Pharo Academy Updates
I’m a Treasurer on a Non-Profit Board. Now What???
Early on in my career, I was asked to be a treasurer of a nonprofit board of directors. At the time, I was on maternity leave, worked in the finance space, and thought this organization, near my home, was a good place to stay involved and make some friends while I stayed home for a…
Why Non-Finance People Can Make the Best Treasurers…
So you can’t get a CPA or a finance person for your Board Treasurer position. Now what? In the realm of non-profit organizations, the role of a treasurer carries significant weight in managing financial affairs. Historically, Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) have been favored for this position due to their finance expertise. However, in recent years,…
Winning Your Next Grant Application With Numbers…
So there is a new grant coming out and you think your non-profit has a great chance at winning. I want to let you in on a little secret. For years, my team and I wrote grants for non-profits. We got them so much money. Considering it was not the primary focus of our business…
What is a Systems Evaluation and Why is it Important in the Non-Profit Sector?
Increasingly, we are told we need to design and evaluate things in systems. However, I want to take a step back this week and chat about what a system actually is and why it is important in the nonprofit context. Understanding Systems Evaluation Systems evaluations are particularly relevant in the nonprofit sector. Like putting on…
The Operational Evaluation: Expanding Our Definitions of Non-Profit Project Evaluations
Non-Profit project evaluations always seemed to me to be a little like a science fair project. You identify your theory of change or hypothesis, and some variables that you are hoping to impact. You reference some past research. You then identify some biases, discuss your methodology, collect your data, write a report and draw some…
Why Your Evaluation System Has Bias and Why That is Wrong….
When I was doing graduate school back in the dark ages, I remember taking a class called the “History of Methods” and it was an eye opening experience for me. For the first time I got to see how inherently biased traditional research methods could be. Fast forward to today, where we are so much…
The Transformative Power of Data and Storytelling for the Nonprofit Sector
Do you remember the last time that you were enraptured by a number? Neither do I. How about the last time a fact moved you to tears? Likely, also no. We are seldom moved by the black and white. The beauty and impact in the nonprofit sector comes from the shades of grey that fill…
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