Measuring Success

Measuring social change isn’t easy. But we’re committed to doing it well. And we’ve got a great team to make that happen.

Our Value Added

AJWS empowers activists, builds movements and helps nascent organizations grow

Capacity Building

of our in-country staff and consultants provide coaching, training or other support to grantees


of our grantees receive capacity-building support (1)

of our grantees are young organizations founded within 5 years of their first AJWS grant

Advocacy

of our grantees engage in advocacy


of our grantees have received grants to provide legal aid, education and assistance

of our grantees have received grants to investigate, document and report human rights abuses

Social Movements

of our grantees are members of networks or coalitions


of our grantees are local organizations; 33% are local and national; 17% are national; and 11% are international

of our grantees are leaders of these groups

(1) Capacity-building topics include mission and strategy; operations and infrastructure; monitoring and evaluation; leadership; finance; fundraising; programs; and safety, security and risk management.

Learn More About Our Data

How Do We Measure Success?

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  • We collect detailed data on our grantees, which gives us a clear picture of their geographic reach, focus, funding and other indicators of how they are equipped to achieve our mutual goals.
  • We monitor our progress, on each issue and country, toward strategic plans that include 10-year goals, three-year outcomes and annual milestones toward each outcome. This allows AJWS to monitor and evaluate what our grantees are accomplishing collectively—on our issues, in their countries and internationally. We track successes, shortfalls and opportunities and use this data to fine-tune our grantmaking and strategies each year.
  • We evaluate AJWS’s U.S. and global advocacy with the same rigorous processes of reporting, analysis and reflection, to ensure that this work is effectively furthering the same strategic goals as our grantmaking.
  • We facilitate ongoing learning with staff and grantees, using the analysis of our data to respond to challenges and opportunities.
  • We conduct original research and external evaluations to investigate AJWS’s impact and better understand the human rights issues on which we work. We share our findings with our grantees and other funders so they can apply what we have learned in their strategies for change.

By placing learning at the center of everything we do, AJWS maximizes our funding and our impact.

Our Theory of Change

AJWS uses a unique formula to advance social change in pursuit of our mission of empowering marginalized people around the world to realize their human rights.

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