United Way’s Impact Learning Circle

and Nonprofit Capacity Building Project

Impact Learning Circle and Nonprofit Capacity Building

United Way’s Impact Learning Circle, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, is providing free training and technical assistance to Bay Area nonprofits. The focus is to help 30 small to medium size Bay Area nonprofits become data driven organizations by improving their use of data in the following ways:

  • Improve program design and delivery by collecting and analyzing data in new ways
  • Improve the organization’s communication of data to funders and stakeholders
  • Use data to manage staff performance more effectively
  • Enhance the agency’s evaluation database or develop a new database solution

Gaining Momentum: Continuing the Journey of a Performance Driven Organization

Held July 16, 2012, the Impact Learning Circle 6th and final convening featured experts in the field who spoke about the journey to becoming “performance-driven.”  The morning included a panel discussion from evaluation staff at foundations who shared their insights and perspectives about how evaluation can drive learning and deliver better results for organizations and the communities we serve.  The morning also included keynote speaker John Kania of FSG who shared real world examples of how organizations benefit from solid performance management.

Panelists:

Guest Speaker: John Kania, FSG

» Click here to download the presentation slides (pdf)

Fitting All the Pieces Together: Evaluation Planning

» Click Evaluation Plan Template (word document)

Dashboards and Logic Models

Held October 18th, 2011, the Impact Learning Circle convened for our 3rd session focusing on dashboards and logic models. The workshops were designed in response to the needs many agencies identified in their assessments and workplans for this project.

Click the links below for powerpoints and handouts:

  • Dashboard 101 PPT Dashboard 101: Jay Banfield, Year Up & Betsy Baum Block, United Way Bay Area
  • Behavioral Economics Emily Harpster and Leah Staub-DeLong, United Way of the Bay Area
  • Behavioral economics uses social, cognitive, and emotional factors to understand how people make decisions. This workshop will provide a brief overview of behavioral economics and an opportunity for you to apply new strategies to the data challenges of your organization.
  • Logic Model Session Deb Montesinos, Montesinos and Associates
  • Data Visualization Kristina Ng and Ena Yasuhara, United Way of the Bay Area
  • Choosing A Good Chart
  • Data Visualization Handout

When numbers and spreadsheets are difficult to interpret, visualizing the data can help you see trends you didn’t notice before. This introductory workshop will include tips, tools and resources that will help your organization share your data with others.

Impact Learning Circle: Becoming A Data-Driven Organization

On July 17, 2011, UWBA hosted a conference on becoming a data-driven organization for the nonprofit community. It was well attended by a diverse group of nonprofits from all over the state.

View the participant list.

Click the links below for speaker powerpoints and handouts:

Keynote Speakers

  • Kim Thomas, Executive Director, Children’s Network of Solano County – Becoming a Data-Driven Organization
  • Jose Quinones, Executive Director, Mission Asset Fund
  • Jose Corona, Executive Director, Inner-City Advisors

Using Data in Marketing and Communications

A Framework and Set of Tools for Improving Performance & Results

It’s All About the Database

If you would like to learn more about the Impact Learning Circle, please contact Betsy Baum Block, Vice President, Evaluation + Insight at bblock@uwba.org or 415-808-4402.