Most funders I have been working with are thrilled when organizations move beyond initial reactions and are beginning to track movement towards change. We must help them understand and accept that practice change is something we will have to measure over a period of years. Most of us have tracked reactions of volunteers. And, immediate reactions are not a very good indicator of impact. You can attend my workshop, love it , give a great reaction, but never apply the information when you get back to your agency.
Reactions look good, but impact is missing.
If I could know more about what happened with that information after 6-8 months I might find new, better ways to teach and present so that you will be more equipped to apply the information. Of course, many factors influence ultimate change. Outcome assessment is not asking you to prove that you and you alone made a difference. It does allow us to say that we may have had a part in effecting change, and here's our data to back that up. Steve's comments about family volunteering remind me that too often we try to pick the whole picture instead of focusing on small pieces of the whole.