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Findings from the Hewlett Cyber Initiative Summative Evaluation

In 2022, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation (the Foundation) commissioned Informing Change to conduct a summative evaluation of its Cyber Initiative (the Initiative). The Foundation created the Initiative in 2014 ith the objective of establishing a cyber field of multidisciplinary experts with the necessary knowledge, expertise, and reach to... Read more »

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Findings from the LAJTI Evaluation – Years 6-8

Informing Change has evaluated the Los Angeles Jewish Teen Initiative (LAJTI or the Initiative) since it began in 2015. This evaluation report, Findings from the LAJTI Evaluation – Years 6-8, covers the last three years of the Initiative, from Fall 2020 through Spring 2023, and draws primarily on qualitative data... Read more »

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Data Ethics Guidebook

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation invited Informing Change to partner with them in the development of an updated Data Ethics Guidebook. In doing so, we considered the evolving ecosystem of values, players, and circumstances in which evaluation is now happening in philanthropy. While appreciating the insights evaluation work can... Read more »

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Data Ethics Toolkit

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation invited Informing Change to partner with them in the development of an updated Data Ethics Guidebook. In doing so, we considered the evolving ecosystem of values, players, and circumstances in which evaluation is now happening in philanthropy. In addition to the Guidebook, we developed... Read more »

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The 2021 Reproductive Justice Impact Evaluation Executive Summary

Eighty reproductive or birth justice organizations supported by Groundswell Fund or via one of its grantmaking partners reflected on their work, progress made, and challenges encountered in 2021. They described the headwinds and tailwinds they faced, the allies they worked with, and their strategies. Collectively, these organizations have programs in... Read more »

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The Achievable Health Center: A Case Study

The Achievable Health Center opened in 2013 in Culver City, California, as an innovative, licensed health center with a unique model of care, serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The Health Center was created out of the founders’ understanding of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities... Read more »

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Case Studies in Distributed Leadership

We, in partnership with Open Mind Consulting and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, researched seven organizations to learn about how they share, collaborate on, and distribute leadership. Looking through the lens of decision making, we discovered that even among this small sample, the ways of distributing power, authority, and responsibility are myriad.... Read more »

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Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Jewish Teen Education & Engagement Initiative Evaluation: Phase 3 Report (2017–18)

Informing Change has served as the local learning partner for five of ten Jewish Teen Initiatives in cities across the United States (Atlanta, Boston, Denver/Boulder, Los Angeles, and San Diego). These initiatives, supported by the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative, constitute a series of experiments in developing and... Read more »

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Moishe House: 2018 Evaluation Findings

Moishe House supports over 60,000 young adults around the world in creating meaningful Jewish communities for their peers. As an organization deeply committed to ongoing learning and development, Moishe House leadership engages in in-depth evaluation of their flagship program every three years to understand the program’s overall impact and opportunities... Read more »

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Oakland Leaf’s 2019–25 Strategic Plan

In 2017, we collaborated on a strategic planning and theory of change process with the nonprofit Oakland Leaf, which provides quality outside-of-school programming for underserved youth with an emphasis on art, wellness, leadership, literacy, and STEM. Informed by a landscape scan of similar organizations, rapid feedback interviews with an array... Read more »

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A Guide to Organizational Capacity Assessment Tools

There are dozens of organizational capacity assessment tools. How do you determine which one is right for your organization? We partnered with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Effective Philanthropy Group to scan the landscape of organizational capacity assessment tools and gather insights from organizational capacity professionals about the best... Read more »

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Expanded Learning for California’s Children

Over the course of its seven-year investment in improving after-school and summer learning programs (also known as expanded learning programs) for California’s K–12 students, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation invested in three linked strategies: creating models of high quality summer learning programs, cultivating a statewide network of technical assistance... Read more »

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Top-Level Learnings from a Seven-Year Investment in After-school and Summer Learning

This executive summary shares top level findings from our final evaluation report of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s seven-year investment in expanded learning. Using three linked strategies—creating models of high quality summer learning programs, cultivating a statewide network of technical assistance (TA) for expanded learning, and engaging stakeholders to champion expanded... Read more »

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Building a Data-Driven Culture: The Heartbeat of Value-Based Care

In this case study, we draw upon our evaluation findings from the Safety Net Analytics Program (SNAP) to explore how safety net healthcare organizations can successfully create and sustain data-driven cultures. The work of gaining staff buy-in—let alone training staff in different aspects of data analytics—building data infrastructure and using... Read more »

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A Model for Improving Health Care Data Analytics

The Safety Net Analytics Program (SNAP), implemented by Center for Care Innovations and funded by California Health Care Foundation, was created to help safety net organizations develop a data-driven culture and to strengthen the people, processes and technology behind data analytics. SNAP engaged 20 grantee teams to grow and develop... Read more »

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Documenting the JRS Initiative Model

The early childhood years are a gateway into Jewish life for children and their families, and preschool is a prime time for young families to engage with the Jewish community. Seizing this opportunity, the Jewish Resource Specialist (JRS) Initiative endeavors to build the field of Jewish early childhood education, enhance... Read more »

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Infographic: Effective Consulting Partnerships to Philanthropy

Over the years we’ve had both productive and challenging experiences working with other consultants on philanthropy projects. Reflecting on these experiences, and from talking with others in the field, we wrote an article for the Foundation Review to spark the conversation on how consulting partnerships, in supporting philanthropy, take different forms and... Read more »

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Awarding Innovation: An Assessment of the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Competition

In 2013, the MacArthur Foundation engaged Informing Change to evaluate one component of its Digital Media and Learning (DML) Initiative—the DML Competition—which identifies innovators and invests in prototypes of games, mobile phone applications, virtual worlds, social networks, digital badge platforms and more in support of connected learning. Informing Change assessed the Competition’s... Read more »

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Assessment of Regranting Intermediaries Strategy: Exploring the Ecosystem of Support for Individual Artists & Small Arts Organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area

In 2014, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts Program engaged Informing Change in partnership with Olive Grove to assess the effectiveness of the Foundation’s approach to support regranting intermediaries. The Foundation works with these regranting intermediaries to target San Francisco Bay Area small arts organizations, individual artists and communities or arts disciplines... Read more »

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Seeds of Opportunity: A National Study of Immersive Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE)

In fall 2012, a collection of Jewish funders—Jim Joseph Foundation, Leichtag Foundation, The Morningstar Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, Schusterman Family Foundation, and UJA Federation of New York—collaborated with Hazon to conduct the first national research study on experiences that integrate Jewish outdoor, food, and environmental education (JOFEE), focusing on immersive... Read more »

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Clinic Leadership Institute Executive Excellence Program Findings

In 2012, Blue Shield of California Foundation launched the Executive Excellence program (Ex2), the most recent addition to the suite of Clinic Leadership Institute programs. Administered by UCLA Anderson Executive Education, Ex2 offers a range of instruction and supports to catalyze leadership and effectiveness among executive teams in California’s community health... Read more »

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Views on Growing Impact from Grantmakers and Nonprofits: Select Highlights from the Evaluation of GEO’s Scaling What Works Initiative

From 2010 to 2014, Scaling What Works was a multi-year learning initiative of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) to expand the number of grantmakers and public sector funders who are working together to grow the impact of high-performing nonprofit organizations. Through the Initiative, GEO offered training, networking opportunities, and a host of... Read more »

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New Jewish Specialty Camps: From Idea to Reality

In 2008 the Jim Joseph Foundation invested $10 million to create and develop new specialty camps for Jewish teens, using the concept of an incubator for a small cohort of camp entrepreneurs.  The Incubator was entrusted to the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), which took on the challenge to help... Read more »

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Clinic Leadership Institute Emerging Leaders Program Findings

Published in the Clinic Leadership Institute’s seventh year, this dashboard showcases how the program continued to develop individual leaders, strengthen sponsoring organizations and bolster California’s community health centers system so it will thrive for years to come. In the evaluation findings, highlighted by Informing Change in a data dashboard and short deck,... Read more »

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Mission Possible: Healthcare Safety Net Integration

For the past few years, healthcare administrators and providers have been getting ready for the Affordable Care Act by re-examining and making changes to their current systems. They are preparing for an influx of newly insured patients, attempting to position themselves as providers of choice within their communities and working... Read more »

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Jewish Student Connection: 2011–12 Evaluation Findings

Jewish Student Connection (JSC) aims to serve as a catalyst for Jewish teens to take ownership of their Jewish future by creating in-school educational experiences in public and private high schools. JSC’s student-run clubs provide opportunities for teens to build community, learn about Jewish history and Israel, and gain access... Read more »

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Strengthening Partnerships to Improve Community Health

Over the past four years, the Center for Care Innovations (formerly the Community Clinics Initiative) has supported creative ways of promoting health in underserved communities through their Networking for Community Health program. CCI, through generous support from The California Endowment, offered grants and non-monetary supports to community clinics across California... Read more »

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Preparing Diverse Leaders for Advancement in LGBT Organizations

The Pipeline Project offers the 21st Century Fellows Program to managers of color working at LGBT human rights and advocacy organizations with the intention of retaining and advancing these fellows in the field. The year-long leadership program aims to: build fellows’ leadership skills through a Rockwood Leadership Institute curriculum, create... Read more »

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Preparing the Clinic Leaders of Tomorrow

The Blue Shield of California Foundation is partnering with the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco to design and implement the Clinic Leadership Institute Emerging Leaders program. This intensive, 18-month program prepares emerging leaders to move into executive positions within five to eight years... Read more »

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Getting to the Roots of Healthy Living: The Experience of the Community Clinics Initiative’s Networking for Community Health Projects

As part of the evaluation of the Community Clinics Initiative (CCI)’s Networking for Community Health (NCH) program, Informing Change is examining how community clinics strengthen their working relationships with both traditional and non-traditional partners to promote community health. This report focuses on a sub-set of NCH projects that focus on... Read more »

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The Power of Partnerships for Policy & Advocacy

In 2008, the Community Clinic’s Initiative launched a $1.6 million effort, the Community Health Organizing Project, to support statewide and regional advocacy efforts around health care reform and budget issues. The Project provided funding to the California Primary Care Association (CPCA) and 15 regional clinic networks working to bring more... Read more »

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Harnessing the Power of Youth: The Experience of the Community Clinics Initiative’s Networking for Community Health Projects

As part of the evaluation of the Community Clinics Initiative (CCI)’s Networking for Community Health (NCH) program, Informing Change is examining how community clinics strengthen their working relationships with both traditional and non-traditional partners to promote community health. This brief focuses on a sub-set of NCH projects that are engaging... Read more »

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The Worth of What They Do

As part of its efforts in building the field of Jewish service-learning, Repair the World commissioned Informing Change to conduct an exploratory study on the impact of short-term immersive Jewish service-learning (IJSL) on the organizations and communities that host these groups. The study included interviews with representatives of host community... Read more »

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Strengthening the Leadership Pipeline

In 2008, The Blue Shield of California Foundation partnered with the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco to address leadership needs in the community clinics field. They launched the Clinic Leadership Institute (CLI), an 18-month leadership program designed to prepare next generation leaders to... Read more »

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Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce: Youth Employment Survey

HIRE LA’s Youth, a division of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, supports youth employment by preparing applicants between the ages of 16–24 years to earn and retain entry-level employment. The multi-step preparation Work Readiness Certification (WRC) process includes resumé development, customer service skills training, workplace etiquette, application procedures... Read more »

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Building Capacity to Promote Community Health: The Experience to Date of the Community Clinics Initiative’s Networking for Community Health Program

In 2008, The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI) launched their Networking for Community Health (NCH) grantmaking program. The program was designed to support California community clinics in strengthening their working relationships with both traditional and non-traditional partners. Over the past three years, CCI has supported clinics’ projects that work on a... Read more »

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A Snapshot of the Community Clinic Voice

Social websites have rapidly grown into large, sophisticated networks that can span the globe.This brief provides a snapshot of one nonprofit online community—the Community Clinic Voice. The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI) supports the Voice to aid health care safety net professionals in building stronger, healthier communities. The brief explores the... Read more »

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The Bridging Role of Community Health Promoters

Community health workers, public health aides, promotores and peer educators are all terms used to describe the role of community health promoters. These workers are recruited from communities to apply their knowledge of the area and their personal connections with residents to promote the public’s health. The Community Clinics Initiative requested... Read more »

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Final Evaluation of the Low Income Investment Fund’s Constructing Connections Pilot: 2004-2009: Executive Summary

The Low Income Investment Fund’s ABCD Initiative supports the development of quality child care facilities in California. In this report, Informing Change took an in-depth look at one of the initiative’s strategies—Constructing Connections. Through this strategy, LIIF supported local collaborative teams consisting of child care operators, developers, civic leaders, small... Read more »

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Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Coaches

What does it take to become an effective coach in the nonprofit sector? How can coaches assess leaders’ readiness for coaching? How can coaches ensure a successful engagement? These are just a few of the questions that Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Coaches addresses in this guide that... Read more »

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Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Grantmakers

How does coaching differ from other types of nonprofit supports? Why should grantmakers support coaching? When and how should coaching be used? These are just a few of the questions that Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Grantmakers addresses in this guide that highlights the findings from the Coaching... Read more »

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Creating Connections for Healthier Communities: The Community Clinics Initiative’s Networking for Community Health Program

In 2008, The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI)’s launched their new Networking for Community Health grantmaking program. The program provides California community clinics with two-year grants to strengthen networking efforts with other organizations to promote the health of the communities they serve. Grantees’ networks have addressed a variety of community health... Read more »

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The Nature of Leadership: Lessons from an Exemplary Statesman

Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson was an extraordinary political leader and public servant. With help from Informing Change, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation conceptualized and produced a new publication to document Senator Jackson’s legacy of leadership in public service. In The Nature of Leadership: Lessons from an Exemplary Statesman (July 2008), interviews with... Read more »

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The Jewish Resource Specialist Program Year 1 Evaluation Findings

The Jewish Resource Specialist Program (JRS) is a flagship professional development initiative of the Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. JRS was designed to deepen the overall Jewish experience in early childhood Jewish educational institutions and support... Read more »

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Jewish Service Learning: What Is and What Could Be

In the fall of 2007, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Jim Joseph Foundation commissioned Informing Change to assess the landscape of Jewish Service Learning. Informing Change examined the current capacity among Jewish Service Learning practitioners and the support required to expand that... Read more »

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Making the Most of Evaluation

During Informing Change’s multi-year evaluation of the Community Clinics Initiative (CCI), we observed that CCI was particularly effective in extracting knowledge and lessons while the evaluation was underway. This made their grantmaking more responsive and strategic. In this article, we identify five tactics that CCI used to ensure that the... Read more »

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Designing Learning Communities for Enhanced Impact

Informing Change’s evaluations often include structured experiences to help participants understand the process and what can be learned from it. In this article, Informing Change’s Director of Evaluation and Organizational Learning outlines key factors for successful learning communities and describes benefits of participation to funders. This article first appeared in LEARNING, the... Read more »

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The Cost of a Volunteer

Informing Change conducted an examination of 21 volunteer programs nationwide to assess the true cost of organizing a high-quality volunteer program. The study helped the field better understand the implications of the President’s Call to Service for the nonprofit sector. Read the results of the review and find out what... Read more »

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Health Forward Foundation Safety Net Portfolio Report

Over the last four years, Informing Change has partnered with the Health Forward Foundation (HFF, formerly the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City) to build a framework for evaluating the Foundation’s three portfolios: Safety Net, Mental Health, and Healthy Communities. Our team worked closely with each portfolio to construct... Read more »

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