{"product_id":"level-best-isbn-9780787979065","title":"Level Best","description":"\u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e offers guidance that demystifies evaluation and takes into account the unique challenges and realities of grassroots nonprofit organizations. It provides a new framework for thinking about evaluation and tools for measuring and sharing results in ways that are practical, efficient, and meaningful.  Figure, Tables, Worksheets, Exhibits, Agendas.  \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow to Use This Book.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInstruction with Samples and Examples.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Understanding Evaluation.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvaluation as Power Instead of Pain.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat Evaluation \u003ci\u003eIs\u003c\/i\u003e and What It \u003ci\u003eIs Not\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 A Simple Evaluation Framework.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Basic Evaluation Framework.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey Concepts:What to Evaluate and How to Get Started.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Rolling Evaluation Method.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Planning Your Evaluation.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Quick Review of Basic Organizational Readiness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDefinition of an Effective Organization.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat You Plan Affects What You Learn.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStep by Step: Planning Your Evaluation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnderstanding Funders’Needs and Fitting Them into Your Evaluation Plan.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy Setting Goals Makes Evaluation Easier.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow You Can Prepare.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 Asking the Right Questions.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClear Program Goals Guide Evaluation Questions and Choices.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat to Evaluate:What You Do Versus What Your Constituents Do.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIf\u003c\/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003eThen:\u003c\/i\u003eWhich to Evaluate?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Relationship Between Evaluating What You Do (Process) and What They Do (Outcome).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDetermine the Right Questions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAsk What You Really Want to Know.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow Advocacy Organizations Can Approach Evaluation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow to Be Answerable When Advocacy and Organizing Are Your Agenda.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdeas for Measuring Organizing Efforts.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 Tracking Information.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOptions for Tracking Information.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Right Goal Statement Helps Determine the Right Things to Track.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6 Learning From and Using the Information.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaking Use of Your Information.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrganizing Your Information.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing Conclusions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing What You Learn.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSharing Your Evaluation Results with the Outside World.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFeeding Results into the Cycle of Planning.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTying Evaluation into Planning.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDeciding Where to Begin.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIncorporating Evaluation into Your Strategic Planning Process.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResources.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Commonly Used Terms and Their Definitions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eB Types of Evaluation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eC Sample Completed Evaluation Planning Worksheet.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eD Sample Evaluation Report Outline.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eE Program Evaluation Standards.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbout the Authors.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex.\u003c\/p\u003e \"Level Best proves to be a foolproof fear buster . . . The book does an excellent job of presenting evaluation as a tool for grassroots organizations to use to their benefit…\" (\u003ci\u003eAmerican Journal of Evaluation\u003c\/i\u003e)  \u003cb\u003eMarcia Festen\u003c\/b\u003e of Marcia K. Festen Associates in Chicago is a consultant to nonprofits and foundations.In addition to conducting evaluations, she develops policy and grantmaking strategies, programs, and initiatives. She was a senior program officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and hasover twenty years of experience in the field.  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarianne Philbin\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, trainer, and consultant specializing in nonprofit organizational development.She has worked for a wide range of foundations and nonprofit organizations, and has an extensive background in grantmaking, fundraising, and nonprofit management. She is an instructor for the Donors Forum of Chicago and a lecturer at Northwestern University's School of Continuing Studies.\u003c\/p\u003e  Evaluating what you do is the first step toward increasing organizational effectiveness and, later successfully documenting your work and marketing your organization.  \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e offers guidance that demystifies evaluation and takes into account the unique challenges and realities of grassroots nonprofit organizations. It provides a new framework for thinking about evaluation and tools for measuring and sharing results in ways that are practical, efficient, and meaningful.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVeteran authors Marcia Festen and Marianne Philbin break down the evaluation process into five stages–planning, asking, tracking, learning, and using–­and show you how to integrate evaluation into your ongoing work. Their approach emphasizes that evaluation at its best is about learning rather than judging and improving rather than proving, and that it is overall an integral part of achieving your mission.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe book draws on the authors’ experience with nonprofits, foundations, donors, and boards of directors, and the expertise of evaluation professionals and nonprofit managers. It includes sample forms, checklists, and materials that have been used successfully by real-life organizations, and provides sample meeting agendas that will help you make decisions and move through an evaluation process from start to finish.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn easy-to-follow steps, \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e will help you develop your evaluation plan, gather your data, and use the lessons learned to strengthen your organization and make the best possible case for continued support.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e offers guidance that demystifies evaluation and takes into account the unique challenges and realities of grassroots nonprofit organizations. It provides a new framework for thinking about evaluation and tools for measuring and sharing results in ways that are practical, efficient, and meaningful.  \u003cp\u003eVeteran authors Marcia Festen and Marianne Philbin break down the evaluation process into five stages—planning, asking, tracking, learning, and using—and show you how to integrate evaluation into your ongoing work. Their approach emphasizes that evaluation at its best is about learning rather than judging and improving rather than proving, and that it is overall an integral part of achieving your mission.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe book draws on the authors' experience with nonprofits, foundations, donors, and boards of directors, and the expertise of evaluation professionals and nonprofit managers. It includes sample forms, checklists, and materials that have been used successfully by real-life organizations, and provides sample meeting agendas that will help you make decisions and move through an evaluation process from start to finish. In easy-to-follow steps, Level Best will help you develop your evaluation plan, gather your data, and use the lessons learned to strengthen your organization and make the best possible case for continued support.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e not only demystifies the process of evaluation, it offers a reasonable approach that makes sense for programs with limited time, money, or staff to devote to this area.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Eric Delli Bovi, development director, Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, Illinois\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Of all the resources I've consulted on evaluation, \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e is the most practical, the most readable, and the most supportive. The authors understand not only how great our challenges are, but how little time we have for anything that does not address our real needs—which this book does.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Ruth Barrett Rendler, deputy director, The Center for Victims of Torture, Minneapolis, Minnesota\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Offers solid guidance, clear direction, and practical applications for effective planning and program development.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Daranee Petsod, executive director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Sebastopol, California\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A guide which avoids jargon and overcomplicated systems by simplifying and clarifying the process for smaller and newer groups. It will be a much-used and much-appreciated tool.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Susannah Quem Pratt, coordinator of evaluation, Lilly Endowment's Religion Division\u003c\/p\u003e  \"Nonprofit organizations of all sizes must be able to measure progress toward their goals. As a fundraiser, I know how important this is in making a case for supporting the arts. \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e not only demystifies the process of evaluation, it offers a reasonable approach that makes sense for programs with limited time, money, or staff to devote to this area.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Eric Delli Bovi, development director, Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, Illinois  \u003cp\u003e\"We are under pressure every day—not only to perform at the highest level—but to prove that what we are doing nets the greatest possible results. Of all the resources I’ve consulted on evaluation. \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e is the most practical, the most readable, and the most supportive. The authors understand not only how great our challenges are, but how little time we have for anything that does not address our real needs—which this book does.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Ruth Barrett Rendler, deputy director, The Center for Victims of Torture, Minneapolis, Minnesota\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"So many guides to evaluation are theoretical or academic in nature, reflecting little understanding of the operating realities of smaller or more grassroots-oriented nonprofits. The authors of \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e know this territory intimately, and their guide to evaluation offers solid guidance, clear direction, and practical applications for effective planning and program development.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Daranee Petsod, executive director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Sebastopol, California\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Every day I see smaller nonprofits struggling to graft onto their work evaluation procedures that in one way or another just aren’t a good match for them. The authors of \u003ci\u003eLevel Best\u003c\/i\u003e have created a guide which avoids jargon and overcomplicated systems by simplifying and clarifying the process for smaller and newer groups. It will be a much-used and much-appreciated tool.\"\u003cbr\u003e —Susannah Quem Pratt, coordinator of evaluation, Lilly Endowment’s Religion Division\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jossey-Bass","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989525643493,"sku":"NP9780787979065","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780787979065.jpg?v=1761784462","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/level-best-isbn-9780787979065","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}