If outcome measurement improves programs, does it also improve grantmaking?  GMA recently hosted a candid conversation about evaluation in the context of nonprofit-grantmaker relationships.

Participants representing a range of nonprofits and a cross-section of our foundation clients quickly agreed that measuring to learn makes sense, but measuring to say you’ve measured does not.  If the data doesn’t matter to the organization, it won’t matter to funders either.

What emerged from this discussion were suggestions for improving communications about impact that are grounded in common sense — “common” in that they advance the work of both partners in the grantmaking contract, and “sensible” because they can be accomplished within existing funder-nonprofit relationships, using established communication channels.

For 10 common sense ideas  Continue Reading »

NEWS AND INSIGHTS

GMA’s Michelle Jenney with activist Gloria Steinem

“And because it [slavery] is a political subject, it has often been tauntingly said, that woman has nothing to do with it. Are we aliens, because we are women? Are we bereft of citizenship, because we are the mothers, wives, and daughters of a mighty people? Have women no country, no interests staked in public weal, no liabilities in common peril, no partnership in a nation’s guilt and shame?”

At a sold-out event in Boston on October 7, 2013, “How Women Become Political,” guest speakers revealed how they were inspired to engage in politics whether as activists, campaign volunteers, or candidates for office.  Held to commemorate Angelina Grimke’s speech, the event was also an occasion to inspire girls and women to follow Grimke’s example.

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