Nonprofits and Foundations TIG
A Note from the Co-Chairs
Hello TIG Members! Spring is just around the corner and it is already time to begin preparing for Evaluation 2018. This year’s conference in Cleveland, OH gives us a new conference city to explore and another opportunity to spend some face-to-face time together. We are already thinking about the TIG plans, so if you have some ideas for TIG conference activities or our business meeting, please send us an email and share them. Also, the Nonprofits and Foundations (NPF) TIG will be electing a new co-chair at the end of this year, so think about this opportunity to become more engaged in the TIG and AEA.
Election Results
We were excited to have three highly qualified candidates run for Program Co-Chair this year. Many thanks to Ann Webb Price, Ruth Masterson, and Shanesha Brooks-Tatum. We are pleased to announce that you elected Shanesha Brooks-Tatum as the NPF TIG’s new Program Co-Chair.
Dr. Shanesha Brooks-Tatum is Founding Vice President of Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning research and evaluation firm in the Atlanta metropolitan area. She leads major research and strategy initiatives for organizations that help them document and broaden their impact. Her results-driven approach maximizes client resources and enables them to tap into new markets. As Founder and CEO of the Life Balance and Wellness Institute, Dr. Brooks-Tatum works and partners with an extensive network of organizations working to address disparities in educational funding opportunities and policy issues for women and girls of color. Dr. Brooks-Tatum has served as a strategist or consultant for local, national, and international organizations, including the UN Foundation, the NSF-funded South Big Data Hub, United Way of Greater Atlanta, Spelman College, the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the Technical College System of Georgia, the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, Valencia College, a large, international private foundation, and others.
Dr. Brooks-Tatum has been fortunate to receive several prestigious national and international fellowships and has served as Arts of Citizenship Fellow; the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) Fellow; National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellow; and U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Fellow (Brazil). Dr. Brooks-Tatum has won national and international awards for her work, including a recent National Association for Women-Owned
Businesses Award (2017) and the Rising Star Award from the International Journal of Ethnic College Health (2016). Dr. Brooks-Tatum serves on the Board of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (American Studies, social science, and humanities concentrations), and her Bachelors’ Degree from UC Berkeley (Interdisciplinary Studies and English), summa cum laude. She has also held visiting professor and visiting scholar appointments at several colleges and universities. An invited radio and television guest and featured writer at news and media outlets, Dr. Brooks-Tatum is the author of several print and media publications in the fields of educational and community research, evaluation, and self-care.
Call for Proposals and Reviewers for Evaluation 2018
The Call for Proposals is out for Evaluation 2018! The theme this year is Speaking Truth to Power (more about this later). We encourage members to submit proposals to the NPF TIG. Some tips for preparing your proposal:
- Relate your presentation to the conference theme. At the same time, show the reviewers why what you want to present is important and relevant for the TIG and general AEA membership.
- Do not focus on the results of your evaluation. Emphasize what you did and how you did it. It is less about your content and findings (unless your findings have something to do with doing better evaluation) and more about learning about evaluation.
- Select the best presentation type for your topic. Would your material be better to present as a paper to a more passive audience, to share at a poster session where people could discuss your findings, or to talk about at a roundtable discussion?
- Submit your work to the right TIG.
We get a high volume of proposals and will need reviewers. Please sign up to review proposals. There are two says you can do this. You can either sign up to be a reviewer when you submit your proposal, or you can email Katelyn and Shanesha, the TIG program co-chairs at katelyn.mack@fsg.org and shanesha@creativeresearchsolutions.com.
Don’t wait too long to think about what you want to present or to sign up as a reviewer. The deadline of March 15, 2018 is approaching fast! For more information, go to http://www.eval.org/p/cm/ld/fid=602.
AEA 365 Blog Week
Soon it will be time to submit your posts for Nonprofit and Foundations TIG week on AEA365, which will be the week of September 10th, 2018. We are happy to let you know that we welcome your contribution! Please see below for important information about your contribution to the week.
This year's AEA conference theme is Speak Truth to Power. We would like for your AEA 365 post to reflect some connection to this conference theme.
If you are interested in writing a post and are able to commit to the deadlines and the guidelines outlined below, please confirm by e-mailing the NPFTIG business co-chairs by/before Monday 4/30.
AEA 365 NPFTIG WEEK'S AGENDA
Here is a summary of the week's line-up with a general topic of interest for this week's post:
September 30 – Speak Truth to Power, Nonprofit Perspective
October 1 - Speak Truth to Power, Foundation Perspective
October 2 – How to define and measure outcomes authentically in the “post-truth” era, Nonprofit Perspective
October 3 - How to define and measure outcomes authentically in the “post-truth” era, Foundation Perspective
October 4 – Challenges of sharing truth through evaluation in the Nonprofit sector and strategies that are proven to work
October 5 - Challenges of sharing truth through evaluation in the Foundations sector and strategies that are proven to work
TIMELINE
Proposal submissions due 6/4.
NPFTIG leaders will review submissions, choose 6 proposals for the week, and send back to the contributors with recommended edits by 6/25.
Completed posts will need to be edited and resubmitted by 7/16.
AEA 365 WRITING GUIDELINES
Please review the AEA365 Contribution Guidelines before writing your post. There are very specific guidelines that need to be followed; in particular, please note the word limit (approximately 250-400 words and absolutely no more than 450) and headings (Hot Tip, Cool Trick, Rad Resource or Lesson Learned).
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Susan or Karen.
Thank you again for your contribution to the TIG!
AEA Has a New Executive Director!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 30, 2018) — The American Evaluation Association (AEA) has selected Anisha Lewis as Executive Director of the association, starting February 19. The search for the full time Executive Director followed a collaborative process which included input on the specialized job description from seventeen AEA members on the Job Specifications Committee. This group met with President Leslie Goodyear in July to develop a list of additional experience and qualifications for the new, full time Executive Director role. AEA members submitted their thoughts input through the AEAEDSearch@eval.org email inbox. The Selection Committee included three members of the Executive Committee, Leslie Goodyear, Kathy Newcomer and Susan Tucker, along with two at-large members, Karen Jackson and Rakesh Mohan. After a four-month search through internal and external activities, this group then interviewed three highly qualified candidates. AEA is grateful for their work, thoughtfulness, inspired input, and that ultimately led to a fantastic decision.
Lewis brings substantial past experience, knowledge and familiarity in working with professional associations, including serving in an executive director role with a board that included AEA members. Lewis has a passion for working with boards, a deep knowledge and experience demonstrating the application of diversity and inclusion alignment with AEA ideals.
To learn about more about our new Executive Director Anisha Lewis follow this link: http://www.eval.org/page/new-executive-director-announced
Cleveland Rocks!!!!
We don’t know about you, but when we found out that this year’s conference would be held in Cleveland, we decided to check it out. What we learned from our exploration was that the song sums it all up – Cleveland does rock! This beautiful and vibrant city is located on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River and offers a lot of great things to do if you need a break from the conference. Here are examples of what makes this a fun, safe, and interesting place to visit:
- University Circle – this section of Cleveland, near Case Western Reserve University, is home to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Dellrick Medical History Center, Severence Hall (home of the Cleveland Orchestra), the Cleveland Botanical Garden, and many other museums and cultural activities. Cleveland’s Uptown and Little Italy neighborhoods are also nearby.
- Great Lakes Science Center – this museum is within walking distance of the convention center. It includes the Steamship William G. Mather where you can see what it is like on a Great Lakes Freighter, and the NASA Glenn Visitor Center.
- Greater Cleveland Aquarium – If you are a lover of fish and marine life, you can visit the aquarium and learn about underwater life locally and throughout the world.
- If you need to take a break and walk outside, there is the Voinovich Bicentennial Park which provides stunning views of Lake Erie and the city skyline. Or, you can take a stroll through the Cleveland Cultural Gardens and visit gardens like those found around the world. There is also the Cleveland Public Square if you just want to take a short walk nearby.
- The nearby Burke Lakefront Airport houses the International Women’s Air and Space Museum which honors the courageous women pilots and astronauts.
- If you like professional sports, you may be able to catch a Cleveland Browns or Cavaliers game while you are in town. Maybe you’ll get lucky and they will be playing your home team!
- Downtown places to visit – not far from the convention center there is the historic Arcade Cleveland, a shopping and dining venue, or venture a little further to Playhouse Square, Cleveland’s theater district. We checked out the list of events for earlier in the year, and it seems there is a little bit of entertainment for everyone, ranging from local theater productions to the Broadway series.
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – do we need to say more? It is close to the convention center, too.
- Public transportation – from the time you land at the airport until your return, you can easily get around Cleveland with a light rail system, buses, and free downtown trolleys that will take you to anywhere in the city.
- Is it safe? Yes! The Downtown Cleveland Alliance sponsors the Clean and Safe Ambassadors Program. The Clean Team members log about 1900 hours a week keeping the streets clean. Safety Ambassadors patrol downtown with two-way radios to stay in touch with the Cleveland Police Department to promote safety. Look for them in their gold and blue jackets or you can call for assistance. They will give you directions if you are lost and even walk you back to your hotel.
More information can be found at: http://www.thisiscleveland.com/
AEA Board of Directors Nominations are Open
Have you ever thought of running for the AEA Board of Directors, or know someone you think would be a good candidate? Now is the time to nominate yourself or a colleague. There are openings for three Board Members-at large and a President-elect. Board members serve three-year terms and attend three in-person meetings a year. Information considered includes that you have been an AEA member for at least three years, that you’ve engaged in previous service to AEA and leadership in AEA units; your contribution and service to the evaluation profession; your availability and accessibility.
Interested individuals should submit COMPLETED applications to the AEA office on or before March 23, 2018 by 11:59 pm EST. Your nomination submission should contain nominee identification and contact information, the nominee statement, nominee qualifications. If you have not self-nominated include a brief statement from the nominator attesting to the nominee’s qualifications, and permission from the nominee to submit his/her/their name. Nomination packets may also include up to 5 letters of support.
For more information, go to http://myemail.constantcontact.com/2018-Call-for-Nominations-for-AEA-Board-of-Directors.html?soid=1100694346064&aid=FQ7jhE-sQrE
NPFTIG Leadership Contact Information
We welcome questions and comments. Our contact information is below: