Our approach to EVALUATION

The Ann Bancroft Foundation inspires and encourages girls to imagine something bigger. We strive to build confidence and offer tools that will allow a girl to go after her dreams and feel supported along the way. Through grants, mentorship, and ongoing development opportunities, the Ann Bancroft Foundation is giving Minnesota girls strength to achieve their full potential.
 

As a result of ABF grantmaking, we want girls to have increased confidence, self-esteem, and pride as well as strengthened self-advocacy skills and a new (or strengthened) trusting relationship with a non-family adult.
 

Evaluation results confirm the importance of mentorship relationships in the lives of girls because those relationships:
• Provide opportunities for building trust, feeling cared about, and receiving external encouragement.
• Help girls learn that support is available to them through the grant process and beyond.
• Lead girls to improved relationships within themselves through increased pride and ability to advocate for themselves. improved relationships within themselves through increased pride and ability to advocate for themselves.  

View our July 2019 Alumnae survey results. We had 69 ABF Trailblazer complete the survey.

Reports and Data:

In 2016, the Ann Bancroft Foundation partnered with The Improve Group to evaluate our program results in order to more fully understand the impact of our grant programs and to ensure that our programs were achieving our desired outcomes. Read the full evaluation summary.



Photograph of girl dancing in a field. Text reads "Can't be stopped. Won't be ignored."

 

Research


Our work is important now more than ever. Here's some research on the well being of girls and the impact of empowerment. 

2020 Status of women and girls in minnesota 

Research conducted by the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

 

 

 

"The YWI MN focuses on young women between the ages of 12 and 24, from eight demographic communities across Minnesota that face opportunity gaps, including African American, African Immigrant, American Indian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Latina, LGBTQ*, Disabilities, and Greater Minnesota young women. With the direction and the active leadership of young women, we worked with nonprofits, businesses, governments, and philanthropic organizations over 12 months to develop recommendations for how to ensure opportunity, safety, and leadership for all young women in the state. The result of this work is the Blueprint for Action. The Blueprint includes 20 recommendations for achieving equity in outcomes, access to equal opportunities, and safe, prosperous lives for young women in Minnesota." (November 2017)


"Women’s foundations and funds are a powerful force in philanthropy dedicated to women and girls. Research has shown that women are broadly philanthropic, and often have a keen interest in giving to women’s and girls’ causes. While studies have examined women’s motivations to give to other women, the women’s foundations and funds that facilitate much of this giving have not been thoroughly studied."

Written and Researched by Elizabeth M. Gillespie, Doctoral Candidate School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska Omaha. Executive Summary compiled by The Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI), part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI. (May 2018)


"Yet as we celebrate the progress made, the data show us that we have more work to do. Gender and racial inequality continues to render women the state’s poorest, reinforce systemic violence against women and girls, produce substandard health outcomes, and deny women leadership opportunities across all sectors."

Research & writing by the University of Minnesota Humphrey School’s Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy in partnership with the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.


"With this study, we reaffirm that teens who play sports not only do better in school, but also are more likely to have high self-esteem, stronger relationships and improved physical health. The data reveals this is especially true for teen girls who participate in two or more sports. The data shows that, while all sports have benefits, some sports generate more positive impacts than others. The report findings identify the unique benefits and opportunities for improvement that exist within each sport to maximize the health benefits for teens." (January 2018)


"The gender gap in computing is getting worse and has severe implications for the U.S. economy. New research by Accenture and Girls Who Code shows that the share of women in computing jobs is in decline and suggests that universal access to computing in schools will not address the gender gap. Only by tailoring courses to girls’ specific needs can we boost their commitment to computing." (2016)


Women in the Workplace 2017 is a comprehensive study of the state of women in corporate America. This research is part of a long-term partnership between McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org to give organizations the information they need to promote women’s leadership and foster gender equality. (October 2017)


"The State of Girls is a first-of-its-kind research report by the Girl Scout Research Institute that focuses on girls' health and well-being in the United States. The most recent data shows that economic conditions affecting girls in the United States have not recovered from the Great Recession that began in late 2007."

Read more on findings of the Girl Scout Research Institute.


 "Data shows girls around the world lag behind boys in math and science, but confidence is a key factor. 'The strong relationship among self-beliefs, gender and performance in mathematics and science hints that countries may be unable to develop a sufficient number of individuals with strong mathematics and science skills partly because of girls’ lack of confidence in their abilities,' the study's authors found." (March 2015)


"Girls participate across wide continuums of physical activity opportunities. Currently three important trends in girls’ participation patterns within physical activity are evident."

An evidence-based Multidisciplinary Approach created by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sports. (2007)


On the Road to Equality: Statewide Findings & Policy Recommendations is a supplement to the 2014 Status of Women & Girls in Minnesota, a research report by the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota in partnership with the Center on Women & Public Policy (University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs).


"As we’ve worked, ever diligent, the men around us have continued to get promoted faster and be paid more. The statistics are well known: at the top, especially, women are nearly absent, and our numbers are barely increasing. Half a century since women first forced open the boardroom doors, our career trajectories still look very different from men’s." (May 2014)