Unlike conventional evaluation approaches that can be top-down or perpetuate inequities, participatory evaluation brings stakeholders and evaluators together to collaboratively develop and implement the evaluation. In alignment with COO’s values of shared power and decision-making, a participatory approach ensures partners, governance group, and staff play an active role throughout the evaluation process.
Evaluation
We update evaluation findings yearly. Find these reports on our Evaluation page:
We are grateful for the participation of the Evaluation Advisory Group members in the guidance of our evaluation work.
Stories from COO & Partners
Stories and news from across the COO network as well as some of the impacts on systems and policy led by groups working to build community power and community health and well-being.
Community members come together to learn and share about community wealth building in a workshop led by People’s Economy Lab and The Democracy Collaborative.
Stories and news from across the COO network as well as some of the impacts on systems and policy led by groups working to build community power and community health and well-being.
Reflections from the December All-Partner Convening - a day devoted to connection, learning, sharing, and restoration.
The latest summary of Communities of Opportunity (COO) initiative news, events and updates
In this second part of the Commercial Affordability Summit recap, read about other current programs and models of commercial affordability and access to capital and support for small business and entrepreneurs: from those led by the City of Seattle such as Restored; to some of the most community rooted examples of commercial affordability projects.
COO drives change through investing in the groups, models, infrastructure and connections that build community power — in COO’s Learning Community strategy, the initiative resources the infrastructure, sustained capacity, and spaces for strengthened connections for community organizations’ to build and pilot innovative work and operationalize equity.
Stories and news from across the COO network as well as some of the impacts on systems and policy led by groups working to build community power and community health and well-being.
COO convenes partners from across the network and from across geographies to come together and build greater connections for an ecosystem moving in alignment and cooperation for greater equity, justice and well-being for all. Learn more about our upcoming convening and some of what has guided the planning and agenda.
A roundup of community partner news and stories of impact in the media for October 2023!
A roundup of community partner news and stories of impact in the media for September 2023!
WE ARE FAMILY, TOO": Lavender Rights Project PSA highlighting the lived experiences of Black Trans Women and Femmes as a part of the Black “family” in America.
COO in the 2022 Best Starts for Kids Annual Report - highlighting just some of the accomplishments of COO community partners in 2022 across all strategies and the findings from the Commercial Affordability Pilot Project evaluation report.
Communities of Opportunity (COO) is excited to share some of the highlights from the COO All-Partner Convening held on May 10, 2023 with Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer. This event brought together individuals and organizations driven by a shared commitment to equity, justice, collaboration and positive change.
This learning session, geared towards others working on collective impact projects, discussed key community-centered capacity building activities, impacts, learnings and contributions to community power building and systems and policy change outcomes and progress.
Seattle Foundation and King County recently awarded grants to 18 community partners to advance systems and policy change to improve health, social, and economic outcomes in the region. This $2.8 million in funding is made through Communities of Opportunity’s Systems and Policy Change strategy.
Communities of Opportunity is seeking individuals interested in serving on the Governance Group (GG)/Advisory Board beginning in early 2022. The Communities of Opportunity GG/Advisory Board will guide the implementation of the COO activities and serve in an advisory role for the COO elements of the Best Starts for Kids levy. Learn more..
The Tesfa Program, developed this web-based toolkit to increase the capacity of providers, organizations, and decision-makers to better connect and serve local Ethiopian communities. Check out the toolkit, accompanying podcast and ways to get involved here!
This conversation with youth leaders and staff from Young Women Empowered (Y-WE) explored how to create supportive and healthy spaces for youth leadership and development — and youth ownership of transformative organizing work.
This workshop focuses on basic fundamentals of what fiscal sponsorship is - including a particular focus on exploring how to best support youth-led groups who are interested in being fiscally sponsored and working with youth-driven projects.This panel included, youth and community leaders who have had successful experiences as a fiscal sponsor and/or as a fiscally sponsored group and what contributed to a healthy relationship.
The first two sessions from the GROUNDED 2022 Speaker Series are now available for viewing! Learn how local organizations and faith communities are responding to community needs and priorities in a time of global pandemic and displacement.
We now invite you to join us for the 2022 GROUNDED Speaker Series, a free, online event series that moves from cultivating to grounding, and from storytelling to conversations on implementation and how groups and organizations have moved forward with their visions to action and outcome.
Join COO in a 6-week series on Somatics as a methodology to account for and work through the impact of trauma and oppression in our bodies.
New Toolkits & Capacity Building resources for community organizations — learn more about supports available through the COO Learning Community