- Topic 1: Supporting Nonprofit Financial Sustainability for Greater Impact
- Topic 2: Building Nonprofit Capacity to Evaluate, Learn and Grow Impact
For more information related to content covered in these workshops, see the descriptons (below) and/or visit the tools and tips webpage in the resources section to obtain workshop handouts.
To see a list of GEO's other upcoming peer learning opportunities, please visit our main website. Or, to explore hosting a future speaking engagement or workshop in your community, please contact Jason Twiss, GEO's manager of member engagement, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .Topic 1: Supporting Nonprofit Financial Sustainability for Greater Impact
Healthy and financially sound nonprofit organizations are a critical precursor to growing impact. Yet nonprofits and their funders have fewer resources and feel increased pressure to deliver results. So, how can grantmakers help nonprofits generate more impact? By aligning grant dollars to the financial and business needs of nonprofit organizations, grantmakers can better support nonprofit financial sustainability and leverage their limited resources to achieve better and more results. It is critical that grantmakers have the ability to assess the financial health and condition of the organizations they are looking to support.
Join GEO for a workshop delivered in partnership with Nonprofit Finance Fund that provides tools to guide grantmakers in their financial assessments of grantees and familiarizes participants with fundamental principles of finance in the nonprofit sector. Participants also will explore how to engage in a dialogue with grantees about financial challenges and resource needs and discuss grantmaking practices that can unintentionally hinder nonprofit effectiveness.
This workshop is best suited to the needs of grantmakers for whom financial due diligence is a component (or desired component) of the grantmaking process.
Topic 2: Building Nonprofit Capacity to Evaluate, Learn and Grow Impact
High-performing nonprofit organizations seek and use data and feedback to continually assess and improve their work. And, behind these efforts are supportive grantmakers who embrace the role they can play in helping grantees make effective use of information. These grantmakers acknowledge that before nonprofits can expand their impact, they must understand what works. They also realize that a prerequisite to identifying what is working in their own philanthropic efforts is helping grantees learn what is working for them on the ground.
Join GEO for a workshop delivered in partnership with Innovation Network on how grantmakers can support nonprofits in their efforts to evaluate, learn, improve and, ultimately expand their impact. Participants will discuss evaluation readiness, culture and practice on the behalf of grantmaker and grantees, and explore approaches and tools for building evaluation capacity.
This workshop is best suited for grantmakers newer to foundation learning and evaluation and/or providing appropriate and effective evaluative capacity-building support to grantees.
What past participants have to say about these workshops
"I have to say that training was excellent. NFF [Nonprofit Finance Fund] is awesome! My colleague and I came right back and applied what we learned to an upcoming grant review. Thank you for offering it and making it affordable and accessible."
- Cincinnati participant, April 2011
"One funder walked out of the GEO / Innovation Network training telling me I was invited to a meeting of key funders to discuss how we can collectively support evaluation capacity in the community. It looks like the training is already driving some important conversation."
- Cincinnati participant, June 2011
Past workshop locations, Dec. 2010 - Dec. 2012
We are grateful for the support and partnership of the following organizations which co-hosted prior workshops in this series.
- Appleton, Wis.
- Austin, Texas:
- Baltimore, Md.:
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa:
- Cincinnati, Ohio:
- Columbia, S.C.:
- Denver, Colo.:
- Colorado Association of Funders
- Check out some photos from the May 18, 2011, evaluation workshop with CAF
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Indianapolis, Ind.:
- Kansas City, Kan.:
- Little Rock, Ark.:
- Missoula, Mont.:
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- Phoenix, Ariz.:
- Arizona Grantmakers Forum
- Check out some video footage and photos from the May 26, 2011, evaluation workshop with AGF
- St. Louis, Mo.
- Tulsa, Okla.:
- West Palm Beach, Fla.
