Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington

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At GRANTMAKERS of Oregon and Southwest Washington our goal is to help those who do good do it better.

We respect that giving away money is not as easy or seamless as it sounds. Everyday, trustees and staff of private, public, family, community and corporate foundations, corporate giving programs, and organized giving circles are making a difference. Effecting communities across Oregon and southwest Washington by distributing money with intention, integrity, and transparency.

GRANTMAKERS allows funders to engage at the local level by providing space - both literally and figuratively - for funders to come together. Through monthly programs, affinity groups, learning exchanges and one-on-one conversations, members address community issues, explore solutions, celebrate successes and share best practices.

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Evaluation 101 for Funders and New Evaluators

Posted On May 13, 2008

Date: May 27-30, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. with lunch on own from 12-1
Place: Oregon Department of Human Services
800 NE Oregon St Room 369A, Portland, OR

More info: http://www.oregoneval.org/program/

Event: Evaluation 101 for Funders and New Evaluators

Program evaluation, the process of collecting information about a program in order to improve and inform decisions about it, is increasingly expected of social service delivery settings. With this expectation for program evaluation comes the needs for a greater understanding of program evaluation among funders, service system delivery settings and evaluators. The purpose of this interactive workshop is to provide an introduction to Program Evaluation to funders and new evaluators. Topics addressed include definitions of program evaluation, advantages and challenges to conducting program evaluation, different types and purposes of program evaluation, strategies to promote the use of evaluation findings, the request for and assessment of program evaluation plans, budgeting an evaluation and finding an evaluator. Participants will have receive practical resources and have opportunities for question and answers.

Agenda
1.What is program evaluation?
2.What are the advantages and challenges to program evaluation?
3.What are the different types and purposes of program evaluation?
4.Why does use of evaluation findings matter and what strategies are there to foster use?
5.What should be included in directions to fundees regarding evaluation plans?
6.How do you evaluate an evaluation plan?
7.What does it cost to conduct an evaluation?
8.How do you find an evaluator?

Katherine (Katie) McDonald, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Portland State University. Dr. McDonald received her B.S. with Distinction from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Community and Prevention Research Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. McDonald has conducted program evaluations with large urban school districts, state departments of health and early intervention, university offices, and small not-for-profits and coalitions. She also teaches a graduate seminar in program evaluation at Portland State University.

United Way Needs Your Opinion!

Posted On May 13, 2008

United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is launching a Regional Community Forums Initiative, to help usidentify and more effectively respond to community needs throughout the Region.

United Way’s service area includes Washington, Clackamas, Clark and Multnomah counties. Our goal is to ensure that we are addressing the needs in all four counties. Rapidly changing demographics, poverty levels, and other significant needs are very different in each county. Furthermore, each county has its own network of non-profits and established or emerging services delivery systems that would benefit from United Way support.

Project Goals:

Ø Gather information from citizens and local leaders to provide a county and community-specific perspective on health and human services priorities.

Ø Obtain a better understanding of the community’s perception of United Way’s role in responding to community needs.

Ø Identify strategies to promote improved community engagement in Clackamas, Clark, and Washington Counties.

Please help us by completing a brief on-line survey.  We need your unique perspective and feedback.  Following completion of the survey the results will be reviewed by community based focus groups in each county.

You can also help us by distributing this email to your community and corporate email networks.

The survey can be accessed on the United Way website using the following link: http://www.unitedway-pdx.org.

Thank you for your help with this important initiative.

SOCIAL FORCES & SYSTEM DYNAMICS CONFERENCE

Posted On May 6, 2008

July 17-19, 2008 in Troutdale, Oregon
For more information, visit:  http://www.nwhf.org/events/systemshealth.php

“Unless and until we become sensitive to the real power of the systems we
live in, and fully appreciate the implicit dynamics of those systems,
behavior change will be transient and situational change illusory.”
(Zimbardo, 2007)

Social forces are major determinants of our health. New research and recent
experiences - in our own lives and with those we live, work and serve -
prove this daily. Even diseases attributable to individual behavior, like
obesity, are influenced by underlying conditions such as poverty,
discrimination, stress, marketing by profit-driven global corporations,
substandard housing, built environments, and so forth. Health disparities
exist because of these forces.

This is why approaches that address only individual behavioral change are
no longer sufficient to improve health and prevent disease.

Those interested in learning more about how systems influence health are
invited to attend a three-day, nonresidential conference in Portland.
Leaders of nonprofit organizations that provide services to disenfranchised
members of our communities are particularly encouraged to register. Partial
scholarships are available for those representing or serving disadvantaged
communities and communities of color.

Curious? Attend one of two pre-conference informational sessions in
Portland:

1) May 15, 4 pm, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, 619 SW 11th Avenue,
Suite 300

2) May 20, 4 pm, Northwest Health Foundation, 221 NW Second Avenue, Suite
300

Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette,
Northwest Health Foundation, and GREX, an affiliate of the A.K. Rice
Institute for the Study of Social Systems. 

Conference Info.pdf

Site last updated on 05/16/2008 at 08:10 PM.
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