Youth-mentoring programs have enormous potential to make a positive impact on the youth they serve. Evaluation is an essential tool for building effective mentoring programs that truly make a difference. Evaluation is not a one-time activity — it is a system used to collect information that will help improve your program over time. Establishing a solid system of program evaluation has many benefits. For instance, it allows you to:
What to evaluate?
Deciding what to evaluate should be guided by a logic model. This document maps out the outcomes you hope youth will achieve as a result of participating in your program. It also identifies the programmatic elements you implement to achieve those outcomes. An effective system of evaluation should measure how well your program is being implemented, the strength of the relationship quality between your mentors and mentees, and how mentees are working toward the intended outcomes of your program.