Funders are impressed that Latino Community Foundation has had the foresight to engage in evaluation. As a result, the number of funders supporting us has increased. This has increased our grantees’ capacity, too. Now, when other funders ask for their logic models, they are familiar with this tool. They know what information they need to collect and how to use it to measure their impact.
— Raquel Donoso, Executive Director, Latino Community Foundation
Read our clients’ stories:
STRATEGY
Public Health Trust “What’s next?”
Common Vision: How do we change the conversation for long-term impact?
CompassPoint: How do we articulate our “value add”?
First 5 San Francisco: How can we become more effective at an organizational level?
EVALUATION
RYSE Youth Center: Starting Off Right
Fundraising Academy for Communities of Color: Are we doing the right things?
First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission: Can we do more with others than we can alone? How?
IHPTP: Making Evaluation Meaningful
Horizons Foundation: More than a Perfunctory Exercise
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Oakland Kids First: How do we demonstrate our impact?
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Oakland Department of Human Services: How can we have greater impact?
Center for Civic Partnerships: How can the sector have a greater impact?
Background: The Latino Community Foundation’s (LCF’s) mission is to foster healthy and empowered Latino communities. It focuses on organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area that provide services to children age 0 – 5 and their families. This strategy guides LCF’s Children and Youth Initiative (CYI). Launched in 2008, the CYI will span four years.
Situation: From the beginning, LCF recognized the importance of ongoing evaluation to maximizing the impact of the CYI. As Raquel Donoso, LCF’s Executive Director, stated: “We wanted to be proactive about the impact of this funding in the community, rather than waiting until the end of the Initiative. We wanted to learn and increase our effectiveness on an ongoing basis.”
Assessment: The CYI falls between stage 2 (launch & start-up) and stage 3 (ground & deliver) in its stage of organizational development. Our work together is focused on strengthening the relationships between grantees through engaging them in a learning community and providing technical assistance including support in developing their logic models.
Interim outcomes: After just one year, the benefits of LCF’s decision to implement evaluation early-on are evident. Raquel noted that: “Funders are impressed that LCF has had the foresight to engage in evaluation. As a result, the number of funders supporting us has increased.” Feedback from grantees has been very positive and there is evidence of sustainable impact: “This has increased our grantees’ capacity, too. Now, when other funders ask for their logic models, they are familiar with this tool. They know what information they need to collect and how to use it to measure their impact.“
LCF Children & Youth Initiative Evaluation Report 2009 (PDF)
