Fay Twersky of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation believes it is time for the social sector to make better use of best practices in data collection and usage.
Time for a Gold Standard of Use
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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 Step Forward for Charting Impact
Kevin Bolduc discusses why the Charting Impact project is an important step toward transparency and performance measurement in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
Data Matters: Let’s Look Within To Find Our Exemplars
Phil Buchanan argues that we can find plenty of leadership on data utilization within the nonprofit sector, where exemplars abound.
To Judge or Not to Judge: The Brainstorming Myth
Phil Buchanan reflects on the limits of brainstorming after having his assumptions challenged by a recent article from the New Yorker by Jonah Lehrer.
Getting to Transparency that Matters
Stephen Sullivan introduces video highlights of Phil Buchanan sharing his thoughts on the tensions between transparency and effectivness from a panel discussion held December 6, 2011.
Data Point: Foundations’ Use of Logic Models and Theories of Change
Research Manager Andrea Brock shares a data point on foundation CEOs’ use of logic models in guiding their work.
Stupid Funder Tricks
Paul Beaudet finishes his series on the funder/grantee relationship by calling on the philanthropic sector to take a critical look at collective bad habits and offering advice on how to maximize the potential of the partnerships all funders forge with their grantees.
Putting Grantees In the Center of Your Map
Paul Beaudet’s second guest post further explores the funder/grantee relationship, focusing on the effect of using strategy to shape funders’ work with grantees.
Data Point: Is Evaluation Resulting in Meaningful Insight for Foundations?
Ellie Buteau, PhD., presents a data point on the challenge funders face in having evaulations result in meaningful insight.
Doing Less With Less
Paul Beaudet challenges the notion that ‘doing more with less’ is the answer for philanthropy in an era of limited resources.
Seven “New” Concepts that Are Not So New After All: Reflections on a History of Philanthropy
After reading Olivier Zunz’s new book Philanthropy in America, Phil Buchanan reflects on the often overlooked history of the sector in the United States.
What Strategy Is…And Isn’t – Hint: It’s Not Rocket Science
A guest post from Cindy Gibson lays out the tenets of a process for developing effective strategies at foundations.
The Unique and Urgent ‘Business’ of Philanthropy
The following blog post is adapted from a talk presented at a meeting of the Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington. As Suk Rhee mentioned in her introduction, I am a native Oregonian, so I know that there is no better place than the Pacific Northwest. And I...
YouthTruth Announces Strategic Partnership with The New Teacher Project
I am pleased to announce a new partnership between YouthTruth and The New Teacher Project, which will bring student perspectives to teacher performance evaluations. See the video below for details. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hly9aFTu33s Valerie Threlfall is Vice...
Data Point: How Can Foundations Help Grantees Secure Funding from Other Sources?
In a recent data point post, we shared that the most significant factor program staff consider when determining what type of assistance beyond the grant to provide is specific requests from grantees. In our research, program staff also told us that the most frequent...
Hard Facts: Data Tells an Unexpected Story in Boston
The city of Boston stands as a gleaming example of the renewed and widespread appreciation for urban living. Its charms, after all, are abundant, from 18th century Beacon Hill streets to dynamic and diverse SOWA, the “new” South End. Plus it has been honored for its...
Data Point: What Information are Foundations Using to Assess Their Programmatic Work?
For our recent State of Foundation Performance Assessment report, we gathered data from 173 CEOs of U.S. foundations with annual grantmaking of at least $5 million on what types of information they use to assess the effectiveness of their foundations’ work –...
Making Transparency Matter
There has been lots of talk lately about foundations and “transparency.” Perhaps the most prominent foundation transparency initiative is a website called Glass Pockets, launched about a year ago by Foundation Center. Its tagline? “Bringing transparency to the world...
Data Point: Board Materials
Ellie Buteau offers foundation staff a helpful data point as they prepare materials for their board of directors.
Data Point: Why Aren’t Foundation Boards More Involved in Assessing Performance?
One of the key findings from our recent performance assessment study, titled The State of Foundation Performance Assessment: A Survey of Foundation CEOs, is that 70 percent of CEOs want their board members to be more involved in assessment. This finding is consistent...