Making the Most of Organizational Assessments: Lessons from funders and grantees

How can grantmakers better support the organizational capacity needs of our grantee partners? How can we best utilize the dozens of organizational assessment tools available to foundations and nonprofits in this process? As we all navigate the challenges of a pandemic, the organizational health of nonprofits is more important than ever before. In conducting a landscape scan of organizational assessment tools, the Hewlett Foundation and research and evaluation consultants at Informing Change found that the tool mattered less than the process, intentions, and players involved in organizational assessment.

During this session, we will unpack our lessons from the landscape scan while bringing in the firsthand experience of the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust and its grantee partner City Year. We’ll delve into questions about why Einhorn Family Charitable Trust chose the Performance Practice tool (formerly PIOSA) as its assessment tool, how they structure the process with grantees, what worked well for City Year and what advice they have for other grantmakers.

Attendees will come away with a deeper and nuanced understanding of how funders can more effectively incorporate organizational assessment tools and processes to support stronger grantee organizations.

Speakers

Jennifer Wei
Organizational Effectiveness Officer, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Tina Cheplick
Senior Consultant, Informing Change

Lucie Addison
Director of Organizational Learning and Impact, Einhorn Family Charitable Trust

Duke Guthrie
Senior Director, National Foundation Relations, City Year