Many nonprofits do program evaluation out of necessity. However, evaluation is a powerful tool that can be used to improve your program’s reach, impact, and return on investment (ROI). When you use evaluation to ask and solve strategic questions, in addition to accountability, you can use your data to assess whether you’re meeting your intended audiences. This includes determining whether you’re serving these audiences in the most impactful, yet efficient, manner. This evaluation approach ensures that you aren’t missing specific groups or audiences who can benefit from your programs. Using evaluation data to answer strategic questions also allows for continuous improvement by matching your programs to the needs of your target audiences. The strategic evaluation approach drives equity while improving your ROI by maximizing resources for those who need them most while reducing the costs of serving in places or ways that decrease your program’s impact.

The goal of this session is to promote program evaluation not just as a means of accountability to finders, but as a tool for learning and continuous improvement. Attendees will learn how to ask strategic questions and answer them using both program data and 3rd party sources. This approach will show attendees how to go beyond general averages and look at identity, geography, and other types of inequities to determine who is and is not (but should!) being served by your program.