Empowering Nonprofits Through Data
Empowering Nonprofits Through Data
Dr. Shaunette Parker and Chari Smith discuss using the book Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple. Get your Data. Show your Impact. Improve your Programs. to teach an undergraduate program evaluation course. Students used the Boys and Girls Club as an example organization to apply the strategies laid out in each chapter, including creating evaluation plans and data collection tools. Dr. Parker calls the book “a real life tool.”
“The book shows what I do in action in a nonprofit setting,” says Dr. Parker. “This is how it all works.”
Dr. Parker’s students “drew heavily” from the book’s companion website, a site updated regularly to include program evaluation resources and models. As a professor, Dr. Parker appreciates the package of information and examples, and lauds the book’s plain language, chapter length and ease of reading.
As a nonprofit professional for more than 15 years, and the current Outreach Director of a nonprofit organization Parent Outreach, Dr. Parker says of the book, “It was a good reminder of how evaluation is intended to make you better at what you do and it shouldn’t just be this ad hoc thing that you add on.”
Dr. Shaunette Parker, Professor at Lander University, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychological Science & Human Services; Faculty, College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Chari Smith, President, Evaluation into Action and Author of Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple
“This book represents a culture shift from exclusively chasing data to respond to funder requests to using data to learn…this book shows you how to integrate program evaluation into your day-to-day operations in order to improve programs and demonstrate your impact.”
Journal of Philanthropy & Marketing, February 2022
Book review by Dr. David Fetterman
Author, Empowerment Evaluation
President & CEO of Fetterman and Associates
“…the author adopts a strong cultural approach to evaluation. It is more a textbook to be used by teachers in master class and by trainers for mid-managers positions in the public and nonprofit sectors.”
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations (2022)*
Book review by Andrea Bassi
Associate Professor in General Sociology
*Please note, if you’re not a subscriber, the full review is available for purchase.
“In Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple, Chari Smith has produced a summary guide targeting professionals working in nonprofit organizations who are beginning their understanding of what is, and how to undertake, an evaluation. The tone of the book is bright and positive, the author clear, engaging, and professional.”
The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation
Lisa O’Reilly MPA CE
We all need to find time to read this book and this is what we need to be focusing on when it comes to evaluation and even just getting better.
- Dr. Shaunette Parker, Professor at Lander University, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychological Science & Human Services; Faculty, College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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