CFCE Evaluation Attachment C - Outreach Communications

Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Program Evaluation
Attachment C – Outreach/Communications

Contents
Template 1 - Grantee Initial Outreach Email ................................................................. 2
Template 2 – Grantee Post-Webinar Email .................................................................... 3
Template 3 – Grantee Interview Invitation ..................................................................... 4
Template 4 – Case Study Invitation ............................................................................... 5

Template 1 - Grantee Initial Outreach Email
Dear Grantees,
We are contacting you to introduce ourselves and the external evaluation of the Creative
Forces Community Engagement Grant Program. Candace Gratama and I are evaluators from
ProgramWorks, and we have been commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts to
conduct an independent external evaluation of the Community Engagement Grant Program.
We will be working with you over the next few years to study the grant program and to
document its outcomes. Participation in the study will not impact your current or future awards
from the NEA.
We will be holding an optional webinar to introduce ourselves more fully and to provide an
orientation to the evaluation. The first 20 minutes will cover an overview of the evaluation
activities and timeline, and then we will open up the meeting for questions and discussion.
Here is the information about when the webinar will occur and how to join.
Date
Time ET/CT/MT/PT)
Zoom link
If you are unable to attend but are interested in what was covered, you will have access to a
recording of the webinar.
Congratulations on your awards, and we look forward to working with you and learning about
your programs. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, and we hope you will be
able to join the webinar.
Best regards,
Shawn Bachtler, Ph.D.
Candace Gratama, Ed.D.
ProgramWorks

Template 2 – Grantee Post-Webinar Email
Dear Grantee,
Our team, ProgramWorks, has been commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts to
conduct an independent external evaluation of the Creative Forces Community Engagement
Grant Program. I will be your main contact at ProgramWorks for this evaluation during your
grant.
If you were unable to attend the evaluation orientation webinar on date, you can view a
recording of it. The first 20 minutes provides an overview of the evaluation, followed by
discussion.
The evaluation activities are tailored to each grantee’s program timeline. Although it is early in
the grant period, I am requesting any information you have about your program timeline, even
if it is tentative. This will help my team with planning. We can refine the actual dates later as
needed. Can you send the following information by date?
•
•
•
•

Program start date
Program end date
Duration and frequency of session(s), such as “every Wednesday evening for three
hours for four weeks”
Any other schedule information

If your grant is for capacity building or other developmental activities, rather than program
implementation, a general timeline would be helpful.
I'm looking forward to working with you this year and learning more about your program.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Shawn Bachtler or Candace Gratama

Template 3 – Grantee Interview Invitation
Dear ____;
As you know, the National Endowment for the Arts has commissioned an evaluation of the Creative
Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network Community Engagement Grant Program. The purpose of the
study is to document effective implementation strategies, provide recommendations for maximizing
impact and sustaining the work, and guide ongoing program and policy development. The study is being
conducted by ProgramWorks, an external research and evaluation team. I am your point of contact for
all evaluation activities.
As part of the Creative Forces Community Engagement grant program evaluation, all grantees are
required to participate in a virtual one-hour interview. Each grantee is also invited to identify a partner
to participate in a virtual 30-minute interview. The partner will receive an eGift card of $35.00 for their
participation. Participation in the study will not impact your current or future awards from the NEA.
Please reply by __date__ to let me dates and times you would be available for the interview. We are
trying to complete the interview by -date-. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Best regards,
Evaluator

Template 4 – Case Study Invitation
Dear ____;
As you know, the National Endowment for the Arts has commissioned an evaluation of the Creative
Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network Community Engagement Grant Program. The purpose of the
study is to document effective implementation strategies, provide recommendations for maximizing
impact and sustaining the work, and guide ongoing program and policy development. The study is being
conducted by ProgramWorks, an external research and evaluation team. I am your point of contact for
all evaluation activities.
As part of the evaluation, a subset of grantees will be invited to participate in a one-day site visit with a
member of the evaluation team. The visits provide an opportunity for the evaluation team to learn more
about grant program activities and the perspectives of leaders and partners. The subset of grantees was
chosen to provide a broad representation of Community Engagement grantees and programs.
As part of the Creative Forces Community Engagement grant program evaluation, all grantees are
required to participate in a one-hour interview. Each grantee is also invited to identify a partner to
participate in a 30-minute interview. For the grantees who also participate in a site visit, there are four
additional hours of interview time, or eight, 30-minute interview slots for key personnel, partners,
and/or participants during the site visit. Partners and participants who participate in a 30-minute
interview receive a $35 eGift card. As appropriate, site visit activities may also include a tour of the
program space and/or an observation of the Community Engagement program activities. We are also
interested in materials that would help us understand your program, such as program descriptions,
recruitment materials, images, etc. These materials will be used exclusively for the grant program
evaluation. Accompanying this letter, we have provided the NEA’s form that requests permission to use
the images you share with us. Participation in the study will not impact your current or future awards
from the NEA.
If you are interested in participating in a site visit, I will assist with setting up the schedule and will
conduct the visit. I will be responsible for my own travel arrangements.
Please reply by __date__ to let me know if you are interested in participating in a site visit for the
Community Engagement grant program. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Best regards,
Evaluator