Robert Sterling Clark's Approach to (and Tools for) Evaluation

For the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, evaluation is a key ingredient in being a good partner to grantees. RSCF uses three evaluation tools to assess their grantmaking impact: flexible funding impact survey, the check-in analysis tool (or CHAT), and convening surveys. These assessments provide built-in opportunities for examining grantmaking impact and reflecting on foundation practices.

RCSF’s Check-In Analysis Tool (CHAT)

In place of a narrative report or formal visit, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation uses the Check-In Analysis Tool, or CHAT, to learn about and support grantees in their work while also assessing the foundation’s own grantmaking effectiveness. The CHAT is shared ahead of the meeting for transparency and with a clear message: please don’t prepare anything.

Watch a Real CHAT Conversation

In this video, first shared as part of the 2021 Exponent Philanthropy Conference, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation President Phil Li and grantee partners Yolanda Coentro and Kevin Cummings of the Institute for Nonprofit Practice share excerpts from an actual CHAT conversation they had over Zoom in April 2021. The group then reflects on this trust-based experience and how it flips the script on most interactions between funders and nonprofits.