As nonprofits in the greater Denver community shift to recovery mode during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are experiencing increased needs and decreased funding, understanding — and communicating — programmatic impact is even more essential. 

SVP Denver is leading a free, eight-week workshop series to help nonprofit investees, often unable to afford professional consultation, to develop a Theory of Change (ToC) to better articulate how their work leads to meaningful changes in their target population. A Theory of Change is both a process and a product that helps nonprofits tell the story of who they serve, what they do and the impact they intend to help others achieve. Following this eight-week workshop series and armed with a ToC of their own, investees will be able to better pitch their nonprofit to funders, community leaders and stakeholders, gaining greater support in this time of unprecedented change. 

Program Outline:

• Program Dates: Week of June 8 through week of August 7, 2020. 
• Three to five nonprofit investees will be selected to participate.
• SVP Denver partner Paul Collier will lead investees in the eight-week program to develop a Theory of Change (ToC) for their nonprofit. 
• Each investee will also be matched with an SVP Denver partner as a co-learning coach to help them address common ToC challenges. 
• Investees will meet virtually, every other week, for an interactive 45-minute session to discuss the core concepts involved in developing a ToC. 
• Between lessons, investees will be asked to convene one 60-90 minute workshop with their SVP Denver partner coach and to submit the results of that workshop prior to the next lesson. 
• After the first three sessions, investees will have a draft ToC to share with key stakeholders in their nonprofit, collecting feedback before the final session.
• In addition to having a Theory of Change, this participatory approach will leave each investee organization with an understanding of program design and evaluation concepts to further refine their ToC over time.

Complete application (due by 11:59 p.m., this Sunday, June 7; participants will be notified by 5 p.m. on Monday, June 8)

As part of the application, you must commit to participating in the complete schedule.