Grant Evaluation Plan: What Funders Ask For and How to Write the Section

AI disclosure: this article was written with the help of AI tools. It was first published on The Funder File (thefunderfile.com).

A grant evaluation plan explains how you will know whether your project worked: the questions you will answer, the indicators and data you will collect, who collects them and when, and how you will use the results. Funders score it: SAMHSA’s FY 2026 Trauma-Informed Services in Schools NOFO gives “Data collection and performance measurement” 20 of 100 points in about one page. Tie every measure to an outcome you promise.

What funders ask for in the evaluation section

• SAMHSA, Trauma-Informed Services in Schools (SM-26–006): section E: Data collection and performance measurement; what it asks How you will collect performance data and use it to manage, monitor and enhance the program; weight or limit 20 of 100 points; about 1 page
• Longwood Foundation, Fall 2026 application: section Outcomes (Proposed Measures of Success); what it asks “2–4 specific metrics”, with your baseline if possible; weight or limit 3,500 characters
• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), FY27 Grants for Arts Projects: section Artistic merit review criterion; what it asks “an appropriate plan to determine if those goals and/or outcomes are met”; weight or limit Part of artistic merit
• U.S. Department of Education, 34 CFR 75.210(h): section Quality of the project evaluation or other evidence-building; what it asks 16 optional factors the Secretary may select; weight or limit Set in each notice

The parts of a grant evaluation plan

A training deck by AmeriCorps contractor NORC at the University of Chicago (guidance, not a rule) lists eleven components, from theory of change to budget. A small project can cover the essentials in a page:

• Questions. CDC’s 2024 framework limits questions to those “that can be answered in a timely manner, with the resources available, and by using appropriately rigorous methods.”
• Indicators and baselines. One measurable indicator per outcome; never invent a baseline. Longwood asks you, if possible, to “include your current performance (baseline) on the same metrics.”
• Data collection. The tool, who collects data and how often.
• Evaluator, timeline and budget. Who does the work, by when and at what cost.

Sample wording (ours):

Question: did [participants] [gain the skill] by [date]? Indicator: share of [participants] who [result], against a baseline of [figure] ([source], [year]). Data: [tool], collected by [role] at [intake] and [exit], reviewed each [quarter].

Draw the questions from your logic model; a workbook with logic model, indicator and evaluation plan tabs keeps the two consistent.

Choose a process, outcome or impact design

• Process (implementation): what it shows How the program “is implemented relative to its intended theory of change”; source CDC, 2024 framework
• Outcome: what it shows “the extent to which a program, policy, or organization has achieved its intended outcome(s)”; it “cannot attribute causality”; source CDC, 2024 framework
• Impact: what it shows Changes “relative to a reasonably similar comparison/ control group”; source NORC training deck for AmeriCorps

Under 45 CFR 2522.710, AmeriCorps State and National competitive and direct grantees averaging $500,000 or more a year must arrange an independent evaluation, and AmeriCorps’ FAQs say they “must use an experimental or quasi-experimental design.” Smaller grantees run an internal or independent evaluation and “may opt for a process, outcome, or impact evaluation.”

Data collection and participant privacy

• Use the data during the grant. SAMHSA asks you to “Describe how you will use the data to manage, monitor, and enhance the program.”
• Plan for an ethics review. In limited cases, the NEA may review a project before an award if it includes “formal program evaluation,” research that directly collects personal information from participants, or activities involving vulnerable populations. Informal steps such as anonymized satisfaction surveys are “typically exempt.”

Who evaluates, and how to budget for it

• Internal or external. AmeriCorps calls an evaluation independent “if it uses an external evaluator” with no relationship with, or stake in, the program or its finances.
• Name the role. SAMHSA lists the Evaluator as key personnel, “responsible for data collection, data reporting, performance assessment, and overall project evaluation,” at up to 50% FTE.
• Cost it. AmeriCorps says “The cost of evaluations varies widely and will depend on the type of study design.” Under 2 CFR 200.413(b), program evaluation costs may be charged directly when directly related to a specific federal award.

Put evaluator fees, survey tools and staff time on their own lines in an Excel budget that drafts a justification sentence for every cost. For a federal application, a project narrative template with performance measures and a merit-criteria crosswalk places the evaluation beside the work plan.

Report and use the findings

Under 2 CFR 200.301, a federal agency “must measure the recipient’s performance to show achievement of program goals and objectives,” and should specify in the award any requirement to take part in federally funded evaluations. CDC’s last step is “Act on Findings”: decide who reviews results and what you will change. For reports and budgets, see our grant essentials kits for any funder.

Get Silvamathieu Pro’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

Remember me for faster sign in

The Logic Model & Evaluation Kit’s Essentials_LogicModel_Logic_Model_TEMPLATE.docx pairs a one-page logic model with an evaluation section outline ready to paste into a proposal.

General information: this article is general information, not legal, tax or fundraising advice. No template can guarantee funding. Always follow each funder’s own guidelines.

The Funder File is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to SAMHSA, the Longwood Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education, AmeriCorps, NORC or the CDC.

Sources

• SAMHSA: FY 2026 Trauma-Informed Services in Schools
• Longwood Foundation: Fall 2026 Application
• NEA: FY27 Grants for Arts Projects
• Cornell LII: 34 CFR 75.210 General selection criteria
• Cornell LII: 2 CFR 200.301 Performance measurement
• Cornell LII: 2 CFR 200.413 Direct costs
• Cornell LII: 45 CFR 2522.710 What are my evaluation requirements?
• AmeriCorps: Evaluation FAQs (revised July 2024)
• AmeriCorps: How to Write an Evaluation Plan
• CDC: Program Evaluation Framework, 2024

The Funder File is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any funder or government agency named on this site. All trademarks belong to their owners.

Free download

The Grant-Ready Checklist (the documents and facts a small nonprofit should have ready before applying, for US, UK and Canadian funders) is free: you can get it at the end of the original article on The Funder File.