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The CEP blog aims to offer a range of perspectives, experiences, and opinions related to effective philanthropic practice. We welcome submissions that address crucial issues facing individual and institutional donors and are not self-promotional in nature. The views expressed in these posts are not necessarily CEP’s own.
In a previous post, we shared what we’re learning about how funders are reimagining the reporting process, from the motivations shaping current practices to the growing adoption of alternative reporting. Building on those findings, this follow-up turns to the people...
In philanthropic relationships, we talk a lot about power dynamics, and there’s perhaps no moment where that becomes more visible than during the reporting process. Traditionally, grantees are required to justify their work, impact, and often even their existence on...
The change in presidential administrations has created new challenges for funders and the nonprofits whose work they support. Executive actions have targeted DEI and mis-characterized the work of nonprofit organizations; federal funding to crucial nonprofits has been...
The third and final day of CEP2025 began with a concise but comprehensive history lesson: Kelly Lytle Hernández, Thomas E. Lifka endowed chair in history professor at UCLA presented a sweeping tutorial of the history of immigration control in the U.S. If yesterday’s...
As elections took place across the U.S., day two of CEP’s 2025 conference got underway and democracy in the U.S. — and around the world — was a key theme throughout the day. The main stage saw a back-and-forth with philanthropy leaders about the role of...
Philanthropy leaders from across the U.S. and around world gathered in downtown L.A. on Monday amid fanfare as the city celebrated back-to-back World Series wins for the Dodgers. The more than 600 leaders were not here to celebrate the win for L.A., but for CEP’s 2025...
Natural disasters such as the devastating fires that ignited in the Los Angeles area on January 7, 2025 do not intend to discriminate on the basis of race or class. Their impacts, however, are revealing about systemic inequities. In the months since the fires were...
Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) have demonstrated promise for addressing some of society’s most complex challenges, ranging from enabling early diagnosis and treatment of cancer and forecasting wildfire paths to reducing carbon emissions through...
The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s new report reveals both bright spots and a warning for philanthropy: while first movers in the social sector have begun funding and building powerful AI tools to advance opportunity and equity, adoption in these early days is...
“I think one of the most important things that philanthropy can do is be as anonymous and as shrinking-violet as possible, and just allow everybody else to take credit.” - Nicholas Colloff, Executive Director, Argidius This post is the second of a three-part blog...
Recently, I used AI to review a contract for a new client engagement. What started as a "quick" review turned into a 10-plus hour project. Instead of asking AI to just "review this contract," I developed a comprehensive legal analysis prompt to explain each section in...
To accompany CEP’s new report on AI, Cascade Philanthropy Advisors President Lowell Weiss interviewed 15 leaders from foundations, nonprofits, and affinity groups. In the first post in this two-part series, Weiss shared his conversation with Chris Lehane, head of...
To accompany CEP’s new report on AI, Cascade Philanthropy Advisors President Lowell Weiss interviewed 15 leaders from foundations, nonprofits, and affinity groups. In this post, Weiss shares his conversation, edited for clarity and length, with Chris Lehane, head of...
We are in a volatile, uncertain, and complex time. In philanthropy, our response is often to have a meeting about holding more meetings, at which we’ll discuss the next meetings we need. This is understandable — we hold a lot of responsibility, we want to make...
Over the last few years, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with nonprofit leaders and funders about artificial intelligence. One theme keeps coming up: most funders don’t know how to evaluate AI projects. This isn’t a controversial statement, but it’s one of the...
Schools are powerful “holding environments” where belonging, or the lack of it, shapes how we treat one another. For some, the bonds forged in school last a lifetime. For many others, school culture is defined less by friendship and connection than by bullying and...
“If equity is the goal, the nonprofit sector must be at the [AI] table from the start. Without us, equitable AI won’t happen. With us, it’s possible.” These are words shared by a nonprofit leader who responded to the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s (CEP)...
“We think through what we’re doing, but we also know that nothing is ever perfect. We’re not trying to create perfection. We’re just trying to improve all the time.” - Kirsty Gillan-Thomas, Head of Evidence and Learning, Paul Hamlyn Foundation This post is the first...
Every year, like many peers at other foundations, I partner with grantmaking teams to draft learning plans. We revisit assumptions, reflect on lessons, identify questions for the year ahead, and map out data sources — like PRAMS and ACS — that will help us answer...
The Champlin Foundation, a Rhode Island-based funder focused on capital investments, worked with the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) on its first Grantee Perception Report in 2019. After making a number of changes based on the feedback they received from their...