Technical Assistance for Grantees Example

The Need: A local foundation was looking to deepen the impact of their grantmaking, and of their grantees’ work. The foundation was also struggling with a decrease in funds available. It saw the potential of better evaluation practices for its grantees, but was wary of imposing unreasonable demands upon managers and boards weathering a difficult fiscal climate.

How we helped: MGA created a short series of workshops for a group of the foundation’s grantees. We offered a series of short, practical and interactive workshops. Participants worked with their own staff between each workshop to conduct simple exercises based on what they had learned, and using templates we provided them.

The Results: Participating organizations gained knowledge and access to basic evaluation techniques. They left the workshops with improved evaluation practices, and a foundation to build upon. More importantly, their staff came away with a common understanding of the needs their programs are designed to address and how their work will contribute to achieving target outcomes.