Raise Your Voice Blog | Nicole Clark Consulting

3 Dec, 2025

Ask Nicole: Do Our Internal Policies Reflect Our Reproductive Justice Values?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-12-03T11:03:58-05:00December 3rd, 2025|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: Ask Nicole, Organizational Culture, Organizational Sustainability, reproductive justice, Strategic Planning|0 Comments

Close-up of Nicole Clark smiling confidently, with the text “Ask Nicole” at the top and “Do Our Internal Policies Reflect Our Reproductive Justice Values?” across the center. The image has a bold purple border and branding for Nicole Clark Consulting at the bottom. — Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

It’s one thing for an organization to align itself with Reproductive Justice (RJ) in theory, but it’s another to embody those values in daily operations.

Executive directors of RJ organizations represent their organization’s stance in statements, partnerships, and programming. But what’s happening behind the scenes?

Internal processes (e.g., hiring, pay transparency, leadership structures, and benefits) often reveal whether an organization’s commitment to RJ is aspirational or actualized.

If you’re leading an organization that claims to embrace RJ, the most honest question you can ask is: Do our internal policies reflect our RJ values?

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19 Nov, 2025

What Nonprofits Actually Use to Plan and Track Their Work

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-11-19T10:55:15-05:00November 19th, 2025|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Grantees, Logics Models, Philanthropy, Theory of Change|0 Comments

In last week’s post, I shared why logic models and theories of change (ToCs) often aren’t useful, especially when they’re created to meet funding requirements instead of guiding real-world decision-making.

This week, I want to shift the focus toward what is useful.

In response to my comment “And too often, [ToCs and logic models] are created to satisfy a requirement, not to support meaningful reflection or strategy”, a program evaluation subject matter expert replied:

Yes! This is why I would design logic models (or whatever term seemed more appropriate) that would be most helpful to the clients in helping them understand their program’s goals and how to approach them, rather than forcing everything into the same standardized template.

The tools I’ve seen my client organizations use to plan and reflect aren’t always ToCs or logic models. They’re things like annual work plans, end-of-program debriefs, and board reports.

And if you’re a funder, these tools can already tell you a lot of what you’re trying to learn about a grantee’s program or service.

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12 Nov, 2025

Ask Nicole: Why Theories of Change and Logic Models Aren’t Useful

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-11-10T15:25:13-05:00November 12th, 2025|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Ask Nicole, Grantees, Logic Models, Philanthropy, Theory of Change|0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

Several years ago, I worked on a proposal for a collaborative project. The RFP asked for a narrative and a logic model for the process we were proposing. We spent time crafting both, but I remember thinking: What’s the point of requiring both, especially if you’re still going to come back with additional questions?

If the narrative is clear and if we can articulate what we’re trying to do, isn’t that enough?

I’ve also had nonprofit clients tell me they only create logic models funding, and never revisit them after submitting their proposal.. Or that they only build ToCs when funders require them, not because they find them useful. But the most striking moment was during a funder ToC session I facilitated, where program officers openly questioned whether they themselves would use the tool once it was built.

Theories of change (ToCs) and logic models are treated as standard tools. For some funders, they’re a default request to understand a grantee’s vision, approach, and impact. For some nonprofits, they’re just another part of the proposal process.

But they aren’t useful.

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3 Oct, 2025

Ask Nicole: Program Updates Take Time—and That’s Okay

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-10-03T13:09:08-04:00October 3rd, 2025|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Ask Nicole, Data Driven, Evaluative Thinking, Nonprofits, program design|0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

I’ve talked about the moment when you realize your program’s design is outdated. Maybe the content hasn’t evolved in years. Maybe it no longer reflects your participants’ realities. Or maybe the logic model hasn’t been updated despite changing the program’s activities.

Since then, I’ve heard from many of you:

We know our program isn’t where it should be… but we’re already stretched so thin.
We want to make updates, but we don’t even know where to begin.
We feel stuck—even though we’re clear something needs to change.

If this resonates with you and your staff, you’re not alone.

Program updates take time—and that’s okay.

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24 Sep, 2025

Making Sense Together: Community-Led Data Interpretation in Practice

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-09-24T12:26:53-04:00September 24th, 2025|Categories: Research & Evaluation|Tags: community engagement, Data Driven, Data Sense-Making, Try This|0 Comments

Try this out and let me know how it goes for you.

Collecting data is only one part of the research process. The real power lies in how that data is interpreted, understood, and applied. Too often, interpretation is treated as an internal task—reserved for staff, consultants, or funders—while the communities who shaped the data are left out of the conversation.

When we open up the analysis phase to include participants, we gain context, nuance, and insights that transform findings from raw numbers into lived truths. This is where research shifts from being about communities to being with them.

Objective:

To engage community members in collaboratively interpreting research findings and generating insights that reflect their lived experiences.

This activity is ideal for:

Organizations conducting surveys, focus groups, or interviews with community members
Teams wanting to check assumptions and ensure findings resonate with participants’ realities
Coalitions or partnerships looking to build trust and deepen community ownership of data

What you’ll need:

A set of preliminary findings (e.g., survey results, themes from interviews, charts, or quotes)
Simple presentation materials (slides, posters, or handouts with visuals)
Markers, sticky notes, or virtual collaboration tools (if online)
60–90 minutes of meeting time
A facilitator comfortable guiding group discussions

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Ask Nicole: Do Our Internal Policies Reflect Our Reproductive Justice Values?

What Nonprofits Actually Use to Plan and Track Their Work

Ask Nicole: Why Theories of Change and Logic Models Aren’t Useful

Ask Nicole: Program Updates Take Time—and That’s Okay

Making Sense Together: Community-Led Data Interpretation in Practice

Objective:

This activity is ideal for:

What you’ll need:

This Is A Custom Widget