What is Proximate Evaluation?

A Human-Centered Shift That Could Reshape the Nonprofit Sector

By Josh Singleton | Founder, serving as Lead Cultivator, The Neighborhood Garden Project

The nonprofit sector was built on a desire to create meaningful change. But over time, the way we evaluate that change has slowly moved us farther from the very life we hope to nurture.

We measure outcomes.
We track performance.
We report progress.

None of this is inherently wrong. These systems were created to bring accountability and clarity. But something subtle has happened.

Evaluation has moved away from people and closer to systems.

We began measuring what is easy to track rather than what is meaningful to observe. We began prioritizing what can be reported rather than what is quietly forming. And in doing so, we created distance.

Distance between funders and organizations.
Distance between organizations and communities.
Distance between activity and life.

And when distance increases, something else happens.

We start measuring what is visible instead of what is alive.

Programs can look successful while quietly draining people.
Organizations can grow in numbers while shrinking in depth.
Initiatives can meet deliverables while losing sustainability.

From a distance, everything appears to be working.

But up close, something else is happening.

Life is fading.

This is where a different approach begins to emerge.

What Is Proximate Evaluation?

Proximate evaluation is the practice of discerning what is alive through proximity, presence, and shared understanding.

It is evaluation rooted in relationship, not distance.
It is evaluation grounded in observation, not just measurement.
It is evaluation that recognizes life before trying to quantify it.

Instead of asking:

• Is this working?

• Is this successful?

• Is this efficient?

• Is this impressive?

Proximate evaluation asks:

• Is this alive?

• Is this deepening?

• Is this sustaining itself?

• Is this becoming more resilient over time?

These are deeply human questions.

And most of us already know how to answer them.

We recognize life all the time.

We see a meaningful conversation and know something important happened.
We watch a team working in alignment and feel the energy.
We notice when people return voluntarily and sense something is forming.
We recognize when something feels forced or draining.

These are forms of evaluation.

They are not less rigorous.
They are simply more human.

Why Proximate Evaluation Feels Uncomfortable

Proximate evaluation shifts where control sits.

Distance-based evaluation gives the illusion of control.
Proximate evaluation requires trust.

And trust is uncomfortable.

Because when we move closer to life, we cannot control it. We can only observe, respond, and participate.

This is where attentive restraint becomes essential.

We see this every time we plant seeds.

A gardener does not dig up seeds to check if they are growing.
A gardener creates the conditions, then waits.

The possibilities already exist inside the seed.
The gardener does not create them.
The gardener trusts them.

Proximate evaluation works the same way.

Instead of forcing outcomes, we create conditions and observe what emerges.
Instead of narrowing too quickly, we allow life to reveal itself.

This requires patience.
This requires humility.
This requires restraint.

And this is often deeply uncomfortable.

Because many of us have learned to look outside ourselves for validation.

So instead of asking:
Is this alive?

We start asking:
Is this working?
Is this successful?
Is this efficient?
Is this impressive?

These questions move us away from life and toward performance.

And over time, this performance-driven approach begins to push people toward the edge of collapse.

Organizations look successful but leaders are burning out.
Programs appear productive but communities are not deepening.
Individuals achieve more while feeling less alive.

From the outside, everything appears to be working.

But internally, life is draining.

Why Foundations Often Resist Proximate Evaluation

There are common reasons why foundations and donors may hesitate to adopt proximate evaluation:

"We fund too many organizations."
"We need objective measures."
"We must demonstrate accountability."
"We cannot be everywhere."
"This is too subjective."
"This does not scale."

These concerns are understandable. But they often reveal assumptions worth examining.

"We Fund Too Many Organizations"

Proximate evaluation does not require equal proximity everywhere.

A gardener does not treat every plant the same. Some need close attention. Others establish quickly and require less care.

Proximity is not about being everywhere.
It is about being closer where formation is happening.

This may actually reduce burden, not increase it.

Depth often reveals more than surface-level reporting.

"We Need Objective Measures"

Objectivity matters. But not everything meaningful is easily measurable.

Trust is difficult to quantify.
Formation is difficult to measure.
Resilience appears long before it becomes measurable.

Proximate evaluation does not reject measurement.
It expands what we consider meaningful evidence.

Observation becomes data.
Patterns become indicators.
Return and retention become signals of life.

These are not less rigorous.
They are simply more human.

"We Must Demonstrate Accountability"

Accountability does not require distance.

In fact, proximity often creates stronger accountability.

Distance creates performative accountability.
Proximity creates relational accountability.

Performative accountability focuses on reporting success.
Relational accountability focuses on sustaining life.

Proximate evaluation strengthens accountability by replacing performance pressure with shared discernment.

"We Cannot Be Everywhere"

Proximity does not require constant presence.

It requires meaningful connection over time.

A few thoughtful touchpoints often reveal more than extensive reporting.

Proximity is not oversight.
It is relationship.

"This Is Too Subjective"

Subjectivity already exists in traditional evaluation.

What we measure is subjective.
What we define as success is subjective.
How we interpret results is subjective.

Proximate evaluation makes discernment explicit rather than hidden behind numbers.

This is not less rigorous.
It is more honest.

"This Does Not Scale"

Distance-based scaling often leads to shallow impact.

Proximate evaluation scales differently.

It scales through relationships.
It scales through shared learning.
It scales through distributed discernment.

This mirrors how living systems grow.

Not through centralized control.
But through interconnected relationships.

Leveling the Playing Field

Traditional evaluation often favors organizations with strong reporting capacity and administrative infrastructure.

Proximate evaluation changes this.

It values:

• Presence

• Relationship

• Formation

• Sustainability

• Community trust

These are qualities that many community-rooted organizations already embody.

Proximate evaluation allows these strengths to become visible.

It levels the playing field by recognizing life, not just performance.

The Courage to Let Work Go

Proximate evaluation also introduces something rarely discussed in the nonprofit sector:

Not everything should continue.

Even good things.
Even meaningful things.
Even things that once worked.

When work is no longer alive, it begins to require more force:

• more energy

• more justification

• more structure

This is not failure.
It is often completion.

Living systems release what is no longer alive to make space for what is emerging.

The nonprofit sector rarely operates this way.

Proximate evaluation gives us permission to recognize when something has run its course.

A More Human Future

Proximate evaluation is not a rejection of accountability.
It is a return to human discernment.

It invites foundations, donors, and organizations to move closer to the work they support. To listen more deeply. To observe more patiently. To recognize what is alive before trying to measure it.

This approach favors slower, formational work.

But slower does not mean less effective.

When life forms slowly:

• Roots deepen

• Trust builds

• Resilience grows

• Communities take ownership

This is how meaningful change lasts.

Proximate evaluation is deeply human because it trusts something simple:

We already know how to recognize life.

We see it in people.
We feel it in communities.
We notice it in relationships.

We do not need to abandon evaluation.

We simply need to bring evaluation closer to life.

And when we do, something shifts.

We stop forcing outcomes.
We stop rewarding performance alone.
We begin nurturing what is alive.

And slowly, quietly, the nonprofit sector begins to function more like a living system.

Human.
Relational.
Responsive.
Alive.