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The Power of Monitoring & Evaluation
When I first started consulting, I met an executive director who sighed every time “evaluation” came up. “We’re too small for that,” she said. “We just do the work.” Six months later, after we set up a few simple ways to track outcomes—attendance, participant satisfaction, a quick follow-up survey—she emailed me after a meeting with a new funder: “They said our clarity on impact made us stand out.” Why Data Is About More Than Numbers At its best, Monitoring & Evaluation isn’t

Ann Madsen
Dec 15, 20252 min read


How Partnerships Unlock Bigger Grants
A few years ago, I worked with two small nonprofits in the same neighborhood – one focused on youth development, the other on workforce readiness. They’d never collaborated before, even though their missions overlapped. Both were scraping together small program grants, each writing proposals that looked similar. Then one day, they decided to apply together. The result? Their joint proposal didn’t just get funded – it landed a multi-year award that neither has previously secur

Ann Madsen
Dec 15, 20252 min read


The Ripple Effects of the USAID Funding Freeze on Humanitarian and Development Sectors
The recent freeze on USAID funding has sent shockwaves through the humanitarian and development sectors, raising urgent concerns about...

Ann Madsen
Feb 6, 20252 min read


Do Grants Actually Solve Problems? Rethinking How We Fund Social Change
Every year, billions of dollars flow from governments, foundations, and corporate donors into grant-funded programs designed to tackle...

Ann Madsen
Feb 6, 20251 min read


How to Cultivate Funders through Letters of Intent and Follow-up
Securing funding for your organization often starts with a compelling Letter of Intent (LOI). Knowing when and how to send an LOI can...

Ann Madsen
Jun 3, 20243 min read
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