A logic model is a one-page picture of how your program is meant to work: the resources you use, what you do with them, what you produce and what changes as a result. Funders ask for it because it shows at a glance whether a plan holds together. Here is how to fill in a logic model template with recognized definitions, then turn it into indicators, objectives and an evaluation plan.
The components, as Kellogg defines them
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Logic Model Development Guide is a widely used reference. Its definitions:
| Component | Definition (Kellogg guide) | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Resources or inputs | "the human, financial, organizational, and community resources a program has available to direct toward doing the work" | What do we have? |
| Activities | "the processes, tools, events, technology, and actions that are an intentional part of the program implementation" | What do we do? |
| Outputs | "the direct products of program activities and may include types, levels and targets of services to be delivered by the program" | What do we deliver, counted? |
| Outcomes | "the specific changes in program participants' behavior, knowledge, skills, status and level of functioning" | What changes for people? |
| Impact | "the fundamental intended or unintended change occurring in organizations, communities or systems as a result of program activities" | What changes in the longer term? |
The guide suggests short-term outcomes attainable within 1 to 3 years, longer-term outcomes within 4 to 6 years and impact within 7 to 10 years. Treat these as orientation. Many templates use short-term, intermediate and long-term outcomes instead; you can map one onto the other.
Outputs or outcomes? The Urban Institute test
The Urban Institute's common outcome framework describes outcomes as results of direct interest and concern to the people a program serves, and outputs as primarily of internal use. A quick test: if a participant would not care about it, it is probably an output. "Workshops held" is an output; "share of participants who can do the skill at the end" is an outcome.
The framework groups outcomes into four families you can use as a checklist:
- Program-centered: reach, participation, satisfaction.
- Participant-centered: knowledge, learning and attitude; behavior; condition or status.
- Community-centered: policy, public health and safety, civic participation, economic, environmental, social.
- Organization-centered: financial, management, governance.
Build the model in six steps
- Start from the problem: one sentence on who is affected, where, and how you know, with a source.
- Write the long-term outcome: the change you want for people, realistic for your scale.
- Work backwards: what must change first (short-term), then next (intermediate)?
- List the activities that produce those changes, and the outputs you can count.
- List the inputs: staff time, volunteers, space, partners, money, materials.
- Write assumptions and external factors: what must be true, and what could get in the way.
Then read the model from left to right as "if... then..." sentences. If one link does not hold, you are missing an activity or promising too much. Check it against the budget too: every activity needs resources, and every budget line needs an activity.
From outcomes to indicators
An indicator is how you will know an outcome happened. The Urban Institute describes indicators as expressed in a measurable format, such as a number or a percent. For each one, record the data source, method, frequency, collector, baseline and target. Never invent a baseline or a target: use your own past data, or say that the first year will set the baseline.
SMART objectives
Turn each outcome into an objective a funder can check at the end. A CDC guide on program goals and objectives describes SMART objectives as Specific (who, what and where, with one action verb), Measurable (how much change), Achievable (realistic given resources), Relevant (tied to program goals) and Time-bound (when). A reliable pattern:
By [date], [number or share] of [participants] will [change], as measured by [tool or source].
Set targets from your own data and capacity. Your next application to the same funder will be read next to your report.
Plan the evaluation with the 2024 CDC framework
The CDC Program Evaluation Framework (2024) sets out six steps: assess the context; describe the program; focus the evaluation questions and design; gather credible evidence; generate and support conclusions; act on findings. It adds five standards: relevance and utility, rigor, independence and objectivity, transparency, and ethics.
For a small program, keep it proportionate: three to five evaluation questions (did participants gain the skill, did they use it afterwards, what helped or got in the way), the indicators that answer each one, when and how you collect the data, and how you will use the findings. Collect only what you will use, ask for consent, store data securely and report results in aggregate.
The Logic Model & Evaluation Kit includes a one-page landscape version in Essentials_LogicModel_Logic_Model_TEMPLATE.docx and a workbook with Logic Model, Indicators, Evaluation Plan and Reporting Log tabs.
General information: this guide is general information, not legal, tax or fundraising advice. No template can guarantee funding. Always follow each funder's own guidelines and evaluation requirements.
The Funder File is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Urban Institute or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sources
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