What Works?

•Identify programs that work.•Analyze why they work.•Replicate them.

What Works?

Mary Chanthttp://www.firstthebasics.com

Toward Hunger-Free Communities - What Works?

The Plan– Identify agencies and individuals who are fighting hunger.– Create a spreadsheet to organize information. Provide contact

and location information.– Create shared an online database so that information can be

accessed easily; and so that agencies and individuals doing similar work can contact each other and compare notes.

– Encourage agencies and individuals to share processes and program outcomes. Publish results and encourage communication and transparency.

– Establish meaningful metrics to measure progress.– Focus on “What Works” and concentrate energy and financial

resources on those events, marketing & fundraising efforts, advocacy methods and technical considerations that “work”.

Identify Programs that Work

The Data– Use quantifiable data whenever possible to identify what works.– Which programs are most successful? – How is success measured and tracked?– When soliciting pounds of food

• How many pounds were collected? • What was cost per pound to collect donations? (ROI)

– When soliciting monetary donations • How many dollars were donated? • What was percentage per dollar that went to raising money?

(ROI) ($1 provides 7 meals *Feeding America website)– Provide transparency in order to help all hunger advocates

understand what kind of donor programs, events, gleaning and community gardening efforts, etc. are most effective.

Analyze why programs work

The Results– What was the original goal?

• Did the project, event, campaign meet its goal?– Could cause and effect relationships be identified? – Which attributes had the most effect on outcome?

• Past Experience• Financial Resources• Volunteer Activity

– 68 percent of pantries, 42 percent of soup kitchens, and 15 percent of emergency shelters rely solely on volunteers and have no paid staff (*Feeding America, Hunger in America, Key Findings)

• Visibility and/or name recognition• Sponsors• Marketing channels• Technology• The Economy

– The community pantry of San Benito County says two years ago it served 4,000 people in need. Now, it's up to 7,000.  And while the demand goes up, their funds have dropped. (*News, 5/27/2010 - http://www.kcba.com/Global/story.asp?S=12557729)

– Lessons Learned

Analyze why programs work

Tag – I’m It– As an individual I created a website to help find food pantries

in my community– I would gladly share:

• code to replicate the site for another community• experience creating a group of maps • google analytics stats• experiences with outreach, twitter, community building,

community response, etc.

Replicate Successful Programs

The Goal– Identify what works and replicate it.

• This is especially important when “The reality is that nearly 17 million children in America—that’s almost one in four—face hunger.” (Share Our Strength)

– Make it easier for small food banks to carry out fundraising activities.– Share Resources

• provide templates for marketing materials, online donation forms, etc.

• provide information about government programs and grant application and management, etc.

– Create a Buddy System • pair a rep from a large food bank with successful fund raising

experience with a rep from a smaller food bank.

Replicate Successful Programs

Tag – You’re It– There are hundreds of individuals and organizations across the

country working on the problem of ending hunger.– What if they all communicated their

• marketing tips• IT tips – including code• metrics – to help establish benchmarks• grant management expertise• struggles and triumphs• EXPERIENCE