When charities approach us for funding, we always ask how they will evaluate whether the work they do is worthwhile. Many charities develop excellent systems for collecting data on their impact but it can be a daunting process for smaller or younger charities. It requires them to have a very clear understanding of what they want to achieve and how their work contributes to this – a theory of change.
We believe that the thought process involved in working out how to evaluate the impact of charity work is valuable in helping to improve the work being done and also feeds into effective fundraising. We occasionally suggest to applicants that we will provide funding for an evaluation study, either instead of or as well as the funding they have applied to us for.
One such charity is The Garden Classroom, the winner of the Best Education/Learning Team of the Year at the School Travel Awards 2020/2021. TGC offer children outdoor experiences both in urban settings and on residential courses.
Marnie Rose, the inspirational CEO of The Garden Classroom said:
“TGC is immensely grateful to The Progress Foundation for their timely support. They identified that as a growing charity delivering important programmes that TGC needed to better understand the changes that occur as a result of our work. I am pleased to say that we not only discovered benefits to the people we serve but also benefits to the planet. The Progress Foundation is a wonderful, supportive and thoughtful charity to whom we are extremely grateful. Thank you.”