Try This Archives - Nicole Clark Consulting

19 Mar, 2025

Try This: Learning From Program Participants Who Leave

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-03-25T16:22:49-04:00March 19th, 2025|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Program Participants, program retention, Try This|0 Comments

A row of four chairs against a gray wall, with three white chairs and one orange chair. The text reads 'Try This: Learning From Program Participants Who Leave.' Blog post by Nicole Clark Consulting. — ***Try this out and let me know how it goes.***

Learning from program participants who leave? Have you ever considered this?

Understanding why participants leave a program can provide valuable insights for improvement. Instead of viewing dropouts as failures, organizations can learn from them to refine program structure, engagement strategies, and outreach.

Understanding why someone opts out can highlight gaps in accessibility, program design, or expectations that might not be obvious from the inside. Learning from participant exits allows organizations to make informed adjustments for a better, more aligned experience for future participants. It also helps refine who the program is best suited for, so staff to focus on attracting and retaining the right participants rather than simply boosting enrollment numbers.

Despite knowing how beneficial this is, many organizations hesitate to dig into why participants leave—often due to fears of what may be uncovered. Concerns that exit feedback will highlight program flaws, misalignment, or weaknesses can feel like criticism rather than opportunities for growth. Staff may worry that analyzing dropouts will reflect poorly on their work, leading to uncomfortable conversations with funders or stakeholders. Staff may also feel personally invested in the program’s success and view dropouts as a reflection of their efforts.

Avoiding this doesn’t make the issues disappear. Instead, reframing dropout analysis as a learning tool rather than a failure assessment can empower organizations to create stronger, more effective programs.

Use this activity to analyze participant exit patterns and use feedback to strengthen your program’s impact.

Objective:

Analyze participant exit patterns, use feedback to strengthen program impact, and support staff developing practices in learning from program participants who leave.

This activity is ideal for:

Program managers, coordinators, and staff overseeing participant engagement
Teams looking to improve retention strategies without relying on numbers alone
Organizations that want to align their programs more closely with participant needs
Organizations interested in becoming more data driven

What you’ll need:

Recent program participation and dropout data (if available)
Exit surveys data or interview transcripts from past participants
Flip chart paper or a whiteboard
Markers or sticky notes
Between 60 – 90 minutes for time management

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19 Feb, 2025

Try This: Making Your Case to Secure Grant Funding

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2025-03-17T15:00:26-04:00February 19th, 2025|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Funding, Grantwriting, Try This|0 Comments

*Try this out and let me know how it goes for you (or if you need support.)*

You know how to make your grant application stand out to funders, and how to avoid common data pitfalls in demonstrating your impact.

Yet data alone isn’t enough to convince funders—your application needs a strong, compelling case backed by real insights. Funders want to know that your program is not only needed but also effective, and that you truly understand the communities you serve.

This activity will help your staff connect the dots between data, community feedback, and a persuasive grant narrative that funders can’t ignore.

Ready to sharpen your funding appeal? Let’s get started.

Objective:

Help staff practice integrating research and community insights into a compelling grant application by identifying relevant data, crafting a strong case for funding, and refining their storytelling approach.

This activity is ideal for:

Funding and grant making staff
Staff responsible for leading data collection and sense making processes
Anyone interested in applying evaluative thinking

What you’ll need:

Recent community needs assessment, program evaluation reports, or external research relevant to your program
Sample grant application questions (or a real application your organization is working on)
Highlighters, sticky notes, or digital collaboration tools
Around 80 minutes for time management

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19 Jul, 2024

Try This: Narrow Your Partnership Focus

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-07-19T11:48:18-04:00July 19th, 2024|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: Community Partnerships, Stakeholders, Try This|0 Comments

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

Inviting organizations to join a partnership requires strategizing on who to invite, articulating the partnership’s value add, each partner knowing their role, and being open to shifts in how partners participate over time.

While a partnership works in service of addressing an emerging community need, how and what gets addressed requires its own strategy. After establishing how to work together, you need something to work on.

This activity is ideal for:

Partnership members with experience in facilitating meetings
Partnership members with experience in engaging communities
Partnership members with experience in data collection and analysis

What you’ll need:

A method for taking notes

The steps:

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29 Feb, 2024

Try This: Get Your Ideal Community Partners On Board

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-02-28T21:57:39-05:00February 29th, 2024|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Community Partnerships, Facilitation, Stakeholders, Try This|0 Comments

Engaging the right community partners to join your partnership is crucial to facilitating a process that’s mutually beneficial.

As you plan your introductory partnership meeting, you need to figure out who to invite, and why.

You see the value in working with these organizations, and you want them there to advance your mission.

The WHY behind your ask is important as these potential partners will ask:

What’s in it for me?

If they can’t see their value add to this partnership, they won’t join you. So, be prepared to show them.

This activity is ideal for:

Staff responsible for facilitating workshops, meetings, or trainings
Staff with experience in engaging community organizations

What you’ll need:

Your community organization partner invitation list
A method for taking notes

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20 Sep, 2023

Try This: In Person vs Online Workshop Prep

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-09-20T15:21:17-04:00September 20th, 2023|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Facilitation, Try This, Workshops|0 Comments

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

As an introverted workshop facilitator, I used to believe that online workshops were easier to facilitate than in person ones.

Now I see that online workshops aren’t easier or harder; they just have their own set of quirks.

There’s benefits and drawbacks to choosing a workshop format, especially if your workshop is being facilitated for the first time.

These considerations are just as important for previously facilitated workshops. The ability to pivot a workshop from and to either format requires an understanding of your workshop’s logistical needs, participant experiences, and workshop objectives.

This activity is ideal for:

Program staff responsible for facilitating workshops, meetings, or trainings

What you’ll need:

Your workshop’s agenda and activity breakdown
A method to take notes (laptop, whiteboard, Google Docs, pen/paper, etc.)

The steps:

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Try This: Learning From Program Participants Who Leave

Try This: Making Your Case to Secure Grant Funding

Try This: Narrow Your Partnership Focus

Try This: Get Your Ideal Community Partners On Board

Try This: In Person vs Online Workshop Prep

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