Guest author Dan Cardinali discusses how foundations can remove the impediments to better nonprofit performance assessment infrastructure.
Recasting the Relationship Between Foundations and Nonprofits
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Blog
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.
A Wake-Up Call for Funders: Effectiveness Requires More Support for Grantees’ Assessment Efforts
Elizabeth Boris of the Urban Institute reacts to the findings of our “Room for Improvement” report, describing foundations as missing in action.
A Crucial Missing Link: Where’s the Foundation Support for Nonprofit Assessment Efforts?
Ellie Buteau presents the key findings from “Room for Improvement: Foundations’ Support of Nonprofit Performance Assessment,” the first report from The Grantee Voice panel.
Learning From Failure: The Genius of Little Bets
Mark Russell reviews Peter Sims’ “Little Bets” and evaluates how the theory of small discoveries leading to big breakthroughs relates to philanthropy.
Data Point: Helpfulness of Foundations’ Social Media for Grantees
Research Manager Andrea Brock shares a data point on how grantees are interacting with their foundation funders through social media–and how they aren’t.
Gloves Off Wisdom for Donors from the UK: A Philanthropy “How-To”
Phil Buchanan reviews Caroline Fiennes’ new book, “It Ain’t What You Give, It’s the Way You Give It.”
Engaging Grantees In Foundations’ Social Media and How To Tell If It’s Working
Elizabeth R. Miller of Knight Foundation shares a list of tips for foundations on how to engage with grantees through social media and tools on how to measure those efforts.
We’re Talking. Who’s Listening?
Bruce Trachtenberg of the Communications Network offers some alternate perspectives on how to interpret CEP’s social media research.
Just One Piece of the Communications Pie
Guest author Stuart Comstock-Gay shares how the Vermont Community Foundation has found success deploying social media as a piece of their overall communications model.
Using Social Media to Shift from Delivering Information to Creating Value
Guest authors Jon Sotsky and Elizabeth Miller discuss Knight Foundation’s social media strategy to increasingly engage with their grantee partners.
If a Tweet Falls…
Guest author Elizabeth Christopherson of the Rita Allen Foundation offers her interpretation of the findings in “Grantees’ Limited Engagement with Foundations’ Social Media.”
From the Pony Express to the Twittersphere
Ellie Buteau shares her perspective on and discusses some of the questions raised by CEP’s new research report, “Grantees’ Limited Engagement with Foundations’ Social Media.”
Scanning the Philanthropic Landscape
Mendi Blue discusses the practice of mapping funders within a specific issue area or geography and highlights the utility of the Strategy Landscape Tool.
Transparency Starts at Home
While the philanthropic sector wrestles with the issue of external transparency, Phil Buchanan argues that foundation leaders must also cultivate internal transparency.
How Did We Do? CEP by the Numbers
CEP Board Chair Kathy Merchant and President Phil Buchanan reflect on 2011 and extend an open invitation to join CEP in the pursuit of more effective philanthropy.
Measurement, Effectiveness, and the Philanthropy’s Promise Initiative
Guest author Sean Dobson, field director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, shares key findings from NCRP research underlying the Philanthropy’s Promise Initiative.
Data Point: How Helpful Do Grantees Find Foundation Reporting and Evaluation Processes? (Not Very.)
Ellie Buteau shares a data point with a lesson for foundations on how to make the evaluation process more helpful for their grantees.
The Risks Posed by a Sector’s Silence: Toward a Forceful and Positive Articulation of the Nonprofit Sector
Phil Buchanan finishes his six-part series by urging the nonprofit sector to more forcefully articulate its success and value.
How Evaluation Measures Up: A CEO’s Perspective
Guest author Anne Warhover shares how the Colorado Health Foundation is using data to measure performance and influence strategy.
Companies to the Rescue
In the penultimate installment of his six-part series, Phil Buchanan questions the assertion that business is more likely to solve societies greatest problems than the nonprofit sector.