In 2018, twelve youth-serving nonprofits in California joined the third cohort of PropelNext to strengthen their program designs and build their capacity for data use and learning. The concluding years of the three-year program would be marked by unprecedented crisis and upheaval, from a global pandemic to national racial reckoning. Throughout this time, PropelNext not only provided foundational support to strengthen organizational performance but also helped grantees build resilience to weather internal and external crises. This report highlights key results and insights about the facilitators, barriers, and nuances of building a learning organization, even in the most challenging of times. Download the full report here.
Since 2012, PropelNext has worked with 40 youth development organizations across three cohorts to sharpen their program models, develop theories of change (TOCs), implement performance measurement and management systems, and cultivate cultures of learning and continuous improvement that deliver better outcomes for youth. Through the three-year program, PropelNext provides grantees a range of supports including unrestricted funding, customized coaching, peer learning sessions, and an online learning community. Over the years, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and Learning for Action have worked to bring justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) to the foreground of this work and push organizational thinking and practice in new and potentially transformative directions. The focus and momentum to center JEDI principles has sharpened and accelerated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd and so many others.
Drawing from conversations with PropelNext grantees, coaches, and the team that designed and led the initiative, this learning brief takes a closer look at how PropelNext has incorporated JEDI into its practices and programming over time. It also spotlights examples of how participating organizations from the Northern California 2021 cohort are applying and operationalizing these principles and frameworks as part of their learning and equity journeys. Download the full report here.
LFA developed an online diagnostic tool, the Nonprofit Capacity Organizational Diagnostic (N-COD) tool for nonprofits to self-assess their progress on the seven core dimensions of nonprofit capacity, with a vision and impact model as the foundation for driving nonprofit effectiveness. LFA piloted the tool with 54 nonprofits in Solano County to assist First 5 Solano and Solano Health and Social Services in learning about the current landscape of nonprofit organizational capacity in the county. Download the Report and learn more in our blog post.
In 2015, a group of funders gathered to better understand the availability of quality capacity building services for the nonprofit sector in the Chicago area. They convened a Steering Committee and established an initiative called Point the Way, the long-term goal of which is to unite and coordinate efforts to improve capacity building in Chicago. The Steering Committee hired LFA to conduct a study on nonprofit capacity building needs and services in the greater Chicago area and beyond, and the experiences of those that use, deliver, and invest in them. Over the course of the study, over 400 nonprofits, capacity building providers, and funders provided input on the capacity building supports needed by individual nonprofits and shared their perspective on the ecosystem of capacity building in Chicago. The study incorporates a review of the latest literature on capacity building best practices and trends, and explores three model capacity building programs to understand why they’re successful and what lessons they can offer to consumers and providers of, and investors in, capacity building in the greater Chicago area. The report culminates with recommendations on how Chicago-area nonprofits, funders, and capacity building providers can work together to strengthen supports for nonprofits. Download the Final Report.
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With support from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, LFA developed the Better Results Toolkit in partnership with a set of San Francisco Bay Area environmental education organizations that participated in a three-year capacity-building initiative called LEAPS (Leadership and Evaluation for Program Success). The toolkit guides organizations through the process of putting strong data-driven learning practices in place.
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Stanford Social Innovation Review published this case study written by Steven LaFrance (LFA's Founder and CEO) and Nancy Latham (LFA's Chief Learning Officer) on a capacity-building initiative designed to advance the field of environmental education provided in Silicon Valley. Download the Full Article
A description of our cohort-based capacity-building services, including an overview of our capacity-building approach. We meet organizations where they are and craft a tailored set of activities to help nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies better measure their impact and manage their course to mission fulfillment. Download the Overview.
How should nonprofits begin thinking about bringing on dedicated evaluation and learning (E&L) staff? Nonprofit leaders understand that collecting and analyzing data in the service of learning is mission-critical. At the same time, many make do with program staff taking on the technical tasks of data analysis and reporting. This brief provides useful learning and practical guidance from 10 years and 30+ nonprofits in the PropelNext initiative regarding how, when, in what role(s), and at what levels of compensation this group of nonprofits staffed up their E&L functions.
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Read the blog post written by Steven LaFrance about this resource.
Learning for Action’s (LFA’s) Cohort-Based Capacity Building (CBCB) engagements bring together leaders from social sector organizations to strengthen their ability to build and sustain strategies, systems, tools and practices that facilitate learning. Geared toward both sharpening skills and shifting cultures, CBCBs leverage a three-pronged approach to equip participants with what they need for data-driven strategies and to action long-term habits.
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