Assessment

Andi is an experienced nonprofit assessor who enjoys helping organizations reflect on their true capacity and discover the potential for a brighter future.

Our goal is to provide an accurate, objective, and comprehensive look at your organization.

We strive for respectful, positive interactions, and develop tailored recommendations that build on your strengths.

Previous clients say the objective viewpoints and professional approach are highly valuable, and usually less painful than expected.

How

We perform assessments in three phases: 1) review documents and records; distribute online surveys, 2) onsite interviews with staff and board; observe staff and/or board meetings, 3) analysis and report writing.

Then, a final report with detailed findings and recommendations is presented to key stakeholders at a board meeting. The written report serves as a road map to strengthening the organization.

The scope can be as narrow as one department or as wide as the entity being studied.

Why

Assessments can be undertaken proactively by the organization (typically led by the board), with encouragement from funding partners and/or when required by oversight agencies (typically state and federal offices).

No matter the reason for an assessment, it’s a valuable exercise that can lead to profound change – when organizations invest the time and resources necessary to fuly implement recommendations.

Types of Assessments Offered

• 360° assessments
• Program operations
• Community needs assessments (demographic data and interviews of key stakeholder groups)
• Human resource systems and staffing
• Governance (boards of directors)
• Fiscal operations*
• Program evaluation^

*Fiscal assessments are not in-depth unless we contract with a fiscal expert.

^We do not undertake formal program evaluations. We offer more practical evaluations of programs (less scientifically rigorous), which is the type that 3 in 4 nonprofits undertake. Statistically significant, peer-reviewed studies are expensive and challenging. We can offer referrals to other experts for those services.

Experience

In 2009-2010, Andi completed six organizational assessments as part of a team of specialists with Meliora Partners, Inc. out of Iowa. Andi wrote comprehensive reports of nonprofits with budgets ranging from $2M to $20M. These reports were 30 to 50 pages with detailed findings and recommendations in 5 to 7 key areas, including appendices.

In 2016, Andi led a complex assessment of a $10 million organization with 250 employees, relying on expertise from nine additional consultants. In 2018 and 2019 they undertook similar projects with support from seven additional experts, and completed a fiscal assessment for a nonprofit collective ($6.5M budget with 170 employees).

In 2018, Andi began working with the University of Oregon School of Law Nonprofit Clinic as a consultant advisor, supporting interdisciplinary teams of graduate students who assess two nonprofit boards of directors over a 14-week term, and develop professional reports which they deliver in final presentations/workshops. For more information on the Clinic, click here.

Andi previously developed two community needs assessments of multi-county service areas in Oklahoma and West Virginia. These projects included comprehensive reports (10-15 pages) that informed subsequent strategic plans for these nonprofits.

As an employee and consultant, Andi has informally assessed dozens of programs, operational systems, staffing structures, and outreach methods, getting to know more than three dozen organizations very well.