Christians have been caring for vulnerable children as long as the Church has existed. Even now, Christians are some of the most invested and motivated contributors to doing good. However, we’ve often been known more for our good intentions than for our effective practice.
Our efforts to care for vulnerable children and families will be most effective when we lead with both our hearts and our heads. Strategy and measurement are ways that we can ensure we are having our intended effect and we are truly making the difference we hope to achieve.
With this in mind, the CAFO Research Center recently hosted a Grant and Learning Cohort focused on Monitoring and Evaluation.
In this post, we’ll explore the early experiences of grant participants as they have moved toward measuring their impact through careful monitoring and evaluation. The transformation in these organizations has been inspiring and highlights that this change is possible for any faith-based organization.
The need for monitoring and evaluation in orphan care
We measure many things in our day-to-day lives – our heart rate, our children’s progress in school, our weight, our bank account. We measure our screen time, our personal goals, our profits and losses. But, all too frequently, we fail to measure the impact of our efforts to do good in the world.
We might believe that the impact of what we do simply cannot be measured, or assume that our good intentions will naturally convert to effective practice. We may believe there is no time to slow down and develop a way of measuring our impact, given that we are busily trying to meet too many needs with too few resources.
All of these concerns are understandable, but none are a reason not to measure our efforts.
As Christians, we want not only to show up and meet needs but also to operate with excellent practice. We want to be working unto the Lord, not as unto men (Colossians 3:23-34). We want to be effective in creating positive change and efficient in the way we steward our time, team and financial resources. Anecdotes and stories are compelling, but they are not enough to gauge real progress.
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) can confidently guide us toward more effective practice.
Measuring impact begins with gaining clarity
The M&E process begins with gaining clarity. We can’t measure anything if we don’t know what we are aiming toward.
To determine the specific problem we are trying to solve, what we believe the solution will be, and what- exactly– is our contribution to moving toward better futures for children and families, we must work with key stakeholders.
We then move from theory to action, asking ourselves:
- What does our contribution look like in the day-to-day?
- If we are moving toward our objectives, what would be different in the lives of children and families?
- How would we know we had done what we set out to do?
Once we have done that, measurement becomes pretty straightforward by allowing us to track outcomes and identify both areas of success and areas for improvement.
Facing the fear of monitoring and evaluation
Some NGOs and nonprofit organizations may hesitate to engage in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) because they are afraid of the potential findings.
For years, they have been sharing success stories with donors and partners, hoping that’s enough. However, what if they begin to measure their impact and discover that their efforts are not as successful as they thought? While this hesitation is understandable, there are only two possible outcomes, both of which are positive: either they confirm their success or they gain valuable insights for improvement.
Effective measurement simply reveals whether we are achieving the desired results, or the results are not as expected.
In the latter case, we can learn from the findings and identify areas for change that could better achieve the intended outcomes. So regardless of the findings, the children and families we serve stand to benefit.
It was with all this in mind that we launched the first Monitoring & Evaluation Grant and Learning Cohort.
Building capacity for effective monitoring and evaluation
Drawing from those who had previously completed the Core Elements CareIndex, we selected five wonderful and diverse organizations to grow their M&E capacity and lay the groundwork for better outcomes for children and families.
The cohort includes five nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable children and families in various ways across different global regions:
- Su Refugio Ministries cares for orphans and widows in Paraguay, Peru, and Argentina.
- Family Life Missions serves vulnerable children and families in Catacamas, Honduras with comprehensive care through three programs: Family Preservation, Foster Care, and Por Los Niños, a Christian bilingual school and residential home.
- Children of the Nations provides holistic care to orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
- RiverCross Global currently trains caregivers and organization leaders in a story-based trauma care and healing program for vulnerable children in the United States, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and are steadily expanding into other countries in Africa as well.
- A Home for Me is an Adoption and Support Network that provides trauma training to children and families in the Upstate region of South Carolina, USA.
Despite their geographical diversity, these organizations had the same common goal: to help vulnerable children and families by tackling complex challenges like poverty, lack of education, trauma and family disintegration.
They had experienced similar challenges that hindered their capacity to effectively monitor and evaluate the impact of their programs:
- Lack of M&E knowledge and expertise within the organizations, which led to a reliance on anecdotal feedback rather than data-driven insights.
- Limited resources, including financial and staff capacity, dedicated to M&E activities, which are often seen as supplementary to program implementation.
- Cultural and linguistic barriers, especially for organizations operating in international and multinational contexts, which can make data collection and analysis more challenging.
- Apprehension about the time and effort required to implement M&E systems, as well as hesitations around the potential for data to reveal shortcomings in their current approaches.
Despite these challenges, the five cohort organizations were compelled by the importance of M&E in ensuring the long-term sustainability of their programs and maximizing their impact on the lives of vulnerable children and families they serve.
Preparing for effective assessment of impact
Organizations began by completing the CAFO Research Center’s course on Monitoring and Evaluation.
One of the early milestones achieved was the development of comprehensive theories of change and logic models, providing a clear roadmap of their interventions and desired outcomes.
Through interactive workshops and personalized coaching, participants learned to select relevant indicators that accurately capture the impact of their programs. This process involved a careful examination of their unique contexts, goals and target populations, ensuring that the chosen indicators were meaningful and aligned with their mission.
Establishing effective data collection systems was another critical achievement. Participants explored various methods, from traditional paper-based tools to leveraging technology where feasible. Creative, context-appropriate approaches were encouraged, such as leveraging existing community structures, incorporating participatory methods, and adapting tools to local languages and literacy levels.
Jose Chinchilla, Honduras National Director of Family Life Missions, highlighted the challenge of assessing the impact of their training on families, particularly in areas like parent-child connections and child abuse prevention. “That is something that’s important to Family Life Mission, and something we want to work hard on,” he said.
Through peer cohort meetings, organizations like Family Life Missions gained insights on how to more intentionally gather testimonies and stories, while others shared standardized assessment tools that could be helpful to others.
Organizations also embraced innovative solutions to overcome technological and infrastructural limitations.
Devon Tarr, the Training Director and Trauma Specialist at RiverCross, explored the use of WhatsApp to collect data and stories from hard-to-reach areas. Victoria Moreno, the Dominican Republic liaison for Children of the Nations, took a hands-on approach by traveling to pilot a survey tool and train others on conducting observational assessments, which provide valuable insights into the lived experiences of the children and families they serve.
Overcoming challenges to effective assessment
While these achievements are to be celebrated, the process was not without its challenges.
Gaining buy-in from staff and stakeholders was a common hurdle, as some initially perceived M&E as an additional burden rather than a valuable tool for improvement.
Cassia Burke, Haiti Liasson and Grant compliance officer from Children of the Nations stated, “My number one concern for in-country practitioners was that this wouldn’t feel like some other test imposed on them, or that they somehow have to prove to us that they are doing well. Because at the end of the day, if the results come back showing failure to reach indicators, that means that we have an honest feedback system that tells us where we need improvement.”
Klaus Hipke, Su Refugio’s Paraguay Executive Director noted, “It was obvious [an M&E structure] would help us a lot. Without this, everyone was doing his or her work without having an idea of how it would impact everyone else or the neighborhoods we serve… Now the team has grown together. They see what they are all doing, what the outcomes are, the fruit they are bringing.”
Limited technological capacities posed another challenge, particularly in remote areas with poor infrastructure.
Organizations had to find innovative solutions, such as using offline data collection tools or partnering with local institutions with better resources. Tarr noted that RiverCross Global realized there was a big segment in remote areas in Zambia that didn’t even know where they were having an impact.
Despite these hurdles, organizations demonstrated remarkable resilience and commitment to continuous improvement.
The M&E capacity-building process has not only equipped them with the necessary tools and knowledge but has also fostered a culture of data-driven decision-making and accountability, ultimately enhancing the quality of care provided to vulnerable children and families.
Early impacts of embracing monitoring and evaluation
The participating nonprofits are already experiencing shifts in how they understand, communicate and drive impact through the monitoring and evaluation process. Several organizations noted an improved ability to articulate their theory of change and desired outcomes.
Additionally, as Burke from Children of the Nations shared, “Making everyone take the course to understand the value of M&E and how important it is to making real progress with children, has helped set this whole process in motion. Since we are starting this program with all our partners at once, it started slowly, but getting input from everyone from every country and getting everyone on the same page, has really gotten us moving.”
This clarity is allowing Children of the Nations to be more intentional about implementing program strategies and measuring outcomes across all countries they serve.
This process has also reignited passion for the work.
Rhonda Littleton, Executive Director at A Home for Me shared, “A huge epiphany for me as I dug more into the content was the idea of mission drift. A Home for Me has evolved over the past 15 years, and as a result, we have drifted from our original mission… I thought back to the Theory of Change and Logic Model and thought, ‘this is why we do this.’ This will be more accountability for us. It’s the importance of staying focused and not letting things go south. It is so freeing to say no if you don’t want to drift.”
Moving from good intentions to measured impact
As this cohort continues to progress through the grant program, the members will enhance their skills in monitoring and evaluation and solidify their commitment to evidence-based practice.
Cohort participants will apply their learning to effectively measure their impact using data-driven methods. By sharing knowledge and supporting each other, the organizations will become more accountable and transparent in how they utilize resources. The data collected will help them improve existing programs and may lead to new insights for securing future funding and developing new initiatives to better serve vulnerable children and families.
This cohort’s experience demonstrates how even small nonprofits with limited resources can benefit greatly from monitoring and evaluation.
By prioritizing impact measurement, these organizations are leading the way toward more evidence-based practices in their field. As they have experienced, modest investments in monitoring and evaluation can yield valuable insights, allow for program adjustments, and ultimately lead to greater positive impact for the vulnerable children and families they serve.
To inspire and equip others on this transformative path, the CAFO Research Center invites organizations to explore our self-paced Monitoring and Evaluation course, designed to demystify the process and provide practical guidance and tools for establishing robust monitoring and evaluation structures. By prioritizing measurement, we can collectively elevate our efforts, ensuring that our good intentions translate into tangible, lasting change for those we seek to empower.
