What are your philanthropy evaluation goals and how do you monitor them?

1 Define your evaluation goals

Before you start evaluating your philanthropy, it's important to have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish and why. Your evaluation goals should be in line with your mission, vision, and values, as well as the needs and expectations of your beneficiaries and partners. Additionally, you should take into account the scope, scale, and complexity of your philanthropic interventions, as well as the resources and time available for evaluation. Examples of common evaluation goals include understanding the outcomes and impacts of your philanthropy on the target population and the broader context; identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your philanthropic approach and how to improve it; comparing the cost-effectiveness and value for money of different philanthropic options; demonstrating accountability and transparency to donors, regulators, and the public; and generating and sharing knowledge and best practices with other philanthropists and practitioners.

2 Choose your evaluation framework

Once you have defined your evaluation goals, you need to choose a suitable evaluation framework to guide your evaluation process. An evaluation framework is a set of principles, criteria, indicators, and methods that can help ensure your evaluation is systematic, rigorous, and credible. There are many different frameworks available depending on your purpose, context, and preferences. For example, the logic model maps out the inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impacts of your philanthropy and shows how they are linked by assumptions and external factors. The theory of change explains how and why your philanthropy leads to the desired change and what assumptions and risks are involved. The balanced scorecard evaluates your philanthropy from four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth. The social return on investment (SROI) calculates the social, environmental, and economic value of your philanthropy relative to the investment. Lastly, the participatory evaluation involves your beneficiaries and partners in the design, implementation, and analysis of your evaluation.

3 Collect and analyze your data

After you have selected your evaluation framework, you need to collect and analyze the data that will help you answer your evaluation questions. Data can be quantitative or qualitative, primary or secondary, and collected from various sources and methods. For example, you can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, case studies, experiments, or document reviews. You should ensure that your data collection and analysis methods are valid, reliable, ethical, and appropriate for your evaluation goals and framework. You should also use a mix of methods and sources to triangulate and verify your data and avoid biases and errors.

4 Report and communicate your findings

The final step of your philanthropy evaluation is to report and communicate your findings to your intended audience. Your evaluation report should summarize your evaluation goals, framework, methods, data, results, conclusions, and recommendations. It should also highlight the strengths and limitations of your evaluation and the implications and lessons learned for your philanthropy. You should present your report in a clear, concise, and engaging way, using visual aids, stories, and examples to illustrate your points. You should also tailor your report to the needs and interests of your audience and use different formats and channels to disseminate it. For example, you can use infographics, podcasts, videos, blogs, newsletters, or social media.

5 Use your evaluation for learning and improvement

Your philanthropy evaluation is not just a one-off exercise. It is an ongoing process of learning and improvement that can help you enhance your philanthropic impact. You should use your evaluation findings to inform your strategic planning, budgeting, and resource allocation. You should also use them to adjust your philanthropic activities and strategies, as well as to monitor your progress and performance. Moreover, you should use your evaluation to foster a culture of learning and innovation within your organization and among your beneficiaries and partners. You should encourage feedback, dialogue, and collaboration, and share your evaluation insights and best practices with others in the field.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?