Evaluation

Evaluation should be a helpful tool for grantees to measure their own work. Grantees report their progress annually and need to submit a final summary of their Measurable Results at the end of the grant lifecycle.

Think of the Measurable Results as milestones the Foundation uses to gauge its progress and effectiveness in meeting its goals — and ultimately in making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. When applying for funding, we ask grantees which result(s) their work targets and how their activities, if successful, will have a meaningful impact and further the Foundation's strategies.

Grantmaking decisions are largely based on how proposals align with the Foundation's strategies and ability to achieve one or more of our Measurable Results.

We use lessons learned from the evaluations to enhance our grantmaking and to highlight the most effective approaches being used in Colorado.

Center for Effective Philanthropy survey results
In early 2010, the Colorado Health Foundation contracted with the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) to conduct a confidential survey of its active 2009 grantees. CEP also uses a tool known as the Stakeholder Assessment Report to identify organizational strengths and weaknesses.

CEP, a nonprofit organization that helps foundations define, assess and improve their overall performance, has conducted this survey (known as the Grantee Perception Report) with more than 250 philanthropic funders — allowing the Foundation to compare its effectiveness with others in the field.

Distributed to 380 stakeholders in 2010, the Center for Effective Philanthropy's STAR survey yielded 112 responses. Distributed to 222 organizations with active grants in 2009, CEP's GPR survey yielded 165 responses.

Here are the key findings:

• The results of both surveys reflected positive perceptions of the Colorado Health Foundation. Grantees also provided high ratings for the Foundation's impact on their organizations.
• Stakeholders and grantees identified high-quality staff, resources and frequency of contact with grantees as strengths of the Foundation.
• The results of both surveys identified clarity and consistency of communications as areas for improvement.

In response to these findings, the Foundation will focus on improving three areas:

• Clarity of communications — We will ensure the grant guidelines featured on our website are clear about our funding priorities, what we do and do not fund, and that verbally these written communications match what we communicate verbally.
• Selection time — We will ensure a timely review process, communicating what can be expected during the review and how long it takes.
• Program officer turnover — We will ensure that the handoff process is standardized so that each grantee knows his or her new contact.

For more information about process or the survey results, please contact our evaluations staff at 303.953.3617.