Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofits
Aug 31, 2026 · 19 min · 10 segments
Do you actually know if your training worked, or are you just hoping it did? In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down the five biggest mistakes nonprofit learning and development…
Heather BurrightHost
Measuring our work is a vital part of the learning and development process, but it's a step that often gets skipped or minimized.

ATD reported that most organizations, about 71%, report using Kirkpatrick's model for evaluation.

Now, Kirkpatrick has been around for about 70 years, and it's the most widely used evaluation model in the world.

It includes four levels of evaluation, reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

And we also know that for those who were collecting data, it happened mostly through surveys.


So today I'm sharing the five biggest mistakes we make when measuring learning.

Now, we're going to be talking about learning measurement today, but I want you to picture your car dashboard instead of a spreadsheet.

What we create has to align with other things happening in the organization.

And so when I'm working with nonprofits, I'm guiding them and thinking about where are they haunted as an organization? What skills do people need to help them get there? And then how can those skills show up throughout the talent lifecycle? So hiring with those skills in mind, onboarding so that there's fair expectations, developing those skills over time, and assessing performance based on those skills.

So often it's like a strategic plan or a set of goals striving the organization.

Measuring our work is a vital part of the learning and development process, but it's a step that often gets skipped or minimized.

ATD reported that most organizations, about 71%, report using Kirkpatrick's model for evaluation.

Now, Kirkpatrick has been around for about 70 years, and it's the most widely used evaluation model in the world.

It includes four levels of evaluation, reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

And we also know that for those who were collecting data, it happened mostly through surveys.


So today I'm sharing the five biggest mistakes we make when measuring learning.

Now, we're going to be talking about learning measurement today, but I want you to picture your car dashboard instead of a spreadsheet.

What we create has to align with other things happening in the organization.

And so when I'm working with nonprofits, I'm guiding them and thinking about where are they haunted as an organization? What skills do people need to help them get there? And then how can those skills show up throughout the talent lifecycle? So hiring with those skills in mind, onboarding so that there's fair expectations, developing those skills over time, and assessing performance based on those skills.

So often it's like a strategic plan or a set of goals striving the organization.
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