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The Nonprofit Nerd (September 2019), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month's topic is program evaluation education.

We are taking this month to introduce you to an educator, evaluator, researcher, and academic who is also The Nonprofit Institute’s Interim Director, Dr. Masami Nishishiba.

The Nonprofit Institute has been preparing for another year of the popular Professional Certificate in Nonprofit Program Evaluation, offered in partnership with WVDO. Dr. Nishishiba has been integral in transitioning the organization into another year. We are fortunate to have her expertise in research and evaluation design available to our institute and to students joining us in 2019-2020 learning opportunities.

We're also excited to share news about …

The Nonprofit Nerd (July 2019), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s topic is learning program evaluation.

This month we are excited to share the perspective and experience of a recent certificate recipient from The Nonprofit Institute's Professional Certificate in Nonprofit Program Evaluation, a partnership with WVDO.

We celebrate the accomplishments of this year's cohort, including our interviewee Barrett Ebright Karnes, for completing the Professional Certificate in Nonprofit Program Evaluation. This year's participants explored a wide range of questions and circumstances related to program evaluation and their organizations. Thanks to the diversity of the nonprofit sector represented in the cohort, we saw how program evaluation applied across many different service …

The Nonprofit Nerd (June 2019), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s topic is evaluation with immigrant communities.

For years, immigration and immigrant communities have been at the center of a national and international conversation about nationhood, global dynamics, and human rights. Despite the enormity of this complex conversation, the below interview with Nelda Reyes, principal at AB Cultural Drivers, highlights the possibilities evaluators and researchers have working with these populations.

We hope that through reading this edition, our readers feel prepared to “be of service,” as Nelda puts it, when researching or evaluating with diverse and multi-dimensional immigrant communities.

Let the resources and insights we share in The Nonprofit …

The Nonprofit Nerd (April 2019), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s topic is participatory evaluation with youth.

Talking about youth in evaluation would not be appropriate without including youth perspectives. This month, thanks to The Nonprofit Institute’s instructor Thuan Duong, we are fortunate to share insights from youth actively involved in a major program evaluation. As part of the evaluation of the DHS Child Welfare’s LIFE Program (see program description below), Thuan works with a Youth Advisory Board (YAB), who are collaboratively interviewed below.

Besides working as a Research Associate with Portland State University’s Center for Improvement of Child & Family Services, Thuan is an instructor for the Professional …

The Nonprofit Nerd (March 2019), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s topic is evaluation with trauma survivors.

This issue, we are examining the unique considerations of evaluating programs working with trauma survivors. With the help of Vanessa Timmons, Executive Director of the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (OCADSV), we will explore methods for evaluating programs, including “survivor-led evaluation.”

More funders are asking nonprofits to relate services to ACEs and evaluate trauma-informed practice. Many organizations have always seen this connection between trauma and the nonprofit sector, even when services are not specific to healing from trauma.

Who do you visualize when you hear “trauma survivor?” Perhaps you …

The Nonprofit Nerd (January 2019), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month's topic is culturally-responsive evaluation with Native and Indigenous communities.

In this issue, we explore culturally-responsive evaluation for Native American or Indigenous communities. This is the first of a series focusing on culture and equity.

According to “Leading with Tradition,” The Portland Metro region has been home to many nations including the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, bands of Chinook, and more. Across Oregon, there are nine federally-recognized tribes. According to the Coalition of Communities of Color’s "An Unsettling Report", Portland is the ninth largest urban Native population, and this diverse Native community is served by almost 30 …