Why is developing a theory of change your priority as Director of Neighborhood Programs?

Andrew Brown (he/him): Because it gives clarity of direction for staff. In nonprofits, staff have deep, intrinsic motivation, and aligning with the organization becomes part of their identity. But if the “good thing” the organization is working towards and how we’re getting there isn’t clearly defined, staff will define it for themselves.

Then, when this internally-derived definition gets challenged, it’s very personal and comes across with a little more heat.

And, we experienced this type of staff disagreement in the early days of aligning around the concept of belonging.

Humans are meaning-making engines, and they will tell themselves a story for why they’re showing up. Leaders have to define that story—that’s how you lead. But the process needs to involve all stakeholders to have a truly shared framework.

So, a theory of change outlines how an organization will create change. What will that look like at Maybelle Center?

There’s a lot of research around what belonging is, how it’s measured, and what it’s made of. And one research study has risen to the top. It’s a meta-evaluation of existing studies that breaks down the theory of belonging into four buckets or pillars that support a sense of belonging.

Once we found this belongingness study, things clicked into place and provided a really clear framework for our theory of change model. Each one of the buckets or “pillars” is a major heading in our theory of change: perceptions, motivations, opportunities, and competencies. Our next step will be to outline the essential elements within each bucket and the interventions or programming that will lead to each.

Why do you think Maybelle Center hasn’t had a comprehensive theory of change to date?

For whatever reason, and it could just be luck, we haven’t had to play mission twister with funding sources as much as other organizations. And I think having a longitudinally-tested mission is both good and bad.

On the one hand, the longitudinal through line of the mission means I can safely hang my hat on the direction. On the other hand, Maybelle Center’s identity is as vanguard creators. And for many years, we were on the vanguard of this field. We allowed ourselves to innovate, react by pivoting, turning on a dime, and then keep on going. I think that’s some of the charm of being here.

Now, the body of research has enveloped us and provided us with enough material to say, “That’s where we should go.” And I think as we phase into this, sticking to a theory of change will be new muscle memory for this organization.

Why would a theory of change be important to a donor?

You know what your gifts are doing. It's not a feeling. It's not a tagline. Having a theory of change in place means we've looked closely at what we actually do, validating assumptions and taking time to measure it.

It's a solid investment.