossary), this approach is “mainly concerned with the properties, the state, and the character (i.e., the nature) of phenomena. It implies an emphasis on processes and meanings that are rigorously exam- ined, but not measured in terms of quantity, amount, or frequency.” Employ qualitative methods for questions focused on

• Understanding feelings or opinions about a program among partici- pants, staff, or community members

• Gaining insight into how patterns of relationships in the program unfold

• Gathering multiple perspectives to understand the whole picture

• Identifying approximate indicators that clients are moving in the “right” direction

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http://www.npgoodpractice.org/Glossary

Winning Grants Step by Step60

In other words, pretests and posttests are not the only measures of success. By taking the time up front to think clearly and strategically, an organization can come up with a creative and valuable evaluation design that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Take a look at the Sample Evaluation Component prepared for the Swim 4 Life program:

Sample Evaluation Component Evaluation of age groups at RLC and after-school programs at Arthur Schomberg and Cooperville will off er opportunities to measure long-term outcomes. Staff will measure student performance by improvement in times for each stroke at various distances. Medical professionals from Any City University Hospital and educators from Some City College and Everytown University will assist in formulating an evaluation construct measuring changes in physical fi tness (fl exibility, aerobic endurance, and weight) and academic performance (attendance, drop-out rates, grades, and interest in going to college). Resulting data will be disseminated to the school administrators and district, reported to other stakeholders—including the XYZ Foundation if this request is approved—and used to continually improve the program. Expected long-term outcomes include increased scores on state mandated fi tness tests performed in students’ physical education classes.

To evaluate the overall eff ectiveness of the Swim 4 Life program at its three sites, we will have our instructors use pretest and posttest assessments, in addition to direct observation of students in the water so that baseline performance can be determined for all participants. Children’s progress in the Learn-to-Swim Program is evaluated based on eff ort made and skills achieved as evidenced by participants holding their breath under water, ability to dog paddle from the middle of the pool to the side of the pool, and ability to tread water for a minimum of one minute. The assessment process also tracks changes in attitude toward swimming as evidenced by qualitative written storytelling from a minimum of 25 percent of program participants. In addition, instructors will administer a multiple- choice exam on water safety at the end of each four-week session. After the fi rst six months of program implementation, the goal is to have participants answer an average of 75 percent of the questions correctly. School administrators, teachers, and parents will be sought for qualitative feedback on a scale of 1–100 percent relative to their satisfaction with the program and to infl uence its implementation strategies, administrative processes, and related activities. For those students with IEPs, we will conduct a parent satisfaction survey with the goal of showing a minimum 85 percent favorability rating of the program.

Answer the questions in Worksheet 6.1 to begin planning the evaluation section. When completing the evaluation section, review it with the Evalu- ation Review Questions.

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Step 6—Preparing the Evaluation Component 61

WORKSHEET 6.1:

Evaluation Planning Questionnaire

1. What questions will the organization’s evaluation activities seek to answer?

2. What are the specifi c evaluation plans and time frames?

a. What kinds of data will be collected?

b. At what points?

c. Using what strategies or instruments?

d. Using what comparison group or baseline, if any?

3. If the intention is to study a sample of participants, how will this sample be constructed?

On the Web

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Winning Grants Step by Step62

WORKSHEET 6.1:

Evaluation Planning Questionnaire (Continued)

4. What procedures will be used to determine whether the program was implemented as planned?

5. Who will conduct the evaluation?

6. Who will receive the results?

7. How is success being defi ned for this program or project?

On the Web

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Step 6—Preparing the Evaluation Component 63

Evaluation Review Questions

1. Does the evaluation section focus on assessing the project results?

2. Does it describe how the evaluation will assess the effi ciency of pro- gram methods?

3. Does it describe who will be evaluated and what will be measured?

4. Does it state what information will be collected in the evaluation pro- cess?

5. Does it state who will be responsible for making the assessments?

6. Does it discuss how the information and conclusions will be used to improve the program?

7. Does it provide the organization’s defi nition of success?

If the program is successful and the organization is able to document that success through evaluation, it is probably going to want that program to continue. Step Seven addresses the need to plan now for program sustain- ability beyond the initial funding.

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WORKSHEET 6.1A: Evaluation Planning Questionnaire

Use the filled-out Worksheet 6.1B in the book as an example to follow as you complete this questionnaire.

1. What questions will your organization’s evaluation activities seek to answer?

2. What are the specific evaluation plans and time frames?

a. What kinds of data will be collected?

b. At what points?

c. Using what strategies or instruments?

d. Using what comparison group or baseline, if any?

WORKSHEET 6.1A: Evaluation Planning Questionnaire (Continued)

3. If you intend to study a sample of participants, how will this sample be constructed?

4. What procedures will you use to determine whether the program was implemented as planned?

5. Who will conduct the evaluation?

6. Who will receive the results?

7. How are you defining success for this program or project?

(Continued)

Step 9 Writing the Organization Background Component

IN ADDITION TO THE PLANNING SECTIONS of the proposal, grantseekers need to develop an organization background component. This step provides an overview of the purpose of an organization background statement and of what it should contain to best establish a nonprofi t’s credibility. Using examples and a worksheet, grantseekers will learn how to present their organization’s strengths to funders.

Purpose of the Organization Background Statement

What are the mission, values, and other distinguishing characteristics of the organization? And what is it about this particular organization that enables it to successfully execute on what it promises to deliver? The organization background component answers these two questions and more. This is the section of the proposal that highlights all the positive qualities of the orga- nization, which means this section can get rather lengthy if restraint is not employed. Try to limit this component to no more than three pages. A good organization background statement describes the nonprofi t well enough to assure prospective funders that this nonprofi t can successfully undertake the proposed program.

Funders may refer to this section as the “Introduction” or the “Applicant Description,” but the same basic information is expected regardless of its name. This section of the proposal should allow the reviewer to get a strong impression that the organization

• Meets an unmet need or fi lls an essential role in the community

• Is fi scally secure

• Is well managed

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Winning Grants Step by Step86

• Provides important community services

• Understands the community it serves

• Refl ects that community in its board and staff

• Has the respect of the community

Content of

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In 200-300 words, write up a background on the organization you have selected for your project, addressing some of the following components A brief description of the organization a

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