Foundation
Governance Today:
How Boards and CEOs Are Navigating Risk,
Accountability, and a Shifting Landscape
A new CEP Research Snapshot examines the challenges reported by foundation CEOs — and what they need from their boards — in the current context.
Resources for Grantmakers
Access helpful information, like data-backed reports based on rigorous research.
Resources for Individuals
Get insights and information around what it takes to be an effective giver.
Your Partner in Philanthropic Effectiveness
CEP seeks to influence foundations and major donors to be more effective. We offer assessments that gather essential feedback from key stakeholders, data-driven research, customized advisory services, thought-provoking events, and incisive commentary on the CEP Blog.
Improve Your Effectiveness
CEP’s assessments provide unique insights into your effectiveness by gathering candid and actionable feedback from grantees, donors, and funder staff and benchmarking results with other grantmakers.
Featured Resources
A SECTOR IN CRISIS: How U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations Are Responding to Threats
As nonprofits face historic challenges, new data from the Center for Effective Philanthropy reveals how nonprofits are faring and how foundations are responding.
Breaking the Mold: The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott's Big Gifts
Transformative Gifts: Inside Organizations That Received MacKenzie Scott Grants — A Companion to CEP’s Three-Year Study
AI With Purpose: How Foundations and Nonprofits Are Thinking About and Using Artificial Intelligence
State of Nonprofits 2025: What Funders Need to Know
Questions? Connect with us.
Grace Nicolette, Vice President, Programming and External Relations
From the Blog
From Belief to Practice: Why Multiyear Flexible Funding Still Lags Behind Consensus
Most funders agree on what nonprofits need to thrive: flexibility, trust, and sustained support. These principles are widely endorsed, reflected in conference panels and board conversations alike. Yet multiyear general operating support, one of the clearest ways to...
Rethinking Payout: The Hidden Costs of Undervaluing Social Return
What We Miss When We Measure Foundations typically make payout decisions using logic borrowed from finance. The underlying assumption is straightforward: over the long term, endowment assets generate reliable financial returns, while social returns are harder to see...
Governing Through Nonprofit Instability: A Purpose-Driven Framework
The Center for Effective Philanthropy's recent research tells a clear story: Nonprofits are carrying more demand with fewer resources. Foundations have responded, yet many still believe the response does not match the moment. That gap is not about effort. It is about...