Nonprofit Program Evaluation Case Study

Program evaluation has become increasingly important to nonprofits that are accountable to donors, members, and even their own board of directors. CEOs and administrative staff need to know if the organization is meeting its strategic objectives. Boards of directors must receive timely, consistent, and data-driven metrics to measure the success of the organization. Funders need empirical evidence that the organization is fulfilling its mission through its programs. Many organizations already have much of the structure in place to complete a high-quality assessment. There is a lot to consider when making the decision to conduct a Program Evaluation. Understanding what you are seeking to accomplish with the assessment is of the utmost importance. Knowing who this information is for is also crucial. For some it may be funders, while for others it may be personal. Once you’ve determined these two factors, knowing what information you’re looking for to reach your audience makes it easy to make an accurate assessment. Also, knowing where this information is coming from will allow you to focus on where to get it. Finally, knowing when information is needed and knowing what resources are available to obtain it will help you put the wheels in motion for evaluating your program.

Summary

Babies Needs Always is a non-profit organization that provides mothers in need with all the education and essentials to properly care for their newborn babies. Babies Needs Always started as a local organization in the Chicago area and quickly grew to the state level. As babies need always embarked on their 20 years of existence they began to lose their way.

The bottom

His leadership team learned that followers were frustrated by a lack of organization and strategic vision. As a result, donations of time and money were beginning to decline and their impact on the community was diminishing. Furthermore, throughout its 20 years, there seemed to be a number of organizations formed that sought out the same constituencies and supporters.

The solution

Babies’ Needs A comprehensive evaluation audit of the program was always conducted, examining the organization from a strategic and goal-oriented perspective. They conducted stakeholder interviews and a comprehensive document review to gain a holistic view of the situation. Based on the results of the evaluation, they developed a plan to increase staff communications with supporters and the public and realign the organization to meet the changing needs of the larger community.

Learned lessons

Not only did the organization begin to function more efficiently, but employee ownership of the nonprofit’s vision and values ​​increased significantly. The results of the change were so impressive that the organization received state recognition for its high-quality management practices.