The California Endowment

Measuring Programmatic Effectiveness

The field of evaluation is a useful and exciting resource for community organizations interested in learning more about the effectiveness of their programs and planning for future efforts. A variety of evaluation strategies can be used to inform staff members, constituents and other stakeholders about a program, as well as support future plans and opportunities. The California Endowment's Evaluation Department works to support grantees, evaluators and others interested in learning more about culturally competent health evaluation.

What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization? A Framework for Determining Advocacy Capacity

Advocacy as a strategy for the nonprofit sector has become increasingly widespread. Foundations are looking to fund more of this type of work; nonprofits are learning how to harness its power to achieve their mission; and both are trying to better understand how to evaluate success. To that end, The California Endowment asked TCC Group to conduct an evaluation of a cohort of advocacy organizations who were receiving general support from the foundation. One of the important outcomes of that evaluation was a much deeper understanding of the characteristics of effective advocacy organizations.

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Grant Application Guide Evaluation Tips

Objectives and outcomes enable the grantee and The Endowment to monitor and track changes based on the work accomplished within the project. Tracking changes during the duration of a grant help grantees and The Endowment assess incremental impact without expecting the grantee to achieve policy and/or systems change by itself or within the project period. A proposal's objectives and outcomes should realistic and appropriate for the issue being addressed and for the grantee to handle.

Alliance for Justice Survey

Alliance for Justice is seeking to improve the way their Advocacy Capacity Assessment and Advocacy Evaluation Tools work for its users. Please note that this survey is for nonprofits engaged in or wishing to be engaged in advocacy, as well as grantmakers or evaluators who used the tool(s) or some form of the tool(s) with grantees or potential grantees. Participants in this survey must have either completed the Advocacy Capacity Assessment Tool or at least one part of the Advocacy Evaluation Tool.

To access the survey, please click here.