Easily Create Evaluations Questions for Your Non-Profit Programs

Does this sound familiar? You’ve got a great program that’s about to wrap up. Maybe this is a program you’ve offered a few times over the years. You start wondering if the program was successful. You collect a few pieces of information about the program, such as participation numbers, general demographics, but not a lot more. It would be nice if you could do an evaluation of the program and gather some deeper information. Does anyone have any suggestions for questions to ask in the evaluation?

It happens to all of us. An evaluation is the last item you take the time to figure out before you jump into a program. It gets left to the last minute, or sometimes isn’t even considered until the program is long since complete. After a while, people won’t remember why you offered the program, why they participated, or how it all ties to the big picture of the non-profit. The opportunity to collect useful evaluation data begins well in advance, but how do you decide what questions to ask?

Good news, there are three places you can go to look for all the suggestions you will ever need to write your program evaluation questions. The first two are right inside your strategic plan. Before you roll your eyes and dismiss the idea, hear me out. I promise, you will find what you need inside your strat plan, and if you don’t have a plan, there’s a work-around.

A typical strategic plan has three key components. The plan will begin with goals (priorities, directions) that the non-profit wants to achieve for a 3-5 year period. Each of those goals will break down into a list of outcomes (what will be different) the non-profit expects to achieve in the pursuit of those goals. Each of the outcomes will have a list of indicators (the evidence, or signs) you will watch for to know you are on the right path to meet the outcomes and goals.

Goals (big dream) ---> Outcomes (what will be different once the goal is achieved) ---> Indicators (signs you are on the right path towards the goal)

OUTCOMES

There is no need to look at all the outcomes from the whole strategic plan. Begin by identifying the outcome and indicator set, within which the program falls.

We know outcomes explain what will be different if the non-profit achieves this goal. To gauge if you have achieved (or are on the way to achieving) that difference, evaluation questions might ask program participants what has changed.  

• For example, if the outcome notes participants will develop a specific skill to be able to do something better, then evaluation questions might ask what a participant’s skill level was before the program and what it is after the program.
• Another example, if the outcome notes there will be a percentage increase in a certain demographic of participants, then the evaluation questions will ask about those demographic details.

No strategic plan? You can ask yourself what outcome was expected when the program was chosen and work from that information to design outcome-related evaluation questions.

INDICATORS

Again, identify the outcome and indicator set, within which the program falls.

We know indicators are the signs the non-profit is on the right path to achieve a goal. To gauge if this program is indeed on the right path towards achieving a goal, evaluation questions might ask program participants for their feedback.

• For example, if the indicator notes program participants will feel a certain way about their experience working with a non-profit, then the evaluation questions need to ask them about that experience.
• Another example, if indicators note obstacles will be reduced for some participants, evaluation questions need to ask something about what prevented them from participating in the past and why they participated now.

JARGON ALERT: Keep a keen eye out for words that appear in your strategic plan that are jargon for your industry or seem a little fancy-schmancy. Evaluations work best with very plain language. Avoid buzz words like capacity, sustainability, barrier, leader, etc., or you’ll risk getting evaluations back with a lot of unanswered questions.

YOUR TEAM

The last place you can look for evaluation questions is your team. This is especially important if the program has been running for several years. Your team will have noticed a few things as they work through each iteration of the program.

• For example, your team might notice that a program seems to attract more participants on the weekend. Evaluation questions might then, ask participants for their favourite time to attend the program, and why. The question doesn’t tie directly to the strategic plan, but it will certainly help to offer the program when it will be most successful.
• Another example, your team might work very closely with program participants and may notice trends or issues. Evaluation questions might ask participants if they would be interested in learning more at a subsequent type of program (trend). Again, this isn’t directly tied to the strategic plan, but it will certainly help to bring to light any pieces the strategic plan might be missing. 

REMEMBER, evaluation data is cumulative. It all adds up to help the non-profit determine if the goals for the year were met. That means you don’t need to check for every outcome and indicator with every program. You can plan your out evaluations to match the right question to the right program.

Evaluation questions can sometimes be hard to brainstorm and having a handful of places to look for ideas, will make the job much easier. This is particularly useful when an evaluation question isn’t delivering the information you hoped for. Being able to reference outcomes, indicators, and your team’s observations will act as a guide when you simply need to nuance the wording of an evaluation question – making it easy to update as needed.

Planning out evaluations will also make it very easy to explain to potential funders how serious you are about the success of your program. Funders like to see that you have both a program that is tied to your strategic plan, but also an evaluation system that will deliver the data needed to determine your success. A funder will be much more inclined to approve a grant application when they can clearly see how well thought out your program is from concept through delivery and to final assessment.

What can you do right now to put these ideas into action?

1. Match your programs to their corresponding outcomes and indicators.
2. Check the evaluation questions you are using now, and make sure they provide data to help address those outcomes and indicators.
3. Re-word evaluation questions that don’t fit, or create new questions, designed to deliver the data you need.

When a program needs to deliver usable data, a thoughtfully constructed evaluation system is a reassuring tool. Thanks for taking the time to read my ideas. My mission is to take the mystery out of running a small non-profit. If you know someone who needs to read this, why not grab the link, and share it with them. Let’s work together to make non-profit evaluation question meaningful

-Christie

…

Hi, I'm Christie Saas, former board member, current Executive Director, and non-profit volunteer. I remember well, those early years when I lacked the training, the confidence, and the work-life balance to focus on becoming the best non-profit leader I could be.

Fast-forward past many bumps in the road, lessons learned, and you’ll find me still in the trenches, but a little wiser, a little calmer, and a whole lot happier. I love my work and I want to help you love yours too.

I created ChristieSaas.com to give you tools, tips, and templates to remove the mystery of learning to run a small non-profit. If you’re a brand-new non-profit leader, or a little more seasoned, someone who’s looking to make a meaningful contribution and still have time for a full life away from the job, you’re in the right place.

© Christie Saas 2022 All Rights Reserved

…

Want to learn more?
Start with one of my free resources.

FREE Guides