FEB 1: New Year/ Better Plan (Completed)
Start off right in the New Year by taking a strategic approach in difficult times. Our first brown bag of 2009 helps you prepare for your strategic plan. We will examine questions such as: How to get started? What to expect? What it will cost? How to get staff and board involved? How long will it take? What will the results look like? What steps will help you act on what you’ve learned.
APR 8: Matchmaker, matchmaker, find me an evaluator: tips for finding, contracting, and working with an evaluator (Completed)
This brown bag will be perfect those organizations who have not yet worked with an evaluator or those who were not satisfied with their last evaluation effort. The morning discussion will address how to write a strong RFP, including: What skills should you look for in an evaluator? How do you decide how much it will cost? How much will your staff have to do in the evaluation? What your evaluator will want to know? How can you get the most out of your evaluation budget?
JUN 10: Surveys! Surveys! Surveys! (Completed)
Our August brown bag helps staff get the best results out of the most basic tool in your evaluation arsenal –the survey. The discussion will include: What makes a good question? What is the right scale for your questions? How do you make it easy for people to complete the survey? How to get a strong response? What are the ways to build buy-in from those who will be administering and responding to the survey? How do you effectively use the data you get back?
AUG 12: Show me the money, competing for funds in today's economic reality NEXT!
You can use evaluation to write competitive proposals and make your case to funders. This brown bag will offer: How to help compete for funding with your evaluation results? How to use data to support your programs? How to help your funders understand your evaluation results? What are the ways to use your results to plan for the future? How do you make your program stand out? Greg Ritter of the Ritter Group will be joining us for this topic.
OCT 14: Self -promotion for humble Minnesotans: let your data do the talking
Non-profits often have great stories to tell but are not sure of the best ways to present them. This brown bag offers practical and strategic methods like making charts, keeping information straightforward, tools you might use, examples of good and bad communication strategies, and putting information “out there” on the web.
Brown Bags are held on Wednesday mornings from 8:00 am to 9:00 via online chat.
The Improve Group’s White Papers describe best practices that staff have developed through work with clients and partners. New White Papers will be published regularly, so check back for new information that you can use in your organization.
