For a time in my life I lived in the warm and colorful State of Texas. One of my fondest memories of places like San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Austin is the beautiful music, art and architecture of those cities. The influence of the Mexican heritage in this region makes a special contribution to the flare and distinctness of the art and culture. The funder I have selected for today supports the growth of all types of Latino arts organizations and helps to spread the aesthetics and traditions of their many cultures

This week’s pick: The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) is a service organization whose mission is to preserve, develop and promote Latino arts and cultural organization in the United States. Through their Fund for the Arts they invite individual Latino artists, ensembles and art organization to apply for grants ranging from$2,500 to $10,000 each.

Any of the following disciplines are eligible:

 interdisciplinary arts;
 literary arts;
 media arts/film;
 music; performance arts;
 theater arts and
 visual arts.

Applications are due by July 16, 2007 and may be submitted in English or Spanish. Complete application information can be found at: http://www.nalac.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=4&Itemid=31

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While participating in a recent training on human subject protection in research, I was struck by one topic that I would not have normally thought of as a thorny ethical dilemma. In our experience, incentives are usually determined by a balance of the resources an organization can give with what we (the researcher and the organization together) believe will encourage people to participate.

As we have described in a recent newsletter article (http://www.theimprovegroup.com/newsletter/Jan2007webnews.pdf), it is difficult to determine fair compensation if you try to pay people for their time, so we rarely think of incentives in that way. Instead, we often think of an incentive as a way to make a social compact (when provided upfront) and/or a way to help overcome a final lingering barrier to participation, whether that be braving a rainy evening to attend a focus group or spending 15 more minutes on the computer to fill out a web survey at the end of a long day.

However, a main tenet of human subject protection is to protect the voluntary nature of participation in a research project. The National Cancer Institute says “There are no clear rules or standards for payment other than a general prohibition against coercion or the exercise of undue influence. There is no agreement about whether it is right to pay research subjects.” (http://cme.cancer.gov/c01/b04_03.htm )

This issue is particularly sticky for those researchers whose studies may pose a risk to research subjects, such as medical studies, wherein the incentive could theoretically coerce someone into taking on an ill-understood risk for an immediate pay-off. Much of the research we do poses much risk, but often does incur some inconvenience or time commitment. But, we still need to be aware of the ethics surrounding the incentives we offer. We continue to think of them as something that helps a willing participant overcome hesitation about the inconvenience or time commitment of being involved in research. Moreover, I have to wonder about the quality of information we would get from an UNwilling participant whose only motivation is the incentive and not the desire to give their perspective on an issue or feedback to improve a program.

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Many of our clients have done previous strategic planning or evaluation projects, and are familiar with external consultants. Their previous experience sometimes lead them to expect to be somewhat removed from the project, with the consultant completing tasks independently.

At the Improve Group, we tend to take a more developmental role to strategic planning and evaluation -- forming a "learning community" partnership with our clients. We also encourage our clients to engage others - program participants or students, elected officials, people with common interests, etc. -- in their process.

For some organizations, a somewhat formal public relations process can be helpful. For example, in our work with Austin (MN) public schools, we engaged students, teachers, parents, administrators and community members to establish a vision and set goals for their community. The district supported this process through press releases and frequent communication. A recent article in the Rochester Post-Bulletin describing the results so far of the effort is one example; previous articles invited people to complete a survey and participate in community meetings. The result was a participation rate higher than we've seen in comparable projects.

Doing a google search for "strategic planning press release" or "evaluation press release" turns up mostly the findings or results of a project. What has made our work with Austin so unique is that they engaged their local media throughout the process. Their goals in doing so were to:

(1) Increase participation in the strategic planning process
(2) Ensure that everyone who chose to do so had an opportunity to learn about the process
(3) Keep people informed as the process evolves
(4) Ensure that no one is surprised with the results because there have been summaries at multiple stages

The press may not always be a good tool. In Austin, the District had a good sense about what sources of information people used and how to access each of them. They included web- and radio-announcements in their strategy. In some communities we work with, there is uncertainty about which media outlets people access the most, or media are so saturated that it is cost-prohibitive to reach more than a small fraction of the population. In those cases, it is important to be targeted with your approach, using media outlets to access populations that would otherwise not participate.

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In previous blogs I've mentioned our work for the MN Department of Human Services evaluating the Home and Community Based waiver programs (see The fun of data collection, Thank you for visiting us!, and Technology possibilities and barriers among others). One of the great aspects of the project is visiting and learning about communities across Minnesota (you can see a list of completed reviews here, and several others are in process). Last week, four of our staff (Leah, Eric, Elizabeth and Collin) traveled to southwestern Minnesota to visit Lincoln, Lyon, Murray and Yellow Medicine counties. Not only did we enjoy beautiful (if windy) sunny days during our trip, but I had the chance to visit my grandparent's house (see the picture) and my uncle, Lyon County Judge George Harrelson.

Traveling for work can be challenging (long days on the road, being away from home and family), but our staff have found some ways to make it enjoyable.

First, since we tend to travel in a group, we have introduced some rituals. At least once during our trip we make an evening outing to Dairy Queen, and have fun comparing each one we visit.

Second, we find ways to act as tourists even though we are traveling on business. Liz has a book of sites to see in Minnesota, and we get to some out-of-the-way places. We also try to visit local restaurants as much as possible and ask the program staff for recommendations.

Third, while we work long days, we also have downtime during each visit, including walks (if it is nice out) or visits to casinos (which have the best accommodations in some communities).

Even though we are glad to get home after each trip, our staff have really enjoyed our travels around the state (and country).

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With many members of our staff currently in the throes of buying, selling or searching for a home, I feel the time is right to talk about affordable housing. Organizations that help people attain the goal of owning a home of their own are sainted in my eyes. The whole process is so intimidating. Having these groups to help sort through the best course of action and assist in affordability issues is of great need in society today.

This week’s pick: The Home Depot Foundation was founded in 2002 with a mission “to further the community building goals of The Home Depot by providing additional resources to assist nonprofit organizations throughout the United States and Canada.” They are currently accepting Letters of Inquiry from nonprofits that assist low- to middle-income families with producing, financing or preserving affordable housing. They give preference to organizations that promote community engagement and build strong partnerships. Programs that address environmental impact, renewable energy, air quality and minimizing the depletion of natural resources are also of special interest.

Letter’s of Intent are due by July 1, 2007 and application information can be found on the Foundation website at
http://www.homedepotfoundation.org/support_housing_apply.

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Anyone who has worked for a nonprofit organization is aware of the amount of heart it takes for the staff, Board, volunteers and other supporters to keep growing and advancing their mission. Budget cuts, small staff size and competition with a myriad of other deserving non-profits are just of few of the challenges these groups face. Since we don’t have a national nonprofit appreciation day I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you.” I have worked for and volunteered for many nonprofit organizations and I know how much it means when someone recognizes the importance of the work you do.

Today I am highlighting two funding opportunities that support and acknowledge our nonprofit sector. August 13th, 2007 is the deadline to submit an application for the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. This initiative grants unrestricted awards of $35,000 for first place and two runner-up awards of $7,000 and $5,000. The purpose is to recognize U.S. nonprofit organizations with an innovative, existing program that has made a difference in the lives of the people it serves. Entry instructions can be found at http://www.cgu.edu/pages/2420.asp.

A new scholarship program for nonprofit leaders has been established by the American Management Association and Leader to Leader Institute. The AMA Scholarship Program will assist social sector nonprofit organizations in developing “the strong leaders today who will lead the organizations of the future."

Funding is available for 75 scholarships and benefits include:

• one management education and professional development seminar offered by AMA;
• one year of individual member benefits, including access to members-only Web site, subscriptions to e-newsletters and journals, and discount pricing on all other AMA products and services; and
• a one-year membership with the Leader to Leader Institute, including subscription to Leader to Leader Journal and discounts on the Institute's publications and services.

The submission deadline is November 15, 2007. Go to the Leader to Leader Institute Web site for complete program information
http://www.leadertoleader.org/collaboration/ama/index.html

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I truly enjoy creating readable, user-friendly and attractive charts for presenting data and analysis results. I like using my cartographic skills (I was a geography major) to create information-rich charts with appropriate fonts, color schemes and icons. Most often, I create bar or column charts and pie charts with single-instance data for my projects. Sometimes though, I need to show multiple types of data or a change over time and bar, column and pie charts just don’t cut it.

Unfortunately, Excel help menus (we use the 2003 version) don’t provide a lot of help in creating more complex charts or information on how to format your data to produce a desired chart. I therefore turn to external sources and websites of Excel experts. A favorite site of mine comes from a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional: http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/index.html. This site features examples of charts made from complex data and tutorials on how to create them yourself.

For the Improve Group evaluation of Performing Arts Workshop’s Artists-in-Schools program I needed to display how teachers’ responses to survey questions changed over the course of the program period. I wanted to be able to put multiple questions on the same chart, show a change over time and show change for three different respondent types. To create the chart at the end of this page, I used multiple tutorials:
• http://peltiertech.com/Excel/Charts/ColoredVerticalBand.html, which taught me how to make floating bar/column charts,
• http://peltiertech.com/Excel/ChartsHowTo/ClusterStack.html, which showed me how to cluster columns, and
• http://peltiertech.com/Excel/ChartsHowTo/ChartType.html, which showed me how to have multiple chart types for data series.

The following chart displays classroom teachers’ responses to a question on how comfortable they feel using the artistic disciplines in their regular curriculum using a 4-point scale from Very uncomfortable to Very comfortable. Teachers completed the survey twice, once at the beginning of the Artists-in-Schools program (pre-test) and again at the end of the program (post-test). The columns on this graph represent the range between the pre-test average scores and the post-test average scores; the square dots represent the average post-test scores for each artistic discipline. Each type of respondent (comparison, etc.) is color-coded consistently across all other charts made for this project. Along with a brief explanation of the data, readers can clearly see where each respondent type started out, where they ended up and how their growth compares to each other.

Once I had created a chart that was formatted and styled in a way that I liked, I saved it as a new Chart Type so that I could apply it easily to the numerous other charts I needed to create. A tutorial for this step can be found here http://peltiertech.com/Excel/ChartsHowTo/CreateCustomTypes.html.

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Are you a public television enthusiast like me? I find myself riveted to the documentaries and special programming they offer. Our Improve Group staff even has a recommended television, film and book list on our in-house site to share our favorites. The funding I am highlighting today is a unique one in that it not only supports public television, but increases inclusion - specifically for the Native American community. This funder expands exposure to the rich Native culture through television, which is a great plus for all of us.

This week’s pick: To increase the quantity and quality of Native American participation in public television and to “illuminate the Native American experience” the 2007 Native American Public Television (NAPT) Production Fund is soliciting proposals for various program genres. Projects in any phase of production on documentary, performance, cultural/public affairs and animation programming are eligible. Sixty-minute formats are preferred.

Research and development awards up to $25,000 are available, as are funds for production or completion up to $100,000. Applicants must be 21 years of age and have previous television experience. The submission deadline is July 11, 2007. Details can be found at http://www.nativetelecom.org/programfund.pdf.

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Greetings! My name is Collin Cunningham and I will be interning at The Improve Group for the summer. I originally came to Minnesota from my home state of Washington in order to attend St. Olaf College where I was a member of the diving team and a volunteer for the Northfield Community Action Center. Currently, I am a Masters in Public Policy student at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota and am interested in social policy, specifically education and poverty alleviation policy. I also enjoy reading, coaching diving, traveling, and spending time outdoors. I am looking forward to making the most of my internship here and getting to know the staff.

Posted by Guest author at 11:27 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The Improve Group was recently been selected as an approved vendor for strategic planning and evaluation by the Childrens Trust. The Children's Trust mission is to improve the lives of all children and families in Miami-Dade County by making strategic investments in their futures, supported with a unique referendum that funds the initiative through property taxes.

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