Nonprofit program evaluation consulting

Evaluation that tells your board and funders what actually happened.

Remote support for nonprofits and social-service organizations to design measurement frameworks, build instruments, and write findings people read end-to-end.

Start a conversation How the work fits

Based in Salinas, California. Remote across the United States, with in-person meetings in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

From an open question to a findings report people read.

Design
Build a measurement framework and logic model tied to what your program does and what funders need to know — before data collection starts.
Collect
Set up data collection that fits how staff and participants actually work, not just what is easiest to tabulate.
Report
Turn what you collected into a findings report your board, funders, and program staff can read and act on.

Support from design through findings.

Evaluation design

Build a measurement framework and logic model tied to your program’s actual goals, before data collection starts.

Survey and instrument development

Draft and test the surveys, interview guides, or intake tools your evaluation depends on.

Data collection support

Set up collection processes that fit your staff’s workflow and your participants’ circumstances.

Analysis

Analyze what you collect and identify what the data does — and doesn’t — support.

Findings reports

Produce a report written for your board, funders, and program staff, not a data dump.

Looking for a first step? Read our guides to building a program logic model, writing an outcome survey and choosing an evaluation design.

Signs you need this

Your reports describe how many people you served, but not what changed for them.
A funder is asking for outcomes, and you’re not sure your current data can show them.
Your logic model exists mainly for grant applications and doesn’t match what staff actually do.
You collect a lot of data at intake and never look at it again.
Your board wants to know whether a program works before deciding whether to expand it.

What you’ll have at the end

Deliverables depend on the evaluation’s scope. Typical ones include:

A logic model and measurement framework that staff recognize as their program, with a small set of outcomes worth tracking and an indicator for each.
Data collection tools, such as surveys, interview guides, or additions to intake and case-closure forms, tested with the people who’ll use them.
A collection plan that fits into existing workflows, with clear responsibility and timing.
Analysis that’s honest about what the data does and doesn’t support.
A findings report written for your board, funders, and program staff, with the key results up front and the methods available for anyone who wants them.

For a practical starting point, read How to design a program evaluation logic model for a small nonprofit.

Common questions

Do we need a big dataset?

No. Small programs can be evaluated well by measuring a few outcomes consistently. The design matches what your team can realistically collect.

Will this burden our participants?

The design accounts for it. Data collection should respect people’s time and circumstances, and anything sensitive is collected only when it’s needed and handled carefully.

Can you work with our existing funder requirements?

Yes. Evaluation design starts with what your funders already require, so one system can serve both their reporting and your own learning.

Can you serve as our external evaluator, or help us do it ourselves?

Either, or a mix. Klaro can conduct the evaluation as an outside evaluator, or build your team’s capacity to run it internally with tools, training, and support. Many organizations start with an external evaluation and keep the parts they want to run themselves.

How an engagement runs

Every engagement is different, but the shape is consistent. Nothing changes in your systems until you’ve approved it in writing, and you decide at the end of each phase whether to continue.

A first conversation. We talk through what’s getting in the way, who’s involved, and what your systems look like today. It’s free, and it often clarifies whether outside help makes sense at all.
A written, phased scope. You get a proposal that breaks the work into phases, each with defined deliverables, plus what’s out of scope and what’s needed from your team. The first phase is usually an assessment, because an honest estimate for the rest depends on what it finds.
Kickoff and ground rules. We agree on who approves what, who handles compliance questions, how IT is involved, and how often you’ll hear from Klaro. Those agreements are written down before work begins.
Assess, recommend, approve. The work starts by understanding what exists, without changing anything. Findings and recommendations come to you in writing, and anything sensitive is flagged for the right person. Nothing moves forward until it’s approved.
Implement, document, hand off. Approved changes are made carefully, verified as they go, and logged. The engagement ends with documentation, training, and a maintenance plan, so your team can keep it running.

Many engagements start small, with a pilot or a single department, and grow once the first phase has proved its value. Recommendations stay honest even when that means recommending less work.

A practical, remote engagement

Start with what your program already collects.

Klaro works remotely with nonprofits and social-service organizations across the United States and is based in Salinas, California, with in-person meetings across Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Evaluation design starts with what your program already tracks, not a blank slate.

Klaro’s founder brings a decade of direct-services experience across nonprofits, county government, community colleges, and private agencies.

Design an evaluation your team can act on.

If your board or funders are asking questions your current data can’t answer, start a conversation about what a workable evaluation could look like.

Start a conversation