PART TWO
Writing Annual and Final Reports to the Kellogg Foundation: Annual and final reports to the Kellogg Foundation are the primary ways we learn from projects’ experiences.They are most helpful in informing our future grantmaking when they document what is happening or has happened in your project and why, and describe the lessons learned in the process of designing and implementing your project.Yet, many such reports simply document project activities and expenditures, and say little about lessons learned and significant outcomes. The best initial source to consult in preparing your reports to the Kellogg Foundation is the commitment letter which informed you of our decision to provide a grant to your organization. As mentioned earlier, this letter typically lists the significant evaluation questions that we believe your project may help answer.While neither your evaluation nor your reports should be limited solely to these questions, they do provide a good starting point. Annual and final reports need not be lengthy. In fact, a concise, well-written report of ten pages is more likely to influence our programming than one hundred pages of raw data. Communicating to Other Stakeholders: Disseminating information about your project to outside audiences can serve many purposes: improve the functioning of related projects and organizations; provide an accounting to funding and regulatory bodies; convince diverse audiences of the project’s importance; and generate further support for the projects you have implemented. Evaluation findings presented in the media, describing project activities and the conditions of the target group, can increase local understanding and involvement. Be creative and innovative in reporting evaluation findings. Use a variety of techniques such as visual displays, oral presentations, summary statements, interim reports, and informal conversations. Additional ideas include: • Write and disseminate a complete evaluation report, including an executive summary and appropriate technical appendices. • Write separate executive summaries and popular articles using evaluation findings, targeted at specific audiences or stakeholder groups. • Write a carefully worded press release and have a prestigious office or public figure deliver it to the media. • Hold a press conference in conjunction with the press release.
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