Community Investment Reviewer Training United Way of Greater New Haven March 2010

Community Investment Reviewer TrainingUnited Way of Greater New HavenMarch 2010

2Orientation for Community Investment Reviewers

United Way’s Mission

United Way of Greater New Haven brings together the caring power of people to create change in our region and to improve lives.


United Way Values

• Maximizing Community Impact

• Transparent, Deliberate, and Ethical Decision-Making Processes

• Volunteer Involvement and Leadership


United Way Agenda for Change

Education Income Health

Basic Needs

Community Leadership


2010 RFP Process

Education

Success By 6

Income

Economic Opportunity

Housing


Volunteer Involvement and Leadership

• The review process includes a wide range of volunteers representing the community.

• Review committees will make recommendations to the Community Impact Cabinet. They will look at the “big picture” across all of the investment areas and make a final recommendation to the UWGNH Board.

• The UWGNH Board will make the final decision regarding funding decisions.


Applications

A competitive RFP process open to:

• Incorporated 501(c)3 organizations or have contracted with a fiduciary

• Serve residents in our twelve-town service area

• Can demonstrate their program’s alignment with the UWGNH desired results and strategies in Success By 6 and Income and how people they serve will be better off

• No preference for current grantees


Community Investment Process Roles

• Reviewers

SB6 Community Invest Review Team (volunteers and staff)

Income Community Investment Review Team (volunteers and staff)

Tier 1

Tier 2

• United Way Staff

• Facilitator


Reviewer COI and Confidentiality

• All reviewers will complete a conflict of interest form to indicate organizations with which they have an affiliation or relationship that would pose a conflict of interest.

Reviewers will be assigned to an investment area in which they do not have a conflict.

• Reviewers agree to maintain the confidentiality of the applications, the group discussions, and the funding recommendations.


SB6 Reviewer Tasks

• Score approximately 6 applications

• Complete a scoring sheet for each application

• Schedule and conduct a site visit for 2 to 3 applications.

• Participate in the SB6 deliberation meeting

May 12, 12:00-4:00 p.m., Graustein Memorial Fund, Hamden


Income Reviewer Tasks

Tier 1 Reviewers:

1. Score approximately 6 applications

2. Complete a scoring sheet for each application

– Based on the reviewers’ scores, applications that fall below a natural break in scoring will not advance in

the review process.


Income Review Process

Tier Two Reviewers:1. Score approximately 6 applications

2. Complete a scoring sheet for each application

– Based on the reviewers’ scores, applications that fall below a natural break in scoring will not advance in the review process.

3. Schedule and conduct a site visit for 2 to 3 applications

4. Participate in the Income deliberation meeting

– May 11, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Regional Water Authority, New Haven


Reviewing the applications

• Read the assigned applications on eCImpact. You will be assigned up to 6 applications to score. All applications within your team will be available for you to review. The eCFund User’s Manual will be provided

• We strive for consistent scoring Provide scores based on the information you have at the time.

Use the guiding questions on the review form to help you analyze and score the information presented in the application.


Group Deliberations

• Income and Success By 6 will meet separately to review the applications and make funding recommendations.

• Reviewers’ scores will form the basis for the initial discussion about the applications.

• Be prepared to answer questions/provide information during the meeting about the applications you scored.

• We’ll use alignment with United Way strategies and capacity to achieve results to make funding decisions.

• We anticipate having to make hard choices about how to use United Way funding to have the greatest impact in the community.


Site Visits

• Teams of 2 reviewers conduct 2-3 site visits

• Reviewers coordinate with program staff

• Opportunity to build knowledge

• Focus on questions, concerns in application

• Update scoring form with feedback from visit

• Bring what you learn to the deliberations


New! Results Based Accountability

• All investments must have a plan for evaluating and communicating their impact

Formerly Used the Logic Model (inputs, activities, indicators, outcomes)

• Adopted Results Based Accountability (RBA)

– Helps United Way assess program effectiveness and larger community change

– Helps programs focus on measuring success and using data

– Helps reviewers determine which applications are best designed to achieve change for clients


RBA In the Application

Focus on programs making a difference in clients’ lives.

–Desired results for Greater New Haven are identified by UW

–Specific strategies to reach those results are identified by UW

–Applicants select the result(s) and strategy(ies) their program supports

–Applicants explain their theory of change for the people they serve

–Applicants make the case that clients will be better off as a result of their program


RBA in the Application

Applicants provide a compelling theory of change that drives the program

1. Describe how their clients are doing against the UW result

2. Identify the factors promoting and challenging success

3. Describe what they will do to positively impact their clients


RBA: Theory of Change

SB6 Result: Children enter school developmentally ready to learn

Indicator: % of children entering kindergarten with a pre-school experience

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

100%

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

New Haven


RBA: Turn the Curve

SB6 Result: Children enter school developmentally on track

Indicator: % of New Haven children entering kindergarten with a pre-school experience

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

100%

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Theory of change to impact clients served



Three types of Performance Measures:

1. How much = the quantity of services (output)

2. How well = the quality of services

3. Better off = client impact/outcomes



Focus on programs that can demonstrate clients are better off

Better off performance measures tell us how a program will know that they are making a difference for clients

Better off means changes in: behaviors, attitudes/opinions, circumstance, knowledge, skills

United Way invests in programs designed to create client impacts/outcomes


Reviewing and Scoring Applications

1. Application review

2. Score sheet review

3. Scoring simulation


On behalf of UWGNH, thank you for taking on this important role of leadership and

service to the community.

Documents

Community Investment Reviewer Training United Way of Greater New Haven March 2010