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

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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

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I’ve talked about the moment when you realize your program’s design is outdated.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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20 Aug, 2025

Try This: The Data-Driven Decision Tree Walk-Through

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-08-20T10:11:47-04:00August 20th, 2025|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Capacity Building, Data Driven, Data Sense-Making, Evaluative Thinking, Try This|0 Comments

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Staff want to engage with data-driven decision making, but they don’t always have the time or space to do so.

When organizational leaders make decision-making processes transparent and collaborative, it supports staff, even if they can’t act on every idea right away.

This week, we’ll take a more hands-on approach. I’ll walk you through an activity you can use with your team to turn raw data into clear, actionable insights: The Data-Driven Decision Tree.

The Data-Driven Decision Tree is one of two activities taken from “Prioritize This: Data-Driven Decision Making“, a free resource provided to my newsletter subscribers. This activity helps break down program and service evaluation data into actionable steps based on feasibility and impact.

Objective:

Help your team turn data into clear, actionable next steps by exploring feasibility, mission alignment, and participant impact.

This activity is ideal for:

Staff who design and implement programs
Leadership responsible for strategic decisions
Any staff who collect, analyze, or share participant feedback

What you’ll need:

A copy of the Data-Driven Decision Tree. (Sign up for my newsletter to access the full exercise (including the decision tree visual) from Prioritize This: Data-Driven Decision Making.)
Program or evaluation data you want to analyze
A notetaker or facilitator to guide discussion
Time allotted: 30–45 minutes, depending on group size and number of data points

The steps:

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13 Aug, 2025

How Nonprofit Leaders Can Balance Staff Capacity with Data-Driven Decision Making

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-08-13T14:26:37-04:00August 13th, 2025|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Capacity Building, Data Driven, Evaluative Thinking, Monitoring & Evaluation|0 Comments

Here’s how to balance both without sacrificing impact.

In my last post, we explored the tension between wanting to engage with data-driven decision making and not having the space or capacity to do so.

Many staff want to think strategically, but without dedicated time and structural support, evaluation efforts become something that’s outsourced rather than embedded in organizational culture.

Nonprofit leaders play a critical role in shifting this dynamic by creating conditions where evaluative thinking is not just a one-off activity, but part of everyday decision-making.

This shift doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intention, space, and a shared understanding of how leaders and staff make decisions. Leaders need to guide teams in weighing both the feasibility of a potential change and its potential impact on participants or outcomes. These two factors can help shape priorities in a way that feels realistic for the organization, while also respecting the insight and energy of staff.

In this post, we’ll look at how to navigate two realities: first, the emotional weight of setting aside important but currently unfeasible changes, and second, the value of making the decision-making process transparent and collaborative. Along the way, I’ll also pose two key reflection questions for leaders to use with their teams—questions that can help staff focus their energy where it matters most.

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6 Aug, 2025

Ask Nicole: We’re Too Busy for Data-Driven Decision Making

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-08-07T16:46:23-04:00August 6th, 2025|Categories: Program, Service, & Campaign Design|Tags: Ask Nicole, Capacity Building, Data Driven, Monitoring & Evaluation, Staff|0 Comments

A smiling Black woman wearing a yellow top and gold earrings, is framed by a purple border. The text reads: "Ask Nicole — We're Too Busy for Data-Driven Decision Making." The image is branded with "Nicole Clark Consulting – Raise Your Voice for Women & Girls of Color." — Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

In nearly every monitoring and evaluation (M&E) project I’ve supported (whether it’s building a M&E framework or helping teams with data sense making) there comes a moment, often near the end, when staff reflect candidly.

“This was actually really interesting,” they’d say, “…but we don’t really get time to think like this.”

It’s a quiet acknowledgment of a very real tension: Staff see the value in evaluative thinking, but day-to-day programming demands of don’t allow them the time or space to engage with it meaningfully.

They’re not admissions of disinterest or resistance—they’re reminders of what it means to be inside a maxed-out organization.

Evaluation becomes something that’s outsourced to an external evaluator. Not because staff wants it to be, but because there’s no room to slow down, reflect, and strategize as a team.

And yet, the more you push data work to the margins, the more disconnected it becomes from the real day-to-day decision making.

Here’s how organizational leadership can make space for data-driven decision making—even when it feels like there’s none to spare.

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Objective:

This activity is ideal for:

What you’ll need:

The steps:

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