In The Eyes of the Beholders

This article examines how funders and the nonprofit organizations they support view current feedback practices and explore the similarities and differences in their perspectives. A survey of funders and nonprofit service providers in a six-county area in south-central New York State found that funders value feedback as a way to verify that funded activities have been completed and to assess outcomes, whereas providers use feedback to improve service and to ensure that their organizations are responsive to clients. Some funders were uncertain about how providers use feedback, some providers were uncertain about how funders use it, and some respondents in both categories were not confident about the capacity of their own organizations to use feedback information. Many funders and providers discuss feedback results and implications with each other, but funders and providers collaborate less in other aspects of the feedback process. These findings have implications for theory and practice and for future research.