Apply now: Pro bono research opportunity for nonprofits

Just getting started with evaluation? Want to tackle the next piece of your existing evaluation plan? This is your opportunity to move ahead with help from the experts. We will work with your organization to determine how our services can support your needs. 

Wilder Research will select up to 3 applicant organizations to work with between November 2024 and June 2025.  

This opportunity is meant to provide a chance for small, collaborative research and evaluation projects between Wilder Research and community organizations. Finalists will partner with a team from Wilder Research to complete a project, valued up to $15,000 or 150-200 staff hours of research and evaluation services. Exact amounts depend on what the chosen organizations are hoping to learn or accomplish. 

Projects could include, but are not limited to:

• Logic model development
• Evaluation planning and capacity building
• Survey development, administration, and analysis
• Using existing data to tell your organization’s story to funders and others

Final deliverables may be a logic model, an evaluation plan, a survey and data collection plan, a summary report, or a 2-page infographic about your organization. Wilder Research will work with you to finalize a project and project plan if selected.

We intend for these projects to be collaborative partnerships. Your organization should expect to contribute staff time and resources to the project. 

To ensure a successful project, applicants will designate a primary contact person and organization leader for the duration of the project. Some projects may require a minimum of 1-2 meetings per month, while others may require a higher level of engagement. A work plan or memo of understanding (MOU) will be created and agreed upon after initial kick-off and planning.

When reviewing applications, we will give preference to organizations that:

• Are located in Minnesota
• Have not contracted with Wilder Research in the past three years
• Serve cultural communities, including communities of color or communities that serve specific identity groups, such as LGBTQIA2S+ populations or the disability community
• Are small and may not otherwise have access to evaluation and research services
• Propose projects that are feasible within the timeline (November 2024 – June 2025)

Please note: Applications from for-profit organizations will not be considered. 

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Sophak Mom at sophak.mom@wilder.org or 651-280-2769.

• September 24, 2024 by 5pm – Application deadline
• September 25-November 10, 2024 – Wilder Research will review applications and reach out to organizations with follow-up questions or to request a brief meeting as needed. These brief conversations will help both applicants and Wilder Research build an understanding of the applicant organization’s needs and project feasibility given the time and resources available.
• November 18, 2024 – Notification to applicants 
• November 2024-June 2025 – Research and evaluation projects. All consultation services must be completed by June 30, 2025.

Below are examples of previous research with culturally specific organizations through the pro bono program. These examples are intended to help inform ideas.

• Hopewell Music Cooperative North improves music education in North Minneapolis through affordable, inclusive, and engaging programs. Wilder Research and Hopewell developed a comprehensive logic model linking the program’s activities to student outcomes. We also developed a bank of measures for data collection to build a solid framework and foundation for program evaluation based on available literature on community-based music education and key informant interviews with current program students.
• Irreducible Grace Foundation creates safe spaces and healing opportunities for youth of color. Wilder and Irreducible Grace developed a culturally responsive evaluation framework for their Black Youth Healing Arts Center program. Designed to understand the impact of the program on participants, the evaluation plan includes a combination of participatory and pre/post data collection methods with program participants and staff, administrative data, and community trends and indicators. 
• Wakaŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi: Formerly known as Lower Phalen Creek Project, Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi is a Native-Led, East Side environmental conservation nonprofit. Wakaŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi’s mission is to engage with people to honor and care for our natural places and the sacred sites and cultural value within them. Wakaŋ Tipi Awaŋyaŋkapi and Wilder Research partnered to create a logic model to help align their new strategic plan and programming efforts, and explain their work and long-term goals to potential funders and partners.
• Telling Queer History: TQH’s mission is to bring communities together to foster compassion, empathy, belonging, and healing. Their goals are to serve queer communities as a space for intergenerational and intersectional connections. TQH and Wilder Research partnered to build evaluation capacity and to demonstrate TQH’s impact through updating a post-event survey for ongoing use and interviewing participants in TQH events to learn more about the organization’s impact. A brief evaluation report and summary were created.
• MN8: MN8’s mission is to keep Southeast Asian communities together through direct support, advocacy, community organizing, and leadership development for social and systems change. MN8 and Wilder Research partnered to conduct a community needs assessment of the Cambodian community in Minnesota to learn about their needs, challenges, and how MN8 can support them. Topics included access to food, elections and voting, health care, and immigration.
• Rebound, Inc.: Rebound, Inc. aims to improve well-being and reduce systems involvement among Black youth by providing therapeutic supports, life skill development services, and enrichment activities. Wilder Research worked with Rebound, Inc. to identify the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of Rebound, Inc.’s programming, which informed the creation of a logic model. We also developed an evaluation plan, based on the logic model, aligning Rebound, Inc.’s data collection activities with program outcomes and identifying opportunities to improve data collection, management, and analysis processes. Rebound, Inc. is using the logic model and evaluation plan to inform evaluation activities, demonstrate impact, improve programming, and secure funding.
• Raíces Sagradas: Raíces Sagradas is a community mental health organization that serves the Spanish-speaking immigrant community and is committed to providing free, culturally appropriate therapy in both Spanish and English. Wilder Research partnered with Raíces Sagradas to build a logic model for their organization. Using the model as a guide, we built an evaluation plan to measure the impact of a newly launched community mental health initiative. Together, we built a data collection and analysis plan that would work for those they serve and offered guidance to program staff to carry out the evaluation on their own. Raíces Sagradas plans to use these tools to better communicate the scope of their work, demonstrate their impact, and secure funding.