Week 5 Reflection

         This week we learned all about Solution & Impact Evaluation. We started with the Theory of Change, it is very useful. It is basically how an organization's day-to-day activities relate to its mission and overall goals and outcomes. Once we know this, we can measure how successful they are. We were also introduced to an amazing organization that is making a great impact: The Rooftop Garden, where they use disabled people to learn new skills, be in the sun, and socialize.

    We also learned how to analyze our results through, outputs, outcomes, and impact. These are useful when trying to understand the results of a nonprofit. Outputs are easy to count, outcomes can be difficult to measure and impact is actually very difficult to measure. Kevin Starr's Lasting Impact helps me understand how to measure a non-profit's success in a deeper way. He utilized specific questions and taught us how to look at a successful mission statement. His formula? He says they need to have 8 words, verb, target, and outcome. I understand 8 words would keep it short and clear, but 9 or 10 I believe would not cause a mission statement to not be successful in my opinion. 

        The article 'Measuring and Improving Social Impacts: A Guide for Nonprofits, Companies, and Impact Investors' was very interesting to me. Since I have a deep curiosity about Food Deserts and how to solve them. That is the social issue I chose for this semester was Food Deserts. I utilized some of the 5 questions in my application for measuring a specific non-profit this week. Due to our Application assignment this week, I was able to find a wonderful non-profit foundation called 'Whole Cities' which was founded by 'Whole Foods', made me so happy to find and connect with other organizations that are trying to find ways to bring nutritious food to people. I felt grateful for the class very much this week, because of this finding! 

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