Deepening Community Relationships During Puerto Rico Pride June 20, 2024 By Judy Ney At TCC Group, we know how essential it is to support our philanthropic partners in deepening their accountability and trust with communities to sustain lasting impact. Last year, we shared how we designed a Community Listening Tour to accelerate community-driven approaches to ending the HIV epidemic in Puerto Rico, where historical harm has created a … Continued
AEA 365 Blog: Friends or Frenemies? Evaluation, Corporations and Sustainability January 31, 2024 By Catherine Ward Friends or Frenemies? Evaluation, Corporations and Sustainability by Morgan Buras-Finlay, Veronica Olazabal, Jared Raynor, and John Sherman Does evaluation have a role to play in supporting corporations seeking to advance environmental sustainability and other social benefits? In Friend for Frenemies? Evaluations, Corporations, and Sustainability, TCC Group’s Jared Raynor and colleagues in the field consider how … Continued
Localization Part 3: Whose Story Is It? Practices for Using a Localization Approach to Share and Interpret Evaluation Findings January 30, 2024 By Judy Ney Crucial to using a localization approach (i.e., integrating the voices of those who are most affected by the social or environmental challenges being addressed) is a mindset and a belief that everyone who touches a program or intervention brings skills to the table that can contribute to a successful evaluation. We are all taking in … Continued
Resolve to Build Bridges in Your Grantmaking January 30, 2024 By Catherine Ward It’s a New Year with new beginnings. While any time of the year can be the right time to make a change or reimagine your work, the New Year brings a sense of renewal and promise. In this spirit, we propose making this the year you resolve to build bridges, not barriers, for grantees and … Continued
Storytelling Souvenirs November 15, 2023 By Judy Ney What TCC Group’s Evaluation Team Brought Back from The American Evaluation Association’s Evaluation 2023 Conference đź“– Storytelling and Evaluation Storytelling in evaluation is a powerful way to describe the cause and effect of programs or initiatives. Walking your audience down the path of a programmatic story is an immersive tactic that will lead to a … Continued
Taking the Prize in Expanding Donor Interest October 5, 2023 By Judy Ney While more than $1 trillion in new money for philanthropy has been promised through the Giving Pledge, most of this money remains on the sidelines. Despite the urgency of local, national, and global social and economic challenges, would-be donors have no accessible, trusted, and reliable way to choose with confidence among the many charitable causes, … Continued
Sparking New Collaborations and Deepening Relationships with Learning Communities August 28, 2023 By Judy Ney For funders considering various mechanisms for broader and deeper levels of engagement with organizations and stakeholders, Learning Communities are a powerful tool. They support the development of trusting and thoughtful relationships, cultivation of allies and supporters on mission-aligned topics, and establishment of credibility and expertise. On the grantee side, Learning Communities provide pathways to connectivity … Continued
A Journey From GenCon to Social Impact August 28, 2023 By Judy Ney “Gaming brings people together” – Lisa Su, CEO, Advanced Micro Devices This year, I had the unique opportunity to attend GenCon2023, North America’s largest tabletop game convention. With an estimated attendance surpassing 70,000, this year’s event gathered game designers, developers, distributors, and enthusiasts in Indianapolis. Over several days, attendees shared, tried out, and reveled in … Continued
Gaming for Social Impact August 2, 2023 By Judy Ney “Games aren’t just filler in education. They have the ability to introduce, reinforce, or even assess learning of a given topic.” – Kara Carrero Games are fun. But what if we told you that we think that games can be so much more? What if games could not only teach, but evoke empathy, and drive … Continued
Harnessing the Power of Values to Advance Narrative Change July 27, 2023 By Judy Ney Stories are the most powerful tools we have to connect with others, be remembered, and inspire action.[1] A single story can create empathy, challenge beliefs, and change hearts and minds. From Aesop’s Fables to Biblical parables, stories are often embedded with “lessons” about the way the world works, and teach us from a young age … Continued
How Do We Design Meaningful Strategies with Communities? We Listen! May 31, 2023 By Judy Ney The only way to understand what a community really needs is to ask them, listen carefully to what they say, and show up authentically every step of the way.  At TCC Group, we name this deep listening, and it guides the relationships we have built and sustained with communities across the country over the years. Deep … Continued
Localization Part 2: Implementing a Localized Evaluation & Learning Framework May 31, 2023 By Judy Ney “You have little power over what’s not yours” – Zimbabwean proverb As evaluators we’re often brought in to assess the success of programs that are implemented in vastly different cultural contexts. So, to ensure that our evaluation is relevant, effective, and useful – how do we integrate the individuals closest to and most affected by … Continued
Letting Communities Lead: How National Funders Can Advance Equity by Partnering with Local and Regional Foundations May 31, 2023 By Judy Ney National funders have long sought ways to make positive social change happen in local communities. However, for some of these funders, place-based philanthropy encompasses pre-determined strategies, directive relationships with community “partners,” and strict accountability measures allowing little or no space to accommodate the particularities of local contexts. The all too frequent outcome of this type … Continued
Centering Communities: A Case Study of Partnering in Place from Baltimore and Jackson May 31, 2023 By Judy Ney Place-based work has been an essential cornerstone of investing since philanthropy’s inception; it allows funders to address the unique issues and needs of a specific geographic area or community. It involves directing resources toward community organizations, initiatives, and projects to create positive social impact and improve the health of a specific area or region. While … Continued
Rethinking Leadership Development Evaluation May 3, 2023 By Judy Ney The following article was originally published in Stanford Social Innovation Review as part of their “Recognizing Leadership in All Its Forms” series. To read the article in its entirety visit SSIR with your subscription information or download a PDF. The social sector generally considers leadership development a good investment, especially when it comes to cultivating systems-level change. But … Continued