How Do We Know We Are Doing Good Work?

You go to work each day hoping that what you do is making a difference. But how do you know the hard work you and the staff of your nonprofit organization are doing is having a positive impact and achieving your mission? This class is oriented toward program staff and leadership as they seek to implement and manage successful programs. It will provide an overview of approaches to assess program impact including logic models, and questions to think about when considering whether programs are effective. Class activities will include small group and hands-on exercises.
Instructor Jama Dodson has spent much of her career in non-profit program and executive management roles with a particular interest in services for children and youth.  She came to St. Louis from Rochester, NY in 2000 to establish an organization focused on strengthening the region’s youth services sector, known as St. Louis for Kids—now a part of United 4 Children.  Much of that work involved developing and promulgating systems of quality standards, professional development and capacity-building for youth serving organizations. After nine years, Jama moved on to become Executive Director of the Family Support Network, a non-profit organization providing in-home services to families at risk of child abuse/neglect, where she served for three years.
In January 2012, Jama was appointed Executive Director of the Saint Louis Mental Health Board (MHB).  MHB is an independent taxing authority distributing tax funds to non-profits that provide direct services addressing substance use disorders, mental health conditions and children’s services for City residents.  MHB makes funding decisions and agreements based on each agency’s proposed successful outcomes—a method of grantmaking that is intended to reward performance in addition to activities.
Jama holds a Masters in Public Administration from State University of New York, College at Brockport and a BS in Education from Missouri State University.
Instructor Elizabeth George is the Director of Philanthropic Advising at the St. Louis Community Foundation.  She has over 21 years of strategic planning, organizational development, facilitation, and program assessment experience with non-profit organizations.  Elizabeth currently works with donors to help strategize their giving while also overseeing the grant administration for family and private foundations – including grantmaking due diligence, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.
Immediately prior to this, Elizabeth was the Managing Director at The Rome Group, where she led planning projects for organizations ranging from the Daughters of Charity Foundation of St. Louis to Queen of Peace Center and Diversity Awareness Partnership.  She assisted Jewish Family & Children’s Services with the structuring of a four-year business plan, including recommendations regarding increasing marketing, and Casa de Salud with development assessment and recommendations.
Prior to The Rome Group, Elizabeth spent 10 years as a Vice President with Deaconess Foundation, directing the Impact Partnership, Deaconess’ multi-year capacity building initiative.  In this role, Elizabeth oversaw both the evaluation of the Impact Partnership and trained several Impact Partners on developing programmatic logic models.  Elizabeth has taught Developing Programs for Children and Youth at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work and presented workshops on performance management for University of Missouri – St. Louis and Nonprofit Services Center.  Elizabeth earned an MSW from Washington University and an MBA from Harvard University.
Instructor Melinda McAliney brings deep expertise across corporate, individual, and foundation philanthropy to the Vario team. Her skill is fueled by a lifelong passion to make a difference and to equip others to do the same.
Over the years, Melinda has worked with foundations and corporations to develop holistic giving strategies that lead to changed communities and lives. She’s consulted with countless nonprofits to help them identify and measure their impact, and then share their story with donors. She has also helped empower individuals to serve their communities in new, more fulfilling ways. Her previous roles in philanthropy for the St. Louis Blues NHL hockey team, United Way, EDS, Send Me St. Louis, and Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis have given her a strong base for equipping foundations and philanthropists to increase both the joy and impact of their giving. She has seen time and time again that when you intentionally apply your whole self – your time and your finances – amazing things will happen. One of her greatest joys currently is helping her children identify their passions so they can be the next generation of change-makers.