program design Archives - Nicole Clark Consulting

5 Feb, 2025

Ask Nicole: How Can I Make My Grant Application Stand Out to Funders?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-02-05T10:09:37-05:00February 5th, 2025|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Ask Nicole, Funding, Grant Applications, program design, program evaluation|0 Comments

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

Spring grant cycles are just around the corner, and if you’re a nonprofit leader, you know that competition for funding is fierce.

A rushed or incomplete application can cost you funding, while a well-prepared, data-backed proposal increases your chances of securing the resources you need.

In this month’s Ask Nicole, we’ll go over a simple but effective grant readiness checklist so you can confidently apply for spring funding.

Before you hit ‘submit’, make sure your organization is fully prepared.

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31 Jan, 2025

Beyond Orientation: Build a Well-Trained Team for Your Program

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-01-30T18:58:41-05:00January 31st, 2025|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: program design, staff capacity|0 Comments

Getting program participants in the door is one thing—making sure they’re prepared and confident in their roles is another.

Your program staff and volunteers are the backbone of your program, and when they feel knowledgeable and supported, they deliver better results, adapt to challenges more easily, and stay committed for the long haul.

A strong training plan isn’t just a one-time orientation—it’s an ongoing investment in your program’s success.

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15 Jan, 2025

Collaborations that Work: Engaging Schools, Families and Communities

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-01-15T11:12:51-05:00January 15th, 2025|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: community engagement, program design|0 Comments

Programs don’t exist in a vacuum.

When everyone —schools, families, and community organizations — pitches in, your program increases its chances of achieving its outcomes. By intentionally finding ways for everyone to work together, you create a team that highlights unique strengths, helping to lift the whole program for more exposure, results, and sustainability.

Let’s break down how this can look:

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8 Jan, 2025

Ask Nicole: Aligning Program Goals With The School Year

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-01-07T17:26:16-05:00January 8th, 2025|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Academics, Ask Nicole, program design, School|0 Comments

Whether you’re running a K-12 after-school tutoring program or a college-level leadership initiative, aligning your goals with the academic calendar can be game changing.

The school year is full of built-in milestones—like holiday breaks, midterms, and the start of new semesters—that naturally shape your planning and communication. Depending on how the program is structured (whether it’s year round or semester based), you have enough flexibility to be in tune with your school’s schedule, making it easier to pivot when surprises pop up, without losing sight of what you set out to accomplish.

Here are some tips for adjusting your program goals to the school schedule, and how you can use the school year as a framework to stay on track to meet your program goals.

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3 Sep, 2024

Ask Nicole: Balancing Participant Feedback & Staff Capacity

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-12-23T14:42:45-05:00September 3rd, 2024|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Ask Nicole, program design, program evaluation, staff capacity|0 Comments

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

In order to evaluate a program, I start by speaking to staff in charged of running the program.

This helps me understand why the program exists, the ideal participants, program goals, activities, outreach, etc. This helps to develop an evaluation process that’s appropriate to the program’s goals.

This process also helps in providing programmatic recommendations. Even though participant feedback is key to program improvements, so is understanding staff capacity to make these changes.

Navigating grantee-funder relationships while staying true to your mission is complex.

Similarly, it can be a balancing act when staff have to prioritize program participant feedback.

Here are five recommendations to help programmatic staff balance participant feedback with their capacity to implement changes:

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Ask Nicole: How Can I Make My Grant Application Stand Out to Funders?

Beyond Orientation: Build a Well-Trained Team for Your Program

Collaborations that Work: Engaging Schools, Families and Communities

Ask Nicole: Aligning Program Goals With The School Year

Ask Nicole: Balancing Participant Feedback & Staff Capacity

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