In the final weeks of a year, when content calendars slow and we collectively begin to reflect on the year nearly gone — and plan, with some level of disbelief, for the one to come — we editors indulge in a favorite past-time: the curation of the year-end ‘best of’ list.
I’ve been enjoying the fruits of others’ curation in recent weeks: the best books of the year, the best movies, the best poetry, the best new podcasts, and the lists go on and on. We list-curators know most of you didn’t ask for these compilations, but we ask that you indulge us in this year-end exercise anyway. And if, like me, you managed not to see a single new movie this year, this is your short-cut to catching up.
In that spirit, and in the privileged position of editor of the CEP blog, I offer you my “editor’s picks” for 2024. This list includes some of the most well-read and widely enjoyed pieces published on the blog this year, but it also features some pieces you may have missed — those that stand out in my own memory because of the force of the author’s argument, their unique perspective, or fresh ideas. Each of these posts also stands the test of time; they are as relevant now, going into 2025, as they were at the time of their publication.
On Changing Philanthropic Practices
Revisiting Big Questions for Philanthropy, Part 1: Changes in Philanthropic Practice
CEP has documented the changes in philanthropic practice that occurred in and since 2020, as funders responded to a global pandemic and a national outcry over the murder of George Floyd. But the question remained (and, arguably, remains) whether those changes would be sustained. CEP President Phil Buchanan addresses that question in this post, and notes some concerning trends, too.
What the Music of Taylor Swift Can Teach Us About Great Philanthropy
Art speaks to us in unique and powerful ways, and for CEP’s Joseph Lee, there are invaluable lessons about philanthropic practice to be gleaned from the discography of Taylor Swift. After reading this post, I think you’ll agree she has wisdom and insight to offer the sector.
Lee writes, “…Swift’s music, while unsparingly inward in its focus, is also about outward change: the desire to seek it in others and in the world around us — which, for funders, is perhaps the ultimate goal.”
Spaciousness, Trust, and Collaboration: Reflections on the Effects of MacKenzie Scott’s Funding
If any one individual has shaken up philanthropic practice in recent years, it is MacKenzie Scott as she has doled out large, unrestricted gifts on an unprecedented scale, working quietly to empower nonprofits all over the world. Marcus Walton reflects on the power of the Scott gift Grantmakers for Effective Organizations received in 2021, and its impact on the organization’s work in the years that followed, noting the “critical psychological space which we leveraged into creative scenario planning, integration of equitable policies, and essential team building.”
Early 2025 will see the release of the final report in CEP’s three-year study of the impact of Scott’s gifts on grantee organizations, their leaders, and the communities they serve, so stay tuned.
Learning from Grantee Feedback: Policy, Process, and Cultural Changes That Make a Difference
“Between [2008] and 2017, CEP administered the [Grantee Perception Report] survey on behalf of Ford four times… and our results were consistently disappointing.” Luc Athayde-Rizzaro and Bess Rothenberg share insight into how the Ford Foundation recommitted to learning from and acting on grantee feedback after their 2017 survey — and went from receiving average ratings from their grantees to what Athayde-Rizzaro and Rothenberg modestly describe as marked improvement.
They offer concrete lessons from Ford’s learning process across three key realms: grantmaking policy, processes, and culture.
On Facing the Challenges of the Moment
Funders: Let’s Stop Making Nonprofits Choose Between Balanced Budgets and Burnout
When we look back on 2024, we might well remember it as the year that burnout reared its head and was revealed as the widespread, insidious problem it is — and indeed already was. CEP’s annual State of Nonprofits report revealed that burnout was a top concern for nonprofit leaders, and this finding was supported by other studies released this year, too, including a joint study from Independent Sector and United for ALICE that found that 22 percent of nonprofit workers struggle financially.
Following CEP’s report, Jamie Allison powerfully takes on the problem of burnout and nonprofit budgets, offering her practice-based insight and advice for funders looking to act on the challenge.
Responsible AI: How Philanthropy Can (And Should) Support the Movement
While not a new development, AI came to the fore in new ways in 2024, representing both challenge and opportunity for many. As both funders and grantees grappled with how to implement safe-usage policies and operationalize the technology responsibly, a host of experts came together to share their insight on the CEP blog. If you’re looking for more guidance for funders on AI, find CEP’s full (and ongoing) series on AI in philanthropy.
Embracing Trust, Eschewing Dogma in Philanthropic Practice
A perennial challenge, and one not unique to the philanthropic sector or any other, is that of nuance. In this post, Buchanan discusses the risk of losing sight of nuance when it comes to the issue of “trust” in philanthropy, and his discomfort with terms like “trust-based philanthropy” when used dogmatically.
But the post has broader implications — namely that, “if ever there was a time when we need to be sure that we’re being nuanced in our thinking about what makes sense when, it is now.”
On Philanthropic Models, Old and New
Endowments are Great — But Sustainability and Autonomy are the Greater Good
Speaking of nuance, in a post reflecting on CEP research released earlier in the year about the use and perceptions of endowment grantmaking by funders, Neel Hajra makes the case that while sometimes endowment grantmaking is a great choice, it is by no means the clear right choice for all funders or all grantees — nor is it always the most effective way of “power-yielding” through grantmaking.
Keeping greater autonomy and sustainability for nonprofits as his North Star, Hajra encourages foundations “to double-down on commitments to sustainability, trust, and enabling access to major and planned giving.”
If Intermediaries Are to Be a Viable Tool for Equity, Then They Must Be Funded Accordingly
As CEP’s Elisha Smith Arrillaga put it in a recent op-ed for Alliance Magazine, intermediaries “have enjoyed a sunny reputation in recent years.” Lauded as a tool for funding with greater proximity and trust, Smith Arrillaga led up CEP’s research into grantee perceptions of and experiences with intermediary funders, finding that grantees’ experiences are actually not significantly more positive with intermediaries than with other funders.
In a post informed by both history and personal experience, Village of Wisdom CEO Will Jackson takes on the disconnect between the sunny reputation of intermediaries and their less-than-standout performance in CEP’s grantee perception dataset.
Here We Go Again (and Again and Again): Let’s Stop Looking for the One ‘New Approach to Philanthropy
As the debates over endowment grantmaking and intermediary use represented in the above two posts makes clear, approaches to philanthropy are as numerous and varied as the goal(s) of grantmakers. Over the years, however, claims to the discovery of the “right” philanthropic model have come and gone.
Responding to one more breakthrough claim of this sort put forth in an article in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Buchanan takes issue with the search for a silver bullet in philanthropic practice. “[E]ven though there are some tenets of effectiveness that I’d argue apply in pretty much any circumstance, there are a range of ways to be effective in light of a donor or foundation’s specific goal or goals,” he says.
This year on the blog, I’ve had the joy of working with countless thoughtful contributors who generously offered their insight, experience, hard-won lessons, and best advice to their fellow funders. I’m so grateful to every one of the authors who contributed to the blog for what they shared — and for making it a place for nuanced debate and discussion about philanthropic practice, funder effectiveness, and, broadly speaking, this endeavor we are each a part of to make the world better, more just, and more equitable.
If you’d like to learn more about how to contribute to the CEP blog, don’t hesitate to reach out — I’d love to hear from you.
Chloe Heskett is senior editor, writer and content strategist on the Programming and External Relations team at CEP. You can find her on LinkedIn.
