A programme where the child practises the skill
We design an activity the child actually lives, not content merely explained to them, because practice is what remains after the session ends.
The nonprofit pathway
For the nonprofit sector
We work with nonprofits and foundations designing programmes for children and teens, and building measurement tools that hold up for a funder. We follow the same method published on our process page, in the nonprofit sector's own terms.
What we design for you
Four outcomes we design toward
A measurement tool that holds up for the funder and the child alike
We build a success indicator the funder understands and a guardrail indicator that protects the child, together, not one instead of the other.
Clear safeguarding for anyone volunteering with children
We set a code of conduct and a clear reporting path for anyone volunteering with children in your programme, not left to individual judgment.
Growth that does not lose execution quality
We design the programme so it can be repeated in another city or with another team, without losing what makes it work.
From idea to indicator
From theory of change to a guardrail indicator
1 Theory of change
We start from your mission and turn it into a clear chain: what changes for the child, through what action, and why.
Gate: The theory leaves this stage once it has one clear answer about the behaviour that will change.
2 A behaviour observable in a single session
We turn the theory of change into one specific action a field worker can see during the session itself, not weeks afterward.
Gate: The behaviour leaves this stage once your team agrees on one observable action, not a general description of the skill.
3 A model tested with a small group
We try the activity in a simplified form with a small number of real children before rolling it out across the whole programme.
Gate: The trial leaves this stage once it works with the small group as intended, with clear parental consent.
4 A proximal success indicator
We choose a proximal indicator we can actually measure within your programme's own timeframe, not a distant outcome hard to trace back to your work.
Gate: The indicator leaves this stage once your team agrees on how to measure it before the programme starts, not after it ends.
5 A guardrail indicator
We add an indicator that watches for harm nobody intended, one the programme stops at for a rethink before it grows.
Gate: This last stage is never left behind; the guardrail indicator stays with the programme for its whole life, not only at its end.
Before a first conversation
Questions nonprofits often ask
Do you work with small nonprofits that have no technical team?
Yes. You do not need a technical team; we design directly with you, and turn what you already know about your beneficiaries into a programme and a measurement tool.
How does this help a report we write for a funder?
The proximal success indicator gives you a number you can measure yourselves, so your report rests on an effect actually observed, not only a headcount of beneficiaries.
What if our programme relies on volunteers, not staff?
The safeguarding we design covers anyone who meets the child, whether a volunteer or staff member; the code of conduct and the reporting path treat both the same.
Start here
Have a programme concerning children or teens?
Describe it to us plainly, and we will get back to you within a few working days.
Your path: nonprofit or foundation
Your idea arrived.
A real person from the Dawani team will read it and reply within a few working days. Thank you for thinking about kids.
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