| Session Title: Foundation Effectiveness: Aligning Impact Strategy and Evaluation |
| Demonstration Session 705 to be held in Lone Star D on Saturday, Nov 13, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM |
| Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Dawn Martz, Foellinger Foundation Inc, dawn@foellinger.org |
| Mike Stone, Impact Strategies Inc, mike@help-nonprofits.com |
| Abstract: The session presents a case study of how the Foellinger Foundation developed a comprehensive evaluation program. The program is based on the following three key lessons from the field: • A foundation needs to be clear about the type of impact it hope to create, and then should act accordingly. • Foundation effectiveness takes into account grantee and foundation performance. • All evaluation activity should be aimed at the learning needs of the foundation and its grantees. • The session illustrates how to develop a foundation evaluation program that takes into account: • How a foundation uses its resources to create the type of impact it desires (i.e., the grantmaking strategy) • How a foundation allocates and aligns it internal processes to support the grantmaking strategy (i.e., the organizational strategy) • The key framework used in the process draws from the work of Peter Frumkin’s Strategic Giving (2006). |