There is an emerging body of evidence that talent-investing can produce value for nonprofits, the communities they serve, and the funders who support them. Here we offer a curated collection of evaluative reports that have been commissioned by funders to assess their interventions to strengthen staff development in grantee institutions and the wider nonprofit workforce. These studies offer powerful data that show how intentional talent-investments by funders can yield significant advancements in organizational performance, program impact, and institutional sustainability. If you know of additional evaluation reports or data sources that might be appropriate to add to this compilation, please let us know.

 

Five-Year Evaluation of the Flexible Leadership Awards (For more related content, check out our Field Story about Haas Jr. Fund )
By Bill Ryan / Commissioned by Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Ladder to Leadership: Developing the Next Generation of Community Health Leaders
By Margaret O. Kirk / Commissioned by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Creative Disruption: Sabbaticals for Capacity Building and Leadership Development in the Nonprofit Sector
By Deborah Linnell and Tim Wolfred / commissioned by Alston-Bannerman Fellowship, Barr Foundation, Durfee Foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, and Rasmuson Foundation

From Creative Disruption to Systems Change: A 20-Year Retrospective on the Durfee Foundation Sabbatical Program
By Deborah Linnell, Liz Russell, and Kim Dam / commissioned by Durfee Foundation

The Pathway to Leadership: Lessons from Clinic Leadership Institute
By BTW informing change / commissioned by Blue Shield of California Foundation

Preparing the Clinic Leaders of Tomorrow
By BTW informing change / commissioned by Blue Shield of California Foundation

Brief Assessment of The Irvine Foundation’s Fund for Leadership Advancement
By Harder + Company / commissioned by The Irvine Foundation

Creating Broader Impact: The Bush Foundation Fellowships – How Individuals Contribute to the Strength of Communities, Institutions and Fields
By Susan Showalter and Vicki Itzkowitz / commissioned by Bush Foundation

Annie E. Casey Foundation Leadership in Action Program Final Report
By NYU Wagner Research Center for Leadership in Action / commissioned by Annie E. Casey Foundation

Evaluation of the Community Leadership Project Evaluation Progress Report – Executive Summary
By Social Policy Research Associates / commissioned by the Packard, Hewlett, and Irvine Foundations

Developing Leaders of Color in Low-Income Communities: Promising Approaches and Emerging Outcome Trends – 2011 Evaluation Report
By Social Policy Research Associates / commissioned by the Packard, Hewlett, and Irvine Foundations

Schusterman Fellowship Evaluation
By Learning for Action / commissioned by Schusterman Family Foundation

Leadership Matters: An Evaluation of Six Family Planning and Reproductive Health Leadership Programs
By Claire Reinelt, Ph.D., Kim Ammann Howard, Ph.D., Deborah Meehan, Pamela Putney, M.S., and Cecilia Roddy, M.S. / commissioned by the Gates and Packard foundations

Strengthening Leadership and Advocacy in Population and Reproductive Health
By
Institute for International Education (IIE) / commissioned by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation