Guidelines for The Philadelphia Foundation Applicants
Completing the Workplan Template
1. Use the Organizational Effectiveness forms.
o OE Workplan Budget
o OE Workplan Template
These forms are designed specifically for use with the Organizational Effectiveness grants to inform
decision-making and allow for relatively easy follow-up and aggregation. Please use the forms in their
proper file format. If you are having trouble using one of the forms or are unfamiliar with the application,
please request assistance from the Foundation.
2. Before composing your submission, review the key components of the workplan form and project
design. The following describes form contents and expected responses.
CHART 1
Overall Project Goal: This is where the grantee states what they are trying to do to make their
organization a higher performing organization. How will the project improve the organization overall?
The grantee should describe how the project for which they are seeking funding will help the grantee to
advance or deliver on the organization’s mission, contribute to the organization’s sustainability or growth
or advance the organization’s effectiveness.
Activities: This is usually the most straightforward section. Here the grantee describes specific actions
that will be taken with the grant dollars. The timeline and person(s) responsible for each of these activities
is then identified (see below for more details).
Timeline: The proposed time that an activity will be initiated and concluded (e.g., Sept. 07 – Dec. 07)
should be identified in the timeline section. These should be projected for each activity. As shown on the
template, calendar months and year should be used. If approved, you may indicate that specific tasks
are TBD (to be determined).
Responsible Person(s): Grantee should identify, by name and title or job description, which will perform
each task. This may include multiple people, consultants and/or vendors. (In this section, you must
clarify or identify who has ultimate responsibility for the task.)
This chart is set up to hold five activities. If the proposed project includes more than five key activities,
the grantee should simply add rows to the table and continue to number the activities sequentially.
Remember to keep your efforts simple, however, given requested resources. More involved
projects are not necessarily favorable.
Deliverables: This section should include a brief description of what will be “delivered” or produced as a
result of the project. The time period for the deliverables is the end of the grant period. This section
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should answer the question: what products will this grant buy? In United Way language, these are the
outputs of the grant – but please note that there is just one box to describe the set of deliverables that are
likely to be produced because we know that multiple activities sometimes lead to a single product and
sometimes multiple deliverables are produced from single activities.
REPORTING NOTE: You will be asked to complete a report at the close of the grant period in which
you will be asked to describe the deliverables of the grant.
CHART 2
Project Outcomes: Three types of information should be reported in the columns provided. All of this
describes changes in condition, status, knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors that happen as a direct result of
the project activities. The time period for the outcomes is one year after the close of the grant period. This
section answers the MOST important question: how will this make your organization better? Specific
information includes the following.
Outcomes: Here the grantee describes what change will occur that make the organization better by one
year after the close of the grant period. The term outcomes should not include giant leaps of faith or “pie
in the sky” possibilities. Rather, the grantees can use this chart to show how the use of their grant funds
will allow them to complete specific activities, which lead to organizational strengthening. The outcomes
here should reiterate or show how the organization will change through the grant. (They may also show
how improved organizational capacity will ultimately lead to improved outcomes for participants in
grantee programs.)
Indicators: For each outcome there is a space to describe how the grantee will know the outcome has
been achieved (i.e., what will indicate achievement). This section answers the question: How will you know
whether the outcome has been achieved? This should NOT be a list of ways to collect information about the
outcome, rather a statement of how the grantee will determine whether an outcome has been achieved (i.e.,
specification of the “I’ll know it when I see it rule.”) Often outcomes will have more than one indicator.
Sources Of Information: This section is for the grantee to identify how they will get information about
the indicators – who they will talk to, what they could look at, or how they might use some specific data
collection strategies (like surveys) to collect the information on the indicators that will help determine
whether their outcomes have been achieved. This may certainly include simple observation or a review of
the product of the work or some records automatically kept that show the outcome has actually happened.
REPORTING NOTE: You will be asked to complete a report one year after the close of the grant period
in which you will be asked to report on the results of the outcomes listed in the work-plan. .
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MORE TIPS AND ADVICE REGARDING
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS PROJECTS
1. Start with Logical and Reasonable Outcomes
What makes an outcome logical and reasonable?
 There is a logical connection between the activities and the outcome.
 Based on experiences, the context within the organization (i.e. new staff, size of staff), and the
resources that we have, it is reasonable to believe that the outcome can be accomplished within the
timeframe that we have established.
 The information being collected to track this outcome will help the organization and stakeholders to
know more about how the organization might improve the capacity building project and
organizational effectiveness overall.
 Each outcome specifies both the group or condition or process (e.g., staff, data storage system)
targeted for change and what they hope to change about that (e.g., knowledge, speed at which client
data can be retrieved).
2. Use Caution when Specifying Outcomes
 There is no right number of outcomes.
 Be sure to think about when to expect outcomes (could what you are proposing really happen within
one year?)
 Outcomes, even longer-term outcomes, should not go beyond the project’s purpose.
3. Questions to Ask When Identifying Indicators
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What does this outcome look like when it occurs?
What would tell you it has happened?
What could be counted or tracked?
Can it be observed?
Does the indicator you have identified tell you whether the outcome has been achieved
What evidence do you need to see to be convinced that things are changing or improving?
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The “I’ll know it when I see it rule.” Example:
I’ll know our mobile communication systems will improve our service to clients
when I see an increase in the number of clients served remotely and when I see a decrease in the # of days it takes to
process client cases following initial intake off-site and an increase in client satisfaction among clients served remotely,
ADVICE FOR REVIEWING YOUR WORKPLAN TEMPLATES
Before you submit your work-plan, see if you can answer the following affirmatively.
* Are all in agreement that the potential outcomes identified are logical and reasonable given available
financial resources and time.
* Are there too many or too few proposed outcomes given the activities proposed and the amounts requested?
* Could the outcomes actually be accomplished during the time of the grant or are they too ambitious given
resources?
* Are the potential outcomes of the project important to the organization? the Foundation?
* Are the potential outcomes stated in clear and precise terms?
* Are relationships between outcomes and indicators clear? Will the grantee and the Foundation know the
outcome has occurred when they see or learn about the indicator?
* Are the sources of information likely to clarify whether the outcome has occurred? Are there other sources
of information that could also yield what is needed more easily? Does your organization have the capacity and
necessary assistance to get the information needed?
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