Foundation stakeholders–boards, grantees, movement leaders, donors–are increasingly interested in understanding how the grants we are making and the other work we are doing are advancing our missions and achieving impact. For social justice funders, especially small foundations, evaluation can seem like a daunting and expensive task. How do all of the grants we make roll up to help us know if we are on track to achieve our program’s objectives? How can staff and board assess our work to understand whether we need to course correct? Do we need highly quantifiable measures in a social justice context? What other manageable approaches are available? Where do our grantees fit into all of this? How can principles of equity help inform this work?

LGBTQ and other social justice grantmakers are working on some of the most critical issues of our time. It’s, therefore, more important than ever to know whether we are making a difference for the communities most impacted by external challenges. The manageable and equitable evaluation and learning approaches introduced in this session will help attendees come away with some practical approaches that can be put to immediate use in their foundations. The session will include presentations, peer-exchanges and an interactive exercise.