Nonprofit Performance Management: Using Data to Measure and Improve Programs

Tracking and measuring data can give nonprofits a better understanding of the populations they serve and how they serve them. It can also help them identify areas they can improve to boost the reach and effectiveness of their programs. But many organizations struggle with the idea of using data.How do successful nonprofits go about the process of implementing their data practices? What software do they use? What are the obstacles they face, and how do they overcome them? To find out, we reached out to our network of experts and consultants for examples of organizations that were successfully using data to improve and direct their work, and narrowed their list of recommendations down to 10 nonprofits of different sizes, missions, and locations.We talked to staffers at each who were involved with data and analyzed the information we gathered for common themes, best practices, and any patterns that might be useful. We also asked them for advice for other organizations looking to replicate their successes and learn from their mistakes.From those 10 organizations, we chose seven for case studies about the different ways they were using data. This report is built around those case studies and the additional conversations we had

The Landscape of Salesforce for Nonprofits: A Report on the Current Marketplace for Apps

Do you use Salesforce as a Constituent Relationship Management database at your organization, or are you considering it? Since it launched in 1999, more than 20,000 nonprofits have employed the cloud-based system, which is made available to them for free through the philanthropic Salesforce Foundation. What's the catch? Making such a powerful system work for the particular needs of a nonprofit isn't always straightforward. This report can tell you everything you need to know.What's in it? To learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of Salesforce, we interviewed nine prominent consultants specializing in implementing Salesforce for nonprofits along with several members of the Salesforce.com Foundation about what the platform does well, and what you'll want to add to it to suit your needs. We evaluated some of the constituent management packages built on top of Salesforce, including the Salesforce Foundation's Nonprofit Starter Pack, which is aimed at turning the sales automation platform into a tool for nonprofits. We also took a look at the universe of add-ons to the base Salesforce platform -- called "apps" because of Salesforce's online marketplace, the App Exchange -- to find out which might be useful to support a nonprofit's processes.The goal for this report was to break down misconceptions about the tool and to collect disparate information in one place to help you make informed decisions. Whether you're already using Salesforce, are thinking about adopting it, or have yet to even consider it, there's information here for you.What's more, we've included a directory of consultants or firms with experience working with nonprofits to implement Salesforce and the additional App Exchange modules that we cover in this report to make it easier for you to find the help you'll need

The Reality of Measuring Human Service Programs: Results of a Survey

In the summer of 2013, Idealware created and distributed a survey to learn how human service organizations from their own mailing list are actually using technology to measure and evaluate the outcomes of their programs. The suvey looked at a general overview of outcomes measurement and program evaluation topics, from how frequently they look at data and how much time they spend doing so to what types of metrics the organizations were tracking. To further understand the realities of measuring program effectiveness, Idealware conducted a site visit and interview of three human service organizations in Portland, Maine. The results clearly show that the respondents are struggling to measure their programs

The Rejection of the Manege Tradition in Early Modern England: Equestrian Elegance at Odds with English Sporting Tradition

Renaissance creativity and obsession with classical traditions spawned a new form of horsemanship called the manege in sixteenth-century Europe. This study deals with England\u27s rejection of the courtly horsemanship despite the dismal state of the nation\u27s equestrian affairs. Tudor and Stuart monarchs utilized royal influence to attempt change - from legislative refmms to the horses - but no specific monarchical effort proved immediately effective. The significance of royal influence is seen in the continued importation of quality stock and in royal support for equestrian-related sports. Both enriched equine bloodlines and promoted the development of sporting tradition in England. While, with royal encouragement, the manege and its \u27dancing\u27 horses enjoyed a brief acceptance in England, both were spurned in favor of sports and the developing Thoroughbred horse. English horsemen of the 1600s found their own voice regarding horsemanship in the written works of Blundeville, Markham, Astley, and Clifford. These English authors criticized the manege as \u27violent.\u27 Furthermore, such riding was considered futile in warfare and impractical for riding in the open English countryside. The majority of aristocratic riders became obsessed with the new riding styles made popular by racing and other histories have given attention to the emerging group of horsemanship writers in England, this thesis deals with the aristocratic rebuff of the manege and its proponents. English nobles even disregarded their own reputable horseman, William Cavendish, whose teachings reveal a diligent manege master with a competent understanding of the equine mentality. By 1620, the associated \u27violence\u27 in manege training waned as a second generation of riding masters - largely French - advocated greater humanity and patience in methodology. However, the English had already charted their own course in horsemanship and had no use for the \u27frivolous\u27 riding. English renunciation of the manege is but one expression of the country\u27s isolationism during the period, and its focus internally is congruent with a growing nationalism that favored things \u27uniquely British.\u2

From Participants to Co-Researchers: Methodological Alterations to a Qualitative Case Study

Researchers request a variety of levels of engagement from their participants in a research study. This can range from merely serving as a data generation opportunity to being actively involved in each stage of the project. The latter is a co-researcher. In this paper, I explore how nine participants in a qualitative case study became co-researchers by the study’s conclusion. The increase in their active participation required methodological alterations to the project while I conducted the study. This paper presents these alterations by examining: (1) my position as a researcher; (2) my relationship with the participants; (3) the trajectory of the project; (4) data analysis; and (5) the presentation of the findings. I conclude with a discussion of such alterations for qualitative research and offer suggestions for novice researchers when experiencing situations during research that may warrant unanticipated methodological changes

Tetrameric structure of beta-amylase 2 (BAM2) in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plants store starch during the day for use at night. This process of transitory starch degradation is mostly attributable to the β-Amylase (BAM) family, which are starch exohydrolases that cleave the penultimate α-1,4 glycosidic bonds of starch to release maltose. BAM2 was recently characterized as a catalytically active, K+-requiring tetramer with sigmoidal kinetics and cooperativity. All other catalytically active BAMs display Michaelis-Menten kinetics, no cooperativity, and do not require salt, making BAM2’s characteristics intriguing. Due to a lack of a crystal structure, a monomeric homology model of BAM2 was generated using I-TASSER based on a BAM5 from soybean. The monomer model was then used to make a tetramer model based on the homotetrameric crystal structure of sweet potato BAM5 with YASARA. The tetramer model was tested through site directed mutagenesis of conserved residues that were hypothesized to form interfaces between subunits. Two residues, D490 and W456, are perfectly conserved and located in one interface of the tetramer model. Residue F238 is a perfectly conserved residue that would be in another interface of the tetramer model if the model were slightly shifted and more compact. Site directed mutagenesis was used to swap these residues with a different amino acid, and the mutant proteins were purified for use in enzyme activity assays and size analysis by Size Exclusion Chromatography-Multi Angle Light Scattering. BAM2 D490R and BAM2 W456A disrupted tetramerization and catalytic activity. The F238A mutant is dimeric and maintains catalytic activity resembling BAM2 WT, but with a higher Km. The results of these mutagenesis experiments revealed that activity of BAM2, unlike other active BAMs, is dependent on its quaternary structure and that the starch-binding groove must be held together with residues in interface A for BAM2 to be active

Assessment of the Criteria Used to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Different Types of Alternative Education Programs in Georgia

This study examined the current assessment criteria utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of various alternative education programs within the state of Georgia. The population surveyed included alternative program principals for the year 2005-2006, from a list provided by the Georgia Department of Education. A survey instrument was constructed based on a synthesis of the existing literature on alternative education programs and was e-mailed to 207 principals within the state. The survey consisted of 20 multiple-choice items and three open-ended questions. Only 25 surveys were returned, which represented a 12.08% response rate. In addition, four principals from within a large metro Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) district were interviewed, allowing the researcher to gain in-depth knowledge regarding the evaluative criteria utilized at various alternative programs. This study utilized the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for the statistical analysis of data. Descriptive statistics were calculated and presented for the analysis of quantitative data. Content analysis was used to formulate emerging themes from qualitative data. 2 Study results indicated from the small population of respondents that most alternative schools were evaluated. The researcher also discovered that overwhelmingly most alternative programs are evaluated by reviewing student academic progress and/or gathering staff and/or student feedback. Follow-up studies are advised to garner higher response rates to determine if the results are similar

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