A nonprofit program evaluation needs a defined scope before it can have a meaningful price. Reviewing existing records and preparing a findings memo is a different engagement from designing surveys, following participants over time, and comparing outcomes with another group. Start with the decision the evaluation must support, then budget for the work needed to answer it.
This guide does not give a universal price range or a DASS quote. It helps you identify the work that belongs in an estimate. If a funder asks for a budget before the details are settled, describe your assumptions: the number of sites, available records, follow-up period, staff responsibilities, and reporting products.
Three nonprofits can run similar programs and need different evaluations. One needs to understand whether participants received services as intended. Another needs to describe changes in participants' outcomes. A third needs evidence that the program caused those changes.
Before requesting quotes, ask the funder which question they need answered. Do they require an external evaluator, a particular design, or a specific report format? Put those requirements in the scope. Our guide to what funders expect from an evaluation explains why the claim matters as much as the deliverable.
Data readiness. A documented dataset with consistent participant identifiers takes different preparation from several spreadsheets with conflicting dates, duplicate records, and unclear definitions. Ask whether the quote includes cleaning and linking records, and what happens if the files need more work than expected.
Data collection. Developing questions, checking whether measures fit the population, arranging translations or accessible formats, contacting participants, and following up on missing responses all take resources. Collection still has a cost when your staff handle it internally.
Design and coordination. Additional sites may require common definitions and collection procedures. A comparison group or longer follow-up can add recruitment, coordination, and analysis. More participants do not automatically make a design capable of answering a causal question.
Deliverables and timing. A findings memo, technical report, board presentation, and dashboard are separate products. Specify the audience, review rounds, and deadline. A short reporting deadline may restrict which outcomes can be observed, regardless of the fee.
Separate the external evaluation fee from your organization's contribution. Depending on the plan, include staff time, participant compensation, translation, transcription, software, travel, secure data handling, and reporting. Check which costs the funder allows.
A simple budget worksheet has six columns: task, responsible person, estimated effort, rate or unit cost, direct expenses, and assumptions. Separate confirmed costs from estimates. The free evaluation-plan worksheet includes a blank budget section.
If the grant has a fixed evaluation allowance, discuss what can be answered within it before promising a level of evidence. A percentage of the program budget cannot, by itself, tell you whether the proposed evaluation is feasible.
Compare the work behind the fee. Do both proposals cover the same questions, collection responsibilities, methods, products, and timeline? Does one assume your staff will prepare the dataset while the other includes that work?
A report describing improved outcomes should not be sold as proof of impact when the design cannot address alternative explanations. A more expensive report cannot repair that mismatch after the fact.
Choose the most useful questions first, use appropriate existing records where possible, and agree on a reporting product your team will actually use. Standardize definitions before collecting another cohort's data. Those choices can reduce avoidable work without disguising the evaluation's limitations.
If the required claim is beyond the available budget or data, revise the claim or plan a later evaluation. Do not promise an impact study and quietly deliver a satisfaction survey.
Send a short program description, the funder's requirements, your reporting deadline, the approximate number of participants and sites, and a list of available measures and collection dates. A blank form or data dictionary is useful at this stage; do not send identifying participant records through an inquiry form.
Identify who can handle collection and follow-up internally. An evaluator can then separate work your team can do from work needing external support.
Use our evaluation-plan guide and example to organize those details. If you need help matching the scope to your budget, DASS provides program evaluation support. Bring the program description, data inventory, and requirements to a consultation so the proposal can specify the work and its limits.
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