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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.
This post originally appeared on India Development Review. It is the fundamentals of an organization — arguably more so than great program design or execution — that are key to delivering high impact. This insight drove a recent decision by Children’s Investment Fund...
This post is the first in “Social Justice and a Relevant Philanthropic Sector,” a five-part series by Miles Wilson about where philanthropy is stuck in old paradigms — and where there lie opportunities to advance social justice both within the sector and across...
This post originally appeared on the ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations) website. The report Impact and Learning: The Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice defines learning as a “proactive and lifelong process of reflection and open listening” that “takes...
Under pressure to reimagine philanthropic practice, private foundations are increasingly attentive to the quality of their relationships with grantees. They’re asking important questions of themselves with greater frequency: Are we listening? Are we providing adequate...
Evaluation, at its heart, is a data-driven tool that helps us to look back and reflect. The Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) regularly utilizes that tool to examine the success and impact of our grant programs. We regularly ask grantees to evaluate...
One of the primary ways the staff at the Jacob & Valeria Langeloth Foundation would describe ourselves and how we work is that we “follow the field.” We pride ourselves on the fact that we are non-directive funders — we would never dictate to a grantee what they...
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have grown significantly in recent years. In 2018, DAFs reached new highs in four key metrics: dollars distributed from DAFs to charitable organizations, dollars contributed by donors to DAFs, the value of charitable assets under management...
This is the fourth and final post in a series reflecting on philanthropy’s first two decades in the 21st Century and hopes for the next one. The first post discusses the public conversation about philanthropy during 2000-2010; the second focuses on 2010-2019; the...
This is the third in a series of four blog posts reflecting on philanthropy’s first two decades in the 21st Century and hopes for the next one. The first post discusses the public conversation about philanthropy during 2000-2010;...
This is the second in a series of four blog posts reflecting on philanthropy’s first two decades in the 21st Century and hopes for the next one. The first post discusses the public conversation about philanthropy during 2000-2010; the second focuses on 2010-2019; the...
This is the first in a series of four blog posts reflecting on philanthropy’s first two decades in the 21st Century and hopes for the next one. The first post discusses the public conversation about philanthropy during 2000-2010; the second focuses on 2010-2019; the...
It’s easy to lament all that’s not what it could be in philanthropy. It’s important, even, because critique can lead to improvement. But too many of the critiques I read are generalized, sweeping, and, finally, unhelpful — offering little in the way of practical paths...
Global development funders pour millions of dollars every year into various forms of learning — from disseminating insights and lessons learned to reflecting and acting on program outcomes to using knowledge to improve decision-making. But, based on what we’ve seen,...
This essay by CEP Board Chair Grant Oliphant originally appeared on the Heinz Endowments blog. It also opens a special issue of the Endowments’ magazine, h, that explores criminal justice reform in America. “What percentage of people in prison...
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer recently won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.” But while attention has focused on their experimental methodologies, the policy action resulting from...
Another December, another year-end list. On the CEP blog, 2019 has been a year of thought-provoking insights, illustrative stories of philanthropic effectiveness, and challenging questions for leaders in the philanthropic sector to consider. We know that there’s a lot...
Private U.S. foundations give around $10 billion a year to organizations that work on social and environmental problems outside of the country, particularly in Africa, South Asia, and other low-income parts of the world. Since the early 2000s, international...
As you consider your charitable donations this #GivingTuesday — and throughout the rest of the end-of-year giving season — it’s important to think about how you can make the most of your giving as you seek to affect change in communities and on topics you care about....
This post originally appeared on the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation website. As you read this, a nonprofit organization is keeping a mother and children safe from domestic abuse. An elder knows that someone from Meals-on-Wheels will be coming to check on him —...