Shared Outcomes

SHARED EXPECTATIONS. SHARED OUTCOMES. SHARED IMPACT. 

When collected and used effectively, shared outcomes can help supporters work collaboratively with organizations to:

  1. Measure and clearly articulate that they are making the difference intended for the people they serve.
  2. Implement ongoing quality improvement at the programmatic level; and
  3. Inform stakeholders and the community on where and why programming is working or not working and how they are working to improve it.
  4. Empower others to advocate on the program's behalf by having readily available "talking points". 

United Way of Freeborn County presents the first Shared Outcomes plan. At the end of this page, you will see expanding sections for the areas of Health, Education & Financial Stability.

While agencies are encouraged to use the following Shared Outcomes when requesting funding, United Way also recognizes that there is never a one-size fits all approach, nor is it all inclusive of the work being done in Freeborn County. Agencies are invited to use the following Indicators to help write their own Program Outcomes & Indicators for the 2021 Grant Cycle if there is one that does not accurately reflect your program's work. Your program may report on several indicators from different Impact areas, however, the application does ask for the primary Impact area.

We welcome feedback from agencies to finetune our Shared Outcomes for Freeborn County. 

 Click here for a printable version of this document, including the Outcome sections below. 

Thank you for making a difference in Freeborn County! 

Definitions:

Agency/Organization/Nonprofit:
For the purposes of this United Way, these three terms are used interchangeably to define a collective group that is tax exempt and eligible for funding that has a defined community benefit in the areas of Health, Education and Financial Stability in Freeborn County.

Program:

Organized activities and actions that utilize resources to produced desired outcomes. Programs exist within an organization.
United Way funds programs, and not agencies as a whole.

Indicators:

The specific items of data that are tracked to measure how well a program is achieving an outcome. This does not have a specific measurement at the start of the program, it is defining what will be measured.

Targets: 

Objectives for a program’s level of achievement.

 

Outputs

are the direct products of program operation and usually are measured in terms of the volume of work accomplished—for example, the numbers of classes taught, counseling sessions conducted, educational materials

distributed and participants served. Outputs have little inherent value in themselves. They are important because they are intended to lead to a desired benefit for participants or target populations.

Outcomes: 

are benefits or changes for individuals or populations during or after participating in program activities. They are influenced by a program’s outputs. Outcomes may relate to knowledge, attitudes, values, skills, behavior, condition or other attributes. They are what participants know, think or can do; or how they behave; or what their condition is, that is different following the program.

 

For example, in a youth development program that creates internship opportunities for high school youth, an outcome might be that participants develop expanded views of their career options. An indicator of how well the program is succeeding on this outcome could be the number and percent of participants who list more careers of interest to them at the end of the program than they did at the beginning of the program. A target might be that 40 percent of participants list at least two more careers after completing the program than they did when they started it.

 

 

 

INDICATORS

Direct Supports and Services

# of children served (0-5) enrolled in high-quality early childhood programs 

# of children served receiving literacy supports in grades K-3

# of families, caregivers served that are provided with information, resources, tools, trainings and/or teaching skills

Systems Improvement
# of policies promoted, enacted or modified to promote childhood success

# of community partners organized, led, and/or managed by your program

# of early childhood staff trained to provide quality programs, services

 

OUTCOMES  

% of children (0-5) served who achieve developmental milestones

% of children served who are proficient on school readiness assessments by the end of their kindergarten year

% of children (K-3) served reading at grade level

% of children (K-3) served who maintain satisfactory or improve school attendance

INDICATORS

Direct Supports and Services

# of elementary/middle/high school youth served who participate in school and/or community-based out-of-school time programs and/or receive individualized supports

# of youth served who receive job skills training

Systems Improvement
 

# of policies promoted, enacted, or modified to promote educational success

# of community partners organized, led, and/or managed by your program
# of youth development staff trained to provide quality programs, services

 

OUTCOMES

% of youth served who graduate high school on time

% of youth served who gain post-secondary employment, further education or credential

# of youth served (15-24) who gain employment

% of middle/high school youth served who earn passing grades in core subject areas

% of elementary/middle/high school youth served who maintain satisfactory or improve school attendance

% of middle/high school youth served who develop soft skills

% of youth served who transition from middle to high school on time

 

 

 

INDICATORS

Direct Supports and Services

# of individuals served participating in physical activity and/or healthy
food access/nutrition programs

# of individuals served with access to healthcare services and supports

# of individuals served with access to healthcare insurance

Systems Improvement
# of policies promoted, enacted or modified to promote health

# of community partners organized, led, and/or managed by your program

# of health sector staff trained to deliver quality services

OUTCOMES
% of children/adults served who eat healthier, increase their physical activity, and/or move towards a healthy weight

% of babies served who experience healthy birth outcomes (e.g. celebrate their 1st birthday, carried to full term, and/or born at a healthy weight)

% of youth/adults served who avoid or reduce risk-taking behaviors
% of mothers served who access prenatal care

 

 

 

INDICATORS

Direct Supports and Services

# of individuals served participating in physical activity and/or healthy
food access/nutrition programs

# of individuals served with access to healthcare services and supports

# of individuals served with access to healthcare insurance

Systems Improvement
# of policies promoted, enacted or modified to promote health

# of community partners organized, led, and/or managed by your program

# of health sector staff trained to deliver quality services

OUTCOMES
% of children/adults served who eat healthier, increase their physical activity, and/or move towards a healthy weight

% of babies served who experience healthy birth outcomes (e.g. celebrate their 1st birthday, carried to full term, and/or born at a healthy weight)

% of youth/adults served who avoid or reduce risk-taking behaviors
% of mothers served who access prenatal care