Equity as Tokenism April 4, 2019 By Claire Schultz How does an evaluator navigate a situation where they are asked to favor certain staff over others because of their identity?
Equity as a Point of Tension March 25, 2019 By Claire Schultz How does an evaluator raise issues related to equity that are influencing the work when key players do not have an equity lens?
Equity as an Afterthought March 11, 2019 By Claire Schultz How does an evaluator focus on equity when it has been added as a new outcome years after an initiative has been in place?
Challenging the Norms February 28, 2019 By Claire Schultz An insightful discussion between four members of our senior leadership on advancing conversations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Evaluation in the Era of #MeToo February 26, 2019 By Claire Schultz Two TCC staff members explore how issues raised by #MeToo have come up in their work as evaluators and as members of the American Evaluation Association.
Equity as a Capacity February 25, 2019 By Claire Schultz How does an evaluator assess the uptick of equity when it is delivered via capacity-building trainings?
Equity as a Leading Principle February 11, 2019 By Claire Schultz This is Part One of our five-part series titled, “Equity and Evaluation: Models of How Equity Can and Does Impact Evaluation.” The subsequent four parts will be released over the next two months (updated February 11, 2019). The philanthropic and nonprofit fields, and organizations and individuals serving those fields, have shown an increasing focus … Continued
Three Essential Elements for Evaluating Systems Initiatives April 16, 2018 By Marketing Admin You may be hearing terms like systems change, collective impact, and multi-sectoral initiatives a lot these days to describe situations where multiple actors are working together to tackle complex social problems. If you’re working or considering working within one of these types of initiatives, it’s critical to first recognize the complexity of the system (or set of interconnected parts) you’re working with and to think about what success would look like within that system. Although systems are complex, systems thinking – and the corresponding evaluation design – can be broken down into three essential elements…
The First Year of a New Presidency Moves Philanthropy to Action March 29, 2018 By Marketing Admin The speculation for most of us began on Wednesday morning, November 9, 2016. Regardless of political affiliation, the election win by a presidential candidate who promised dramatic changes in governing style and policies from the prior administration meant that grantmakers might have to rethink their current strategies and, quite possibly, fundamental priorities. As the new administration’s policy agenda rolled out over its first year in office, the interest areas of more and more funders were touched by the shifting political landscape.
Think Local: Local Consultants are an Untapped Resource for “Sticky” Capacity Building Investments March 25, 2018 By Marketing Admin For years, many in the nonprofit realm have advocated for increases in unrestricted funding, general operating support, and/or dedicated capacity building funds. But when it comes to reaping the full benefits of capacity building dollars, funding is not always enough.
Be Informed: Developing Content for Media Campaigns (Stage 2) December 18, 2017 By Marketing Admin Media campaigns are intended to affect their audiences – such as convincing people not to text and drive, or persuading people to purchase a product or vote for a particular candidate. There are various touchpoints where media can help lead an audience from awareness to action on an issue . Being able to track these touchpoints – and the anti audiences engaged – enables organizations and media distributors to more efficiently and effectively test their content as well as intelligently move audiences from awareness to action at a faster, more effective rate. Referencing the four key stages in a media campaign , this post focuses on the second stage: content development.
Three Ways Foundations Can Navigate Changing Political Tides December 7, 2017 By Marketing Admin In today’s turbulent climate, when shifting political winds and policy changes go hand-in-hand with ever-expanding health care needs across the country, how can health funders be strategically effective? TCC’s Melinda Fine Ed.D. and Jessica Mowles share three strategic learning processes that will engage foundations and funders during complex times.
Responding to the Call: How to Pursue Legal Advocacy October 26, 2017 By Marketing Admin Without legal advocacy, many norms and rights that people rely on, may have never been established. School desegregation (argued through Brown v. Board of Education), gay marriage (argued through many cases, but before the Supreme Court as Obergefell v. Hodges), clean water and air (argued at both state and federal levels as a myriad of lawsuits) – all were established as part of a legal advocacy strategy.
Three Common Questions about Funding Advocacy October 3, 2017 By Marketing Admin Since the 2016 election, my colleagues and I have noticed one of two things: more funders considering a first-time investment in advocacy, or funders strengthening their existing commitment to fund advocacy work. In response to this surge of activity, we’ve had the opportunity to share our findings – regarding effective strategies to support advocacy campaigns – with different groups of funders. These engaging and deliberate conversations generated additional questions – from which we’ll highlight three:
What Can Associations of Grantmakers Teach You? October 3, 2017 By Marketing Admin In mid-July of this year, I had the opportunity to attend the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers conference (#ForumCon17) in San Francisco. This conference brings together a large swath of the organizations that provide networking and support functions to foundations across the United States. I wanted to share some of my takeaways from time at the conference—some of which relate specifically to the conference and some to the valuable side conversations that happen when you bring smart, passionate people together.