Nonprofit program evaluation

Did the programactually work?

Program evaluation is how a nonprofit answers that with evidence instead of effort. The six steps, the four types, a plan template, and how to keep the answer going year after year.

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The six steps

Six steps,in order.

A widely used framework is CDC’s, updated in 2024. Each step produces something the next one needs, so skipping the early ones is how evaluations end up measuring the wrong thing.

  1. 01

    Assess the context

    What the program operates within: the people it serves, the funders, the constraints, what is already known.

  2. 02

    Describe the program

    A logic model: inputs, activities, outputs and the outcomes you expect, in order.

  3. 03

    Focus the evaluation questions and design

    Two or three questions the evaluation will answer, and the design that can answer them.

  4. 04

    Gather credible evidence

    Indicators with definitions and denominators, collected on a schedule from named sources.

  5. 05

    Generate and support conclusions

    Findings that say what the evidence supports, and no more.

  6. 06

    Act on findings

    Changes to the program, and a report the funder and the board can use.

Source: CDC Program Evaluation Framework, 2024. Step names are CDC’s; the descriptions are ours.

Four types

Four types,four questions.

Pick the type from the question you need answered. One façade grant program on a commercial corridor, evaluated four ways.

The four types of program evaluation: the question each answers, when to run it, and an example from one façade grant program.
TypeThe questionWhenExample
FormativeWill this work here, and what would stop it?Before or as the program starts.Interview merchants on the block: would they apply for a façade grant, and what would stop them?
ProcessIs it running as planned?While it runs.Applications received, workshops held, sign-in counts, grants awarded against the plan.
OutcomeDid anything change for the people served?At the end of each period, and again a year later.Storefronts open on the block, against the same count a year earlier.
ImpactDid the program cause the change?When a funder or a decision needs proof of cause.Compare the block with similar corridors that had no grants. Usually needs an outside evaluator.

Over time

A snapshot,or a line.

Most evaluations happen once, at the end of a grant. Long-term (longitudinal) tracking keeps the same measure going year after year, and checks in with people after they leave the program. That is how you find out whether a change lasted.

Outcome measure

Storefronts open on the block

Definition
Open to customers at least five days a week, counted on the same walk each year.
Denominator
All 38 ground-floor storefronts on the block.

  1. Dec 31, 2024

    24 of 38

    Source · Corridor liaison's walk-through notes

  2. Dec 31, 2025

    31 of 38

    Source · Corridor liaison's walk-through notes

Illustrative exampleEvidence available, reviewed. It shows the block changed, not that the grants caused it. Proving cause needs an impact design.
  • Keep the definition and denominator fixed, every year.
  • Follow up after people leave, with their permission.
  • Keep the source under every number.

Who does it

Hire it out,or start now.

Process and outcome evaluation can run in-house. Impact evaluation, or any claim that the program caused a change, usually needs an outside evaluator, and some funders require one.

What it costs

A common rule of thumb is 5–10% of the program budget. The Social Innovation Fund’s evaluation budgeting guide found that too low for rigorous designs: 15–20% for a single-site quasi-experimental study or randomised trial, and 25% or more for some.

Where MissionAligned fits

Much of an evaluation’s early work is finding the data. MissionAligned files sign-ins, follow-up forms, outcome measures and staff notes against each program and grant as the work happens, with the source under every number. Whoever runs the evaluation, you or an evaluator, starts from the record. Nothing counts as an outcome until a person reviews it.

The plan

Plan iton one page.

Eight sections, with the questions to answer under each. Fill it in before the program starts, so the data you need is collected from day one.

Evaluation plan

Program
 
Evaluation period
 
Plan owner
 

  1. 01The program

    • Who does the program serve, and what does it do for them?
    • Write the logic model in one line each: inputs, activities, outputs, expected outcomes.

  2. 02The questions

    • What two or three questions must this evaluation answer?
    • Who will use the answers, and for what decision?

  3. 03The type

    • Formative, process, outcome or impact? Say why that type answers the questions above.

  4. 04Indicators

    • For each outcome: the measure, its definition, its denominator and the baseline value.
    • Keep the definition fixed from year to year, or the comparison breaks.

  5. 05Data and schedule

    • Where does each indicator come from: sign-ins, surveys, records, interviews?
    • When is it collected, and by whom?

  6. 06Follow-up

    • How long after people leave the program will you check in: six months, a year, two?
    • How will you reach them, and what have they agreed to share?

  7. 07Analysis

    • Who reviews the evidence, and when?
    • What would count as the program working? Decide before the data comes in.

  8. 08Use

    • What will change in the program because of the findings?
    • Which funder reports and board updates will the findings go into?

Get the evaluation plan template (.docx)

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Questions

What peopleask next.

What are the six steps of program evaluation?

In CDC’s 2024 framework: assess the context, describe the program, focus the evaluation questions and design, gather credible evidence, generate and support conclusions, and act on findings. Three actions run across all six: engage collaboratively, promote fair and just evaluation practices, and learn from and use insights.

What are the four types of evaluation?

Formative (will it work here?), process (is it running as planned?), outcome (did anything change for the people served?) and impact (did the program cause the change?). Most small nonprofits run process and outcome evaluations themselves and bring in an evaluator for impact.

What are examples of program evaluation?

Counting workshop attendance against the plan is a process evaluation. Comparing how many storefronts are open on a block this year with last year is an outcome evaluation. Comparing that block with similar blocks that had no program is an impact evaluation.

What do program evaluators do?

They help frame the questions, choose a design that can answer them, collect or check the data, analyse it and say what it supports. An outside evaluator also brings independence, which some funders require.

How much does a program evaluator cost?

It depends on the design. A common rule of thumb is 5–10% of the program budget, but the Social Innovation Fund’s evaluation budgeting guide found 15–20% more realistic for rigorous single-site impact designs, and 25% or more for some. Process and outcome tracking you run yourself costs staff time rather than a contract.

What is a longitudinal evaluation?

One that follows the same measure, with the same definition, over several periods, often checking in with participants after they leave the program. It shows whether a change lasted, which a single end-of-grant evaluation cannot.

Keep the evidenceyear after year.

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