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Monthly Archives: February 2014

Around Town 2/28-3/6

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Looking for a fun event during the first week of March? These nonprofits have got you covered. Remember–if you head to an event, let us know! We would love to hear your stories on Facebookor Twitter!

Friday, February 28, 2014

Pope Branch Invasive Plant Species Removal

Anacostia Watershed Society
Please join the Anacostia Watershed Society as we work to restore Pope Branch. We will be removing invasive plants and vines in Pope Branch Park in Washington, DC — and we need your help!
When: Fri Feb 28 2014 (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Where: Pope Branch Park, 3300 block of N. St SE, Washington, DC 20019
Fee? no
Volunteer Info: Remove invasive plants & vines in Pope Branch Park. Please note: Bending, lifting, walking, and digging will be required. If you think this will be problematic, please contact us or join us for another event. Dress in layers!
Contact: Ann DeSanctis, (301) 699-6204 ext 109
For more information: click here

Bowen McCauley Modern Master Class @ Joy of Motion

Bowen McCauley Dance
Join Bowen McCauley Dance (BMD) for a dance master class with acclaimed Artistic Director and Choreographer, Lucy Bowen McCauley. This class will focus on contemporary movement featuring ballet and modern dance technique. Experience the artistic process first-hand as BMD guides you through original choreography, teaching excerpts from the company repertoire. Sign up here: http://www.joyofmotion.org/adult-program/adult-workshops-and-master-classes/ Don’t miss BMD’s performance of From the Ground Up, on Friday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sprenger Theatre, 1333H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. BMD is presented as part of INTERSECTIONS at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Feb 21- March 8, 2014. Tickets are $22.00 and $16.50 students/seniors. For more information, visit www.bmdc.org/upcoming or call the Atlas Box Office (202) 399-7993 x 2.
When: Fri Feb 28 2014 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM)
Where: Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Fee? yes $25 in advance; $30 day of workshop
Contact: Joy of Motion, (202) 399-6763
For more information: click here

The Cole Porter Project

The In Series
“A trip to the moon on gossamer wings,” says the song, as our swellegant party celebrates Cole Porter’s incomparable words-and-music. Come and revisit the work of an American master who defined the sophisticated soul of a complex era! Conceived and Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola and Greg Stevens Music Director: Paul Leavitt
When: Fri Feb 28 2014 (8:00 PM)
Where: SOURCE, 1835 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $38 general; $35 seniors;: $20 students and children
Volunteer Info: Usher, box office
Contact: Gregory Stuart, Executive Assistant, (202) 204-7765
For more information: click here

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Caregiver Rejuvenation Retreat

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts
Caregiver retreats cater to the unique needs that caregivers face. They aim to help strengthen innate healing mechanisms by offering tips for stress reduction, good nutrition, and more, in a supportive small-group environment.
When: Sat Mar 1 2014 (08:45 AM – 1:30 PM)
Where: Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $30 and application
Contact: Adrienne Dern, (202) 483-8600
For more information: click here

The Cole Porter Project

The In Series
“A trip to the moon on gossamer wings,” says the song, as our swellegant party celebrates Cole Porter’s incomparable words-and-music. Come and revisit the work of an American master who defined the sophisticated soul of a complex era! Conceived and Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola and Greg Stevens Music Director: Paul Leavitt
When: Sat Mar 1 2014 (8:00 PM)
Where: SOURCE, 1835 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $38 general; $35 seniors;: $20 students and children
Volunteer Info: Usher, box office
Contact: Gregory Stuart, Executive Assistant, (202) 204-7765
For more information: click here

Sunday, March 02, 2014

The Cole Porter Project

The In Series
“A trip to the moon on gossamer wings,” says the song, as our swellegant party celebrates Cole Porter’s incomparable words-and-music. Come and revisit the work of an American master who defined the sophisticated soul of a complex era! Conceived and Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola and Greg Stevens Music Director: Paul Leavitt
When: Sun Mar 2 2014 (3:00 PM)
Where: SOURCE, 1835 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $38 general; $35 seniors;: $20 students and children
Volunteer Info: Usher, box office
Contact: Gregory Stuart, Executive Assistant, (202) 204-7765
For more information: click here

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Introduction to Rooftop Urban Agriculture

dc greenworks
With Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, learn about multiple approaches to growing food on rooftops through design and maintenance principles, and case studies drawn from across North America. This course: Familiarizes participants with the diversity of physical applications of urban agriculture and the growing technologies that apply. Explores the social, environmental and economic benefits of urban agriculture and rooftop farming. Describes the governance, personnel and economic options for implementing urban agriculture and rooftop farming systems and operations. Examines the conditions that lead to a successful urban agriculture project. Identifies strategies for overcoming common challenges associated with developing an urban agriculture/rooftop farming project. Describes basic installation and maintenance principles. Led by Ben Flanner, Head Farmer & Co-Founder, Brooklyn Grange and Peter Ensign, Executive Director of DC Greenworks
When: Tue Mar 4 2014 (09:00 AM – 12:30 PM)
Where: The George Washington University Marvin Center, 800 21st St. NW; Room 413/414, Washington, DC 20052
Fee? yes $175 for GRHC members; $199 for non-members. Includes 85-page course manual
Contact: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, (416) 971-4494 ext 228
For more information: click here

Washington Bach Consort presents the FREE Noontime Cantata Series

Washington Bach Consort
Cantata: Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir, BWV 73 Toccata in F# Minor (transcribed for organ), BWV 910 Organ Soloist: Jeremy Filsell A Washington DC tradition described by the Washingtonian as a “hidden gem,” the Noontime Cantata Series at Church of the Epiphany in downtown DC provides respite?from the busy workday and the stress of city life. Each fifty minute concert consists of a cantata and an organ piece introduced by J. Reilly Lewis and performed by orchestra, chorus and soloists.
When: Tue Mar 4 2014 (12:00 NOON)
Where: Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G Street, NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20005
Fee? no
Contact: Janet Mullany, (202) 429-2121
For more information: click here

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Whine/Wine Wednesday

DC Diaper Bank
Come join us Wednesday nights for Whine/Wine Wednesday! Bring your own “whine” or wine! Help us bundle diapers for the families we serve and make great new friends.
When: Wed Mar 5 2014 (6:30 PM – 8:30 PM)
Where: DC Diaper Bank Warehouse 8858 Monard Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Fee? no
Volunteer Info: Sorting and packing diapers; helping with other inventory
Contact: Corinne Cannon, (202) 656-8503

Raising a Bookworm

Reading Partners?
You are invited to join Reading Partners for a workshop for parents to learn how to support early readers. This workshop is ideal for parents with children ages zero to eight. Reading Partners’ staff of experienced educators will take participants through ten methods to support their children in reading. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/raising-a-bookworm-strategies-to-support-early-readers-tickets-10052097093
When: Wed Mar 5 2014 (6:30 PM – 8:30 PM)
Where: St. Albans School Refectory, 3001 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016
Fee? yes $50 Registration
Contact: Cielo Contreras, (202) 701-9110

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Lights, Camera, Fashion “First Dibs” Kickoff Party!

Stone Soup Films
We invite you to our “First Dibs” Kickoff Party for Stone Soup Films 2nd Annual Lights, Camera, Fashion Pop up Shop to be held on March 6th from 7-9:30 PM. The shop will be open on the 7th and 8th from 10-6 PM. We have collected dozens of racks worth of designer clothes from DC’s most stylish women. All proceeds go towards the production of promotional films for DC nonprofits. We encourage you to shop, sip, and snack your way to total happiness. Fill your closet while helping your community’s nonprofits. Visit http://bit.ly/1jXgbqW for more information and to purchase your “First Dibs” tickets!
When: Thu Mar 6 2014 (7:00 PM – 9:30 PM)
Where:??3330 Cadey’s Alley NW, Georgetown, DC 20007
Fee? yes $40 “First Dibs” Kickoff Party Tickets
Volunteer Info: We are in need of volunteers to help cashier, monitor dressing rooms and rehang clothing items. If you are interested in volunteering please email me, thanks!
Contact:??Megan Orr, (202) 337-1070
For more information: click here

Rethinking the “Impact Question”: Evaluating the (Nonprofit) Evaluators, Part IV

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The following blog, written by Catalogue for Philanthropy President and Editor, Barbara Harman, was published in the Huffington Post on Monday, February 24th. It is the final post in a series on the “evaluation problem.”

In my previous post, I argued that metrics measure something, but not everything. Let’s take a look at what a basic, metrics-based “logic model” looks like (though note that Charity Navigator’s new model is much more extensive and challenging than the more streamlined model I am suggesting here):

Inputs (what you bring to the table as resources: staff, funds, expertise)
Activities (programs and services; what you do)
Outputs (things that can be measured — numbers of people you serve, units of housing you build, meals you provide, numbers of classes you conduct)
Outcomes (results — impact you have in the short, medium and long-term)

Good, but not good enough. For the model to be complete, it needs to begin with a description and analysis of the community in which you work and the specific challenges you face. If you want to know, at the end of the process, what impact really means, you first have to know, and state, what the conditions are in which your work takes place and out of which it emerges. Describing these is a complex task — sometimes even a moving target — that doesn’t easily lend itself to metrics.

In addition, how you assess your results will depend on what you value. If, at the end of the line, you are measuring something intangible like the resiliency or grit of vulnerable children who have grown up in poverty, you will have a greater challenge before you than will an organization seeking, say, to measure an increase in the rate of employment for job-seeking adults, where numbers are their friends. (This is not to say that the work is harder, only that the task of assessing the work is.) You have to make sure that you have identified grit and resiliency, and any other critical life skills, as core values, and you have to explain why they are.

As citizens and donors, we should do what we can to make sure that those organizations are working to build more creative communities, and to devise programs to deal with extremely challenging (if not, thus far, intractable) social problems, are not excluded because their outcomes are not as easy to measure as others. If I am visiting a community center in Washington, DC’s Ward 8 where the average family income is $9100 a year, I should not be looking at outcomes the same way I would if I were visiting a community where the somewhat better-off youngsters need a smaller boost in order to be successful. The hill is steeper in some places than it is in others, and we have to take that into account.

At the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington, we have approached these questions in what is, given the direction that evaluation appears to be taking, a rather unusual way. We have gathered the community of professionals in the field — from foundations, corporate giving programs, peer nonprofits, government agencies and the philanthropic advisory community — and asked them to evaluate applicant nonprofits. Our review process has three stages: programmatic review (the conditions you address, the programs you have created, the impact you have); financial review (reasonable projections of income and expenses; diversified funding; transparency); and site visits (reviewers are asked to share their experience of previous visits, not to visit anew).

Some 120 individuals participate annually, sharing their expertise and direct knowledge. Communities have this knowledge, but it is rarely aggregated or shared with the public at large. We share it in our annual print catalogues and, of course, online, and we are able to do what the rating entities cannot do: actually evaluate need, program quality, and impact — without overburdening community-based nonprofits that, by and large, lack the resources to perform extensive evaluations themselves.

Creating communities of knowledge — actually pooling the know-how of people who have expertise in the field — seems like an obvious thing to do in the service of philanthropy, especially in an era in which knowledge-sharing has become so much easier. It means, too, that we can ask questions that don’t lend themselves to easy answers because we can use the brainpower of the community to identify the nonprofits that are doing the best work. There is no reason why this model could not be shared, and why there could not be a Catalogue for Philanthropy in every region of the country — something we hope to make happen in the not-too-distant future. (A note: the Catalogue focuses on community-based nonprofits with budgets below three million. These are not, by and large, the ones reviewed by Charity Navigator, though this is a category into which the great majority of all nonprofits falls.)

For the moment, though, nonprofits need to remember that — unless they are primarily reliant on the U.S. Government, in which case they had better pay attention to its model — most individual donors are not themselves professional givers. Many are driven more by their desire to give back, their personal passions, and their wish to make a difference and than they are by evidence-based impact assessments.

This does not mean that data and measurement do not matter or that a reasonable approach to evaluating impact should not be part of what foundations are funding and even teaching. But charities also need to find a way to assess their work in a manner that does justice to its complexity, and then translate what they learn into an account that will have meaning and power for individual donors whose contributions make up nearly three quarters of all donations. We should keep in mind that it is not just the good work we do that matters, but also the speaking and writing about it — the sharing of it — that counts. We need to train ourselves and teach others how to be agents of the imagination, ready and willing and equipped to tell compelling stories about the differences for the better that philanthropic work makes.

The task is a challenging, but essential, one. It needs more attention than it has received and I intend to address it in future posts.

Around Town 2/21-2/27

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We are excited to see some warmer weather coming our way (at least for a little bit!) and to share these great nonprofit events with the DC community! If you end up at one of these, let us know and share your experiences with us on Twitter or Facebook!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Community Sing at Washington Revels

Washington Revels
This month we celebrate the legacy of Pete Seeger. All are welcome to bring a song to share! Children’s songs: 6:30-7:15 All Ages sing: 7:15-8pm
When: Fri Feb 21 2014 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM)
Where: Washington Revels, 531 Dale Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Fee? no
Contact: Kate McGhee, (301) 587-3835
For more information: click here

(Post) Valentine’s Day SWING Dance!

Joe’s Movement Emporium/World Arts Focus
Valentine’s Day has passed but the season of love is just getting started at Joe’s Movement Emporium. Join us this Friday for a Valentine’s Swing Dance! Your ticket gets you swing dance lessons, delicious desserts, and a complimentary glass of Love Potion No. 9 (alcohol-free and kid friendly)!
When: Fri Feb 21 2014 (7:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
Where: Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mount Rainier, MD 20712
Fee? yes $15 for individuals; $25 per couple
Volunteer Info: Set up, clean up, assist with food, bartenders
Contact: www.joesmovement.org, (301) 699-1819
For more information: click here

Atlas INTERSECTIONS – Opening Day

Atlas Performing Arts Center
INTERSECTIONS is the Atlas signature annual festival featuring over 700 artists in 125 performances that celebrate the energy and diversity of artists and audiences from DC and beyond. INTERSECTIONS’ 5th Anniversary schedule runs from February 21st – March 8th
When: Fri Feb 21 2014 (7:30 PM)
Where: Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Fee? yes see website for details & packages
Volunteer Info: The Atlas provides volunteers a pass for two complimentary tickets upon completing a 5-hour volunteer shift. Typical volunteer positions include: Volunteer ushers scan tickets, distribute programs, direct patrons to their seats, and complete a light clean-up of the theatre following each performance. Lobby greeters are responsible for opening doors, welcoming patrons, handling box office questions, and directing patrons. Saturday volunteers may help with arts activities for families. Positions available Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Contact Kevin Stapornkul, kstapornkul@atlasarts.org. ** We need help in our office in the weeks before INTERSECTIONS with administrative tasks (email ccarlin@atlasarts.org for details.)**
Contact:??Box Office, (202) 399-7993 ext 2
For more information: click here

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Seed Cleaning at Arlington Village

Earth Sangha
We will clean the seeds of native grass and forb species that we collected from local parks, every Saturday in January and February. (Except for February 15th) Our seed cleaning sessions during the winter months are a collaborative effort between the Earth Sangha and Arlington Regional Master Naturalist Group, but we will accept a limited number of students who study environmental science or biology/botany. The only reason for limiting the number of participants is entirely due to the space constraint, but the Arlington Village’s Meeting Room is quite large, and we hope to accommodate a larger group.
When: Sat Feb 22 2014 (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Where: Arlington Village Condominium’s Meeting Room, See website for directions., Fairfax, VA 22032
Fee? no
Volunteer Info: Clean native grass and forb species seeds.
Contact: Lisa Bright, (703) 764-4830
For more information: click here

Chopin, the Storyteller

National Philharmonic
Explore Chopin’s compelling works for the piano with Brian Ganz, who returns by popular demand with his fourth Chopin recital in his journey to perform all of the composer’s works. This concert features Chopin’s masterpiece of narrative and emotional power, the Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52; the Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4, one of his most soulful and mysterious works; the epic Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1; the tender and storied Waltz in A-flat Major, Op. 69, No. 1 (“L’Adieu”); as well as the highly dramatic Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45. Ganz has been a prizewinner in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud (Paris) International Piano Competitions. There isn’t much about Chopin that Brian Ganz doesn’t know. The pianist has explored the nocturnes, the etudes, the sonatas and concertos and the rest in concerts, master classes and recordings for years now. His delight and wonder in this music seem to grow, apparently without bounds, as time goes on. (The Washington Post) Chopin 4 Mazurkas, Op. 17 2 Nocturnes, Op. 48 Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 Variations brillantes, Op. 12
When: Sat Feb 22 2014 (8:00 PM)
Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852
Fee? yes $28-$55 (Kids Free)
Contact: Deborah Birnbaum, (301) 581-5
For more information: click here

The Cole Porter Project

The In Series
“A trip to the moon on gossamer wings,” says the song, as our swellegant party celebrates Cole Porter’s incomparable words-and-music. Come and revisit the work of an American master who defined the sophisticated soul of a complex era! Conceived and Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola and Greg Stevens Music Director: Paul Leavitt
When: Sat Feb 22 2014 (8:00 PM)
Where: SOURCE, 1835 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $38 general; $35 seniors;: $20 students and children
Volunteer Info: Usher, box office
Contact: Gregory Stuart, Executive Assistant, (202) 204-7765
For more information: click here

Sing Out for Shelter

Friendship Place
Looking to hear great live music AND support local organizations serving the homeless? Then the 22nd Annual “Sing Out for Shelter” A Cappella concert is the place for you! Performances by finalists on NBC’s “The Sing-Off”, the Tufts University Beelzebubs, the Princeton University Katzenjammers, Baltimore’s Some of the Parts, and, of course, the event hosts, DC’s Augmented 8! Proceeds benefit Christ House, Friendship Place, and Metropolitan House.
When: Sat Feb 22 2014 (8:00 PM)
Where: Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
Fee? yes $25 general admission; $10 students/seniors; free for children <12
Contact: Augmented 8, (202) 363-4900
For more information: click here

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Invasive Species Removal with Alan Ford

Earth Sangha
We will remove several species of invasive plants such as Wineberry, Amur honeysuckle, Wintercreeper, and Porcelainberry. Please wear long clothes and work boots as the work may be muddy and there are plenty of thorny plants present. Tools and gloves will be provided, but your own work gloves and hand-clippers are useful tools to bring. This event will be led by the president of VNPS Potowmack Chapter, Alan Ford.
When: Sun Feb 23 2014 (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Where: Marie Butler Leven Preserve, 1501 Kirby Road, McLean Va 22101
Fee? no
Volunteer Info: Remove invasive species.
Contact: Alan Ford, (703) 732-5291
For more information: click here

The Cole Porter Project

The In Series
“A trip to the moon on gossamer wings,” says the song, as our swellegant party celebrates Cole Porter’s incomparable words-and-music. Come and revisit the work of an American master who defined the sophisticated soul of a complex era! Conceived and Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola and Greg Stevens Music Director: Paul Leavitt
When: Sun Feb 23 2014 (3:00 PM)
Where: SOURCE, 1835 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $38 general; $35 seniors;: $20 students and children
Volunteer Info: Usher, box office
Contact: Gregory Stuart, Executive Assistant, (202) 204-7765
For more information: click here

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

One Hour, One World Tour

Ayuda
If you would like to get a first person introduction to Ayuda’s work and learn how you could get involved, please join us for one of our frequent One Hour, One World tours. Please sign up for a time and feel free to bring friends. (Tours are conducted in English)
When: Wed Feb 26 2014 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
Where: Ayuda DC office, 6925B Willow Street NW, Washington, DC 20012
Fee? no
Contact: Elise Webb, (202) 387-4848 ext 130
For more information: click here

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Empty Bowls

Our Daily Bread
Our popular Empty Bowls dinner gathering is always a heart-warming and family-friendly evening of great art, music, food and friendship — our largest fundraiser of the year. Your ticket includes selecting a one-of-a-kind soup bowl to take home, handcrafted by a local artist or community member. Hundreds of beautiful bowls to select from! Then join your neighbors in a simple meal of soup and bread as a symbolic reminder of those in our community who go hungry. All proceeds benefit local families facing financial crises – whose bowls and pantries are empty – so that they may be filled. Funds go directly to ODB’s programs to help our neighbors in need achieve financial stability.
When: Thu Feb 27 2014 (6:00 PM – 8:30 PM)
Where: Stacy C. Sherwood Center, 3740 Old Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22030
Fee? yes $30 in advance ($35 at the door) includes handcrafted bowl and a simple meal of soup and bread to remind us of the struggles of our neighbors in need. Children are welcome! $10 for one child; $25 for three or more children
Volunteer Info: 2/26 — Flower Arranging (1pm – 3:30pm) 2/27 — Set Up (3:30-5:30); Clean Up (8:15-9:30) http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4AA4AC2EAB9-empty
Contact: Jennifer Rose, (703) 273-8829
For more information: click here

Impact — the New “It” Word: Evaluating the (Nonprofit) Evaluators, Part III

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The following blog, written by Catalogue for Philanthropy President and Editor, Barbara Harman, was published in the Huffington Post on Tuesday, February 18th. It is the third post in a four-part series on the “evaluation problem.” Parts I and II can be found here and here.

“In Part II of this series, I noted that the watchdog organizations to which donors are typically directed do not, in fact, assess the quality of the programs that nonprofits create or the effectiveness of the work. Such organizations review finances, assess good governance, and provide valuable information, but they don’t answer the basic questions that donors should be asking. Is this nonprofit meeting a real need? Is it doing so with excellence? Is it having an impact on the community it serves?

“Impact,” of course, is the new “it” word — the gold standard (so we are told) for judging the value of social programs. Just check out the Office of Management and Budget’s webpage: according to the OMB the 2014 budget provides funding to increase “the use of evidence and evaluation to spread innovation and drive better results.” Nonprofits that don’t speak the language of results-oriented programming, or who don’t understand how to use data to represent results, may have a hard time holding on to the government support they currently enjoy. But it isn’t only the government that is asking the impact question. Watchdog groups like Charity Navigator are beginning to do so as well, and others will soon do the same.

Metrics measure something, but not everything. How do you measure the impact of arts classes on kids who live in homeless shelters? Or of sports programs that provide after-school options for young people who otherwise have none? If you can’t produce data that show these experiences lead to very concrete outcomes, does this make the experiences meaningless or imply that they have no result?

The truth is, it’s hard to measure most kinds of social value. Social problems are complex, and a good assessment has to begin with a good interpretation: what is the perceived need that an organization exists to address? What are the conditions within which it works? If I create a nonprofit designed to help young people graduate from high school and go on to college, it makes a difference where on the continuum these kids lie. Do they have parents who finished high school (or not)? Do they speak English as a first language (or not)? Are they attending high-performing schools (or not)? If I don’t look at the conditions, at the quality of the need, at the beginning of the story, then my measurement will be incomplete, misleading, and perhaps even wrong.

The point I have been trying to make in this and previous posts is that the work of evaluation is hard. But there is something about the language of impact assessment – using “evidence” to “drive results” – that belies the reality of this, that leads one to think the truth is entirely measurable, not at all in the province of human persons who are thinking and judging and analyzing. It’s no wonder so many nonprofits are hesitant about the process, feel excluded by it in advance, and worry that they won’t be able to meet its standards.

So we need broader and more complex kinds of measurements. But this is only part of the story. Nonprofits need to do important kinds of new thinking as well.

First of all, they need to articulate, examine, and codify their own beliefs, their ways of seeing the world. For a youth-serving arts program, this means articulating what the organization values and why it thinks these values have social meaning. The Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project helpfully calls this identifying your “sacred bundle”: what do you think matters in the world? What are you trying to cultivate? What values underlie your work?

If you believe, for example, that creating art is empowering, that it generates in young people a grounded sense of self, a bond with adults, and, in turn, a positive connection with one’s community, then you know what you are trying to measure. Your “results” may have a different profile from those of an organization that seeks to reduce homelessness, or prepare adults for jobs, but what you are doing is still very significant: empowering disconnected youth is serious business. It just has a different way of talking about itself.

In other words, NEED and VALUE have to be part of the equation, both for nonprofits and for agencies and groups evaluating them. If we speak about impact without using these key words, without taking the measure of the world we inhabit, and without making judgments about what we value, our society and culture will be the poorer for it. We cannot allow this to happen.

Stay tuned for Part IV.”

Evaluating the (nonprofit) Evaluators: Part II

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The following blog, written by Catalogue for Philanthropy President and Editor, Barbara Harman, was published in the Huffington Post on Tuesday, February 11th. It is the second post in a three-part series on the “evaluation problem.” Part I of this series can be found here.

Part II: The Evaluators

There is a new kid on the block that makes it possible to check reviews on some 11,000 charities. Charity Checker (sponsored by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Journalism) is designed to streamline the process of evaluation by aggregating reviews from the top reviewing entities into one easy-to-use tool. But what exactly is being aggregated, and what are the reviewers reviewing?

Charity Navigator is perhaps the most well-known of Charity Checker’s sources, and it currently examines the finances of about 7,000 of the over 1.5 million US charities. One of the early groups to focus attention on the ratio between administrative and program expenses, it last year signed, along with Guidestar and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a “pledge to end the overhead myth” — in other words, to stop focusing on overhead as the chief charity culprit. This amounted to an admission that reliance on a strict ratio of administrative to program expenses so widely hailed as the sign of a charity’s cost-effectiveness was not the holy grail, and that, indeed, nonprofits needed to invest in themselves if they were going to thrive. Charity Navigator (CN) continues to look at the ratio, but it also focuses more broadly on financial transparency as a key indicator and has begun to look at what it calls “results reporting” — how effective a charity is at reporting, in an evidence-based manner, its outcomes and impact. CN admits that too few organizations are in a position to measure impact in this manner and that the process is a “developmental” one, so “CN 3.0, ” as it is called, is not yet here.

Guidestar, another group that powers Charity Checker, is not actually a watchdog site at all. It is, according to Guidestar itself, a “comprehensive” information source. It awards logos (bronze, silver, gold) to participants for successful completion at different levels, of their profiles on the Guidestar Exchange. To a certain extent one can see why a gold rating, for example, might mean something important: filling out the profile demands that an organization reflect on itself, gather information and write about itself, and commit significant time and energy to the process. In other words, full participation registers meaningful organizational capacity. The information, assuming it is accurately reported, can also give a serious investor a lot to consider. But it is important to remember that Guidestar isn’t actually rating the charities or their programs. It assigns its logos/awards based on a charity’s level of participation, and leaves the analysis to the reader.

Great Nonprofits, the third source of Charity Checker’s information, is the Yelp or Zagat of the charity world: it invites readers (and encourages nonprofits to invite supporters) to rate charities the way you or I might rate a restaurant or doctor or retailer. Perhaps predictably, the reviews of about 12,000 charities vary widely in their usefulness. Some are incredibly thoughtful, others are … not; many reviewers simply don’t have the deep information they need to offer an informed opinion. There is something to be said for hearing what volunteers, staff, donors and clients have to say about nonprofits, but how do these ratings stack up against the serious due diligence that we are always urged to perform before we make a donation?

BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance, which covers approximately 1500 national charities (I was unable to find the exact number on its site) focuses on four key measures: good governance, financial accountability, truthfulness and transparency (“willingness to disclose basic information to the public”). These are all important standards, but I wonder how many donors who see the BBB seal on a charity’s site are aware of the fact that, in its own words, it does “not seek to evaluate the quality and content” of a charity’s performance and effectiveness. The standards are all “best practices” in the field, and the very process of seeking to meet them will, at minimum, educate a charity about how it should govern itself and provide relevant information to the public about its operations. But there is no evaluation here of programmatic quality.

Charity Checker combines into one accessible site the ratings of four well-known organizations, making it easy for busy donors to find everything in one place — though it is important to remember that it is dealing with a relatively small number of the over a million and a half US charities, and it is likely dealing with very few of the community-based nonprofits that operate in your hometown.

In any case, it would be a mistake to think that the review process, because aggregated, is necessarily comprehensive. None of the sites that powers Charity Checker assesses the need a charity exists to meet, the programs it has created to meet those needs, or the effectiveness of the work. None of them claims to do this either, but the whole business of awarding stars and badges and seals, and then of aggregating them, creates the illusion of comprehensiveness for a public eager for hard answers about where to give — and short on time to conduct its own research.

So what would it take to make the evaluation process really valuable, and how might it work in communities around the nation?

Stay tuned for Part III.

Evaluating the (Nonprofit) Evaluators, Part I

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The following blog, written by Catalogue for Philanthropy President and Editor, Barbara Harman, was published in the Huffington Post on Wednesday, February 5th. It is the first post in a three-part series on the “evaluation problem.”

Evaluating the (Nonprofit) Evaluators, Part I

The Bad Guys Club

A recent Huffington Post blog refocused attention on a 2013 Tampa Bay Times/ CNN report on “America’s Worst Charities” — a group of 50 bad guys in a club to which no charity seeks admission. Lists like these are, so the notion goes, helpful in alerting unsuspecting donors to the dangers of giving: these donors often don’t know that some big charities with compelling-sounding names have massive armies of paid telephone solicitors, and… clients who barely benefit from the funds that are raised. President and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Andrew Watt, chastised the makers of the list in a response, noting that most of the guilty parties are such notorious offenders that the list is hardly newsworthy. But Watt also admitted that there was some benefit in alerting donors to the importance of exercising due diligence.

Of course we should all exercise due diligence when making charitable contributions, but there is something disheartening about the focus on what doesn’t work in our charity system.

There are 50 charities on the “worst” list — out of some 1.5 million nationwide. And while there are likely more than 50 that deserve to be called out, the number would still represent a small fraction of US charities. The truth is, most charities cannot afford to pay expensive solicitors, know that such solicitation is frowned upon, and wouldn’t do it if they could.

Making a splash about how little money actually ends up in the right hands is a familiar story, and one that the press likes to tell. But it just confirms the belief that many Americans sadly hold — that nonprofits take the money of well-meaning citizens and squander it on administrative expenses, while the people who should benefit go unaided. True in a small number of cases, not true at all in most. Wouldn’t it be an interesting turn of events if stories about the best charities got the same kind of attention as those about the worst?

But how do we know who the best are? Who is doing the work of evaluating them? What is the basis of their evaluations? And do they really make sense?

Stay tuned for Part II.”