Skip to content

For Foundations: How to Use Logic Model Heat Mapping

Sector: Foundations

Unique Methods in Multi-Stakeholder Evaluation

Authors: ORS Impact, Spark Policy Institute, TCC Group A seminal resource in the advocacy evaluation field, “Unique Methods in Advocacy Evaluation” (Coffman & Reed, 2010) increased evaluators’ awareness of methods uniquely positioned to evaluate advocacy. This second brief adds to that toolbox, this time focusing on methods that have been successfully used to understand multi-stakeholder … Continued

Capturing General Operating Support Effectiveness: An Evaluation Framework for Funders and Evaluators

Data show that general operating support is on the rise. Yet foundations and evaluators alike need to better understand how to measure the impact of these grants. In this briefing paper, TCC Group reflects on its work evaluating general operating support and provides a comprehensive outcomes framework that maps out four key dimensions of success … Continued

Advocacy Campaigns and Embedded Evaluators: Lessons Learned

From 2014 to 2016, TCC Group (TCC) partnered with Pre-K for PA Campaign and Campaign for Fair Education Funding (CFEF) to act as their embedded evaluator. For each advocacy campaign, TCC’s focus was on the quality of strategy, progress on short- and long-term goals, and internal capacity. Working with CFEF and Pre-K for PA provided … Continued

Meet Me Where I Want To Be: An Ethnographic Research Study of Black Gay Men in Baltimore, Maryland, and Jackson, Mississippi

To kick off the ACCELERATE! Initiative, ViiV Healthcare commissioned an ethnographic research study beginning with a comprehensive environment assessment to familiarize the research team with daily life in Baltimore and Jackson. The assessment also helped to establish an understanding about the contexts in which Black gay men operate at home, in the clinic, and out … Continued

Targeted Capacity Building – CCAT® Refresher Course

A webinar recording from February 26, 2016, Julie Simpson at TCC Group spends one hour exclusively on targeted capacity building—what it is, why it’s valuable, and how CCAT facilitators can use this approach in future interpretations. The specific roles and responsibilities for nonprofits, funders, and local consultants are also clearly identified.

Step into the Fight: Philanthropy’s Role in Legal Advocacy

Step into the Fight introduces funders and advocates to the concepts of legal advocacy—that is, using the judicial system to achieve social change. It was created as part of the Atlas Learning Project, generously funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and supported by the Center for Evaluation Innovation.

Toward a More Just Justice System: How Open are the Courts to Social Justice Litigation?

Authors: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law This piece, written by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, explores the legal context around pursuing legal advocacy, including factors that favor and obstruct legal advocacy, key strategies to think about while engaged in legal advocacy work, and recommendations for funders and litigators involved in … Continued

Foundation Core Capacity Assessment Tool (FCCAT)

The Foundation Core Capacity Assessment Tool (FCCAT) is a statistically validated tool to strengthen the philanthropic sector by helping foundations assess their institutional capacity strengths and challenges. The FCCAT measures capacities critical to a wide variety of foundations. The tool has been carefully crafted to draw upon the field’s current understanding of the capacities foundations … Continued

Shine a Light: The Role of Consultants in Fostering a Learning Culture at Foundations

Noticeably absent on the list of reasons foundations cite for engaging consultants is learning—a particularly important attribute for foundations that grapple with complex issues in dynamic environments. Consultants are particularly well positioned to help foundations in the learning process. They help organizations understand and create models and frameworks, implement strategies and mechanisms within them, overcome … Continued