Project Overview
Black Women Rising (BWR) is an incredible charity that focuses on supporting women of colour affected by cancer: Creating safe spaces, and amplifying their voices. They recently rolled out the EmpowHER programme—a transformative initiative aimed at supporting women of colour who are in remission from their cancer diagnosis. The programme offered a combination of emotional support, practical resources, and community connection.
BWR wanted to ensure that the EmpowHER Programme was truly making a difference in the lives of the women it was designed to help and so commissioned JMK & Co to create an impact report detailing key findings and insights of the programme. As a result I worked closely with the BWR senior leadership team, to evaluate the programme's impact, providing them with the insights they needed to continue improving and expanding one of their core offerings.
We started by discussing the objectives of the EmpowHER Programme and the outcomes BWR had hoped to achieve. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods i.e..surveys and service user stories, we were able to gather feedback from all participants of the programme.
Project Outcome
The project resulted in a comprehensive report that provided BWR with a clear, data-driven understanding of the EmpowHER Programme's impact. Here’s an overview of what we achieved:
- Clear Insights into Participant Experiences:
- The evaluation revealed that the EmpowHER Programme had a profound impact on the participants’ emotional well-being. Many women shared that they felt more empowered, less isolated, and better equipped to navigate life post-cancer. These personal stories added a powerful narrative to the report, highlighting the programme’s success on a deeply human level.
- Data-Driven Recommendations for Improvement:
- While the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, we also identified areas for growth. The report provided BWR with actionable recommendations for future iterations of the programme, such as expanding certain workshops and increasing peer support opportunities. These insights were critical in helping BWR refine the programme, to meet the evolving needs of it’s community.
- Enhanced Programme Design:
- Based on the findings, BWR is now better positioned to tailor the EmpowHER Programme to be even more impactful. The data we collected has already informed their planning for future sessions, ensuring that each iteration of the programme builds on the success of the last and can be seen as a benchmark for their impact moving forwards.
- Strengthened Community Relationships:
- The process of evaluating the programme also deepened the relationship between BWR and the women they serve. By involving participants in the evaluation process, BWR reinforced its commitment to listening to and valuing the voices of the women at the heart of their mission.
- EmpowHER Future Funding
- The final report didn’t just provide BWR with useful data—it also served as a testament to the success of the EmpowHER Programme and is now a valuable resource that BWR have used for future fundraising efforts and stakeholder communications.
TL;DR: Working with Black Women Rising on this project was a truly inspiring experience. By evaluating the EmpowHER Programme, we were able to shine a light on the incredible work BWR is doing. The outcome? A stronger, more impactful programme that continues to empower women of colour to thrive after cancer - Definitely something worth celebrating!
"The Leanne Pero Foundation just finished working with Janinah for the second time this year! Janinah provided professional service and a great turnaround time for a report on our pilot EmpowHER course. We were really happy with the results and clear communication and would highly recommend her services."
— Leanne Pero - Founder of Black Women Rising
