Nonprofits and evaluation: Empirical evidence from the field

The authors explore what evaluation looks like, in practice, among today's nonprofit organizations on the basis of their survey results. The types of evaluation activities nonprofit organizations are engaging in on a regular basis, as well as the types of data they are collecting and how they are using these data, are described. How nonprofits think about evaluation and a three‐pronged typology, based on a factor analysis of the survey data, is presented. This analysis shows that nonprofit organizations tend to think about evaluation in three distinct ways: as a resource drain and distraction; as an external, promotional tool; and as a strategic management tool. The authors recommend how funders, evaluators, and nonprofit managers can change the way they think about evaluation and build upon the way they currently use evaluation to maximize its potential.