If you are reading this, you have likely had a grantor ask, “How will you evaluate?” or “What is your evaluation plan?”.
First, there are two words you need to know, and use, in your grant response to the evaluation question. Those two words are qualitative and quantitative.
Quantitative is numbers-based data. For example, if you said a certain percentage of the population has certain issues, then you are using quantitative data. Other examples include:
Number of meals handed out at a food pantry.
Number of attendees at a workshop.
Percentage of clients that graduate your program.
Qualitative data provides details about characteristics. Explanations are usually qualitative data. Other examples include:
Client interviews regarding what you did well and what you should improve.
On a survey – qualitative data is likely your open-ended questions.
A strong evaluation plan will have a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. For example, a food pantry may say:
Quantitative – We will track the number of food boxes we hand out.
Quantitative – We will track the number of individuals impacted by each box we provide.
Quantitative – We will evaluate trends to see if demand is going up or down. This will help us project our food needs to see if we need to have more or less of specific products available.
Qualitative – We will include an anonymous feedback form in each box.
See how good that sounds? You have explained the data you will collect and even explained how that data will inform your path forward (project food needs). This is likely something the food pantry is already doing. They just did not know how to explain it to the grantor.
As your program becomes more complex, the complexity of your evaluation may also increase. For example, if you run an education program, you could run Pre-tests and Post-tests. This is when you give your class a test before hand to assess their baseline knowledge. After covering the material, you test them again to see how much they improved. The improvement level is quantitative assessment data.
Your program may also want to use statistical assessment. There are multiple ways to do this. For example, if you wanted to say that students who complete Curriculum Red are statistically more likely to go to college than those who complete Curriculum B, then you would need statistical assessments.
The Nonprofit Development Center can help you set up your assessment program and help you run those statistical assessments. Reach out if you need help.