The Point of Connection

In my family, I’m the youngest of four. As a kid, I was an eager and giggling consumer of my siblings’ jokes, a somewhat sore loser at chess and checkers, and a useless, if undaunted, arm wrestling opponent.



My main roles were to listen, watch, and follow.

At some point in my 20s, that began to shift. My siblings still see me as a good listener, but they consider me a source of useful information, someone who can help them develop solutions in the face of challenges, and an important supporter of their plans and dreams.

It’s probably not surprising that these are some of the same roles I’ve taken on in my professional life as an evaluator.

All of us hold multiple roles in our lives; some change over time, some change depending on the people around us, and some change in response to emergent situations.

Whether you're working with a nonprofit or intermediary funder, or providing leadership coaching, odds are you're putting a lot of effort into being an educator and trust-builder these days, in order to attract the engagement and support you need to keep doing—and supporting others who are doing—good work.

What are your go-to strategies for meeting the demands of those and all the other roles you find yourself in these days?

Working with an evaluator can be an important tool in your box—or even the key that opens the door to recover from setbacks and find new possibilities.

Here's how two of our clients described the benefits of our partnership:

"Because you helped us write our theory of change and update our evaluation and reporting methods, we got our first $60,000 in foundation grants!"

Radiance's "innovative and collaborative strategies significantly improved our capacity to convey the impact of our coaching and group leadership programs."

Good data—and strategies to get, understand, and share it—can help you build trust and educate others about the importance and impact of your work.

Our updated website helps you see how Radiance can help you forge a path from where you are to where you want to go—through direct work with us and/or with the support of free downloadable resources and materials.

There's a pull-down menu with dedicated sections for Organizations, Funders, and impact-partner Businesses on the Our Services tab.

Our News & Resources tab has blog posts, newsletters, and helpful resources.

This year, many of us are adding or redefining our roles to meet new challenges in the nonprofit, social justice, and evaluation sector.

• What are your roles today? 
• How have they been changing recently? 
• How are you feeling about the roles you’ve taken on?

Reply to this email and let me know which roles feel most important to you, your organization, or your sector today, and which roles you need the most support to fill.

We’re doing a lot of listening, sharing, referring, and connecting lately. We are in this with you—and we firmly believe that we will rise up through this time together.

In community,

Robin