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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 the middle of the 19th century, the likelihood of death during childbirth was extraordinarily high. In Vienna, two maternity wards, one staffed by male doctors and one staffed by female midwives had vastly different mortality rates: the ward staffed by male doctors...
In its recently released report, “Foundations Respond to Crisis: Lasting Change?,” the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) shared new research in which foundations reported working differently now than in early 2020 — and indicated plans to sustain most of these...
Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest, or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, will stay that way unless acted upon by a force. Staying at rest and moving at a constant speed in a straight line aren’t all that different in Newtonian...
There’s essentially nothing a foundation must do when it comes to asking most nonprofits to provide reports on the grants they’ve received. In fact, there’s no regulation that requires a funder to have a reporting process at all. (Expenditure responsibility grants are...
This year-end season, let’s pause and consider how we can put the “Philo” (love in Greek) at the center of our philanthropy. Instead of our usual approach to philanthropy as the love of humanity, the end beneficiaries of our grants, I encourage funders and others in...
“Move the money.” Community organizers in social movements have repeated this call to action for philanthropy for years. As a longtime organizer, I used to be the one expressing this refrain. Now, as the CEO of a new family foundation, the Kataly Foundation, I’m on...
As nonprofits, and the people and communities they serve, faced compounding challenges over the past year plus, individual donors have provided crucial support. In fact, increased financial support from individual donors — in addition to foundations and the government...
As nonprofits, and the people and communities they serve, faced compounding challenges over the past year plus, individual donors have provided crucial support. In fact, increased financial support from individual donors — in addition to foundations and the government...
Program officers have a tremendous influence on their grantee’s happiness. CEP’s seminal report on the importance of relationships between program officers and grantees documents that program officers can be a more important determinant of a grantee's experience than...
Two years ago, in September 2019, the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund awarded its first grants to organizations working to build more inclusive economies for immigrants and refugees in the United States and Canada. We were excited to begin our...
With the effects of climate change becoming starker, climate philanthropy is taking off as never before. New players like the Bezos Earth Fund are making a splash and overall funding is rising each year; a report from the ClimateWorks Foundation estimates climate...
This piece was originally posted in January 2020. The past two decades have seen a shift in the conversation about philanthropy. We entered the 2000s being told that what philanthropy needed was a “business” or “investor” mindset, with less clarity of course about...
This piece was originally posted in October 2020. At the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), we say that all philanthropists are disaster philanthropists seeking to strengthen communities. Prior to 2020, this adage was a way to remind donors that no matter their...
MacKenzie Scott has made headlines for her fairly cryptic announcements that she has made several hundred grants collectively worth a few billion dollars. Her decisions seem out of the blue, even to grantees themselves, who find that without any application, they have...
Every nonprofit’s guiding star is its mission statement. Plans are developed, activities executed, and resources allocated all with the mission in mind. We’re held accountable by donors, the government, and various watchdogs to ensure that every dollar is invested in...
This piece was originally posted in February 2018. Transparency — being open, honest, and clear — is a key driver of strong relationships between funders and grantees. It’s valued by foundation and grantee CEOs alike, and grantees think foundations are doing a decent...
Nonprofit leaders and sector advocates have long called on funders to prioritize strengthening nonprofit organizations. Our research here at CEP has found that nonprofit leaders not only want help from their funders to strengthen their organizations, but they go on to...
When I first considered writing a defense of philanthropy, a number of friends tried to talk me out of it. They knew my card-carrying credentials as a lifelong member of (and onetime parliamentary candidate for) the UK’s Labour party, which lands some way to the left...
How might philanthropy change over the next ten years? The What’s Next for Philanthropy in the 2020s initiative engaged more than 200 philanthropy executives, professionals, donors, board members, experts, and grantees to look for possible answers to this...
How can learning and evaluation help philanthropy address the challenges of our time? The Funder & Evaluator Affinity Network (FEAN) was hatched on a sunny afternoon at a beer garden on downtown Oakland’s Telegraph Avenue. As two leaders of evaluation firms...