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.
How Can Major Individual Givers Best Support Nonprofits?
7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Foundation Boards
Managing Across Differences in Divisive Times
[vc_row el_class="sixtysix-thirtythree"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]This blog post from CEP’s Vice President, Programming and External Relations, Grace Nicolette, originally appeared on the CEP blog in September 2017. It is reposted here as part of...
Philanthropy’s Superpowers of Convening
[vc_row el_class="sixtysix-thirtythree"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Philanthropic foundations and their donors have the freedom to direct their donations and social investments in any way they see fit. There is tremendous power in this freedom: it gives...
Reflecting on Partnership and Belonging During My Time at the Jim Joseph Foundation
[vc_row][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]This post originally appeared on The Jim Joseph Foundation blog. In reflecting about my journey at the Jim Joseph Foundation – these last 4 ½ years – an insight from Mother Teresa comes to mind. Indeed,...
Reflecting on Leadership Diversity in Today’s Nonprofit Sector
When Should We Give Cash to Those in Need?
How’s My Driving? The Value of Learning from Peers
[vc_row][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]Learning and knowledge sharing are important topics in philanthropy. By adopting a learning orientation and exchanging knowledge with others, grantmakers can better position themselves to address the complex problems...
Notes from the Field: CEP’s First Innovation Week
[vc_row][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]Earlier this summer CEP held its first Innovation Week, where all staff shifted focus from their everyday work to outside-the-box ideas that could move CEP’s mission forward. These projects could be anything related...
Constituent Feedback in Education Grantmaking: An Untapped Resource
[vc_row][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]In the current sociopolitical moment, in which many with less power (or those who have been strategically disenfranchised) find themselves struggling to get those in power to listen, there’s broad agreement in...
Thank You and Farewell to an Unsung CEP Star
Five Questions Every Foundation Board Should Be Discussing Right Now
[vc_row el_class="sixtysix-thirtythree"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]My CEP colleagues and I have seen the inside of more foundation boardrooms than just about anyone. It is, perhaps, a dubious distinction – though some boardrooms have amazing views...
Nonprofits and Philanthropy Need to Take Center Stage
[vc_row el_class="sixtysix-thirtythree"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]As we approach the next pair of Democratic presidential debates this week – the last of which garnered a record-breaking number of viewers – I’m not holding my breath that...
Grappling with Funder-Grantee Relationships in the U.K.
[vc_row el_class="sixtysix-thirtythree"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Earlier this month, thanks to our generous host, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, CEP led a deep dive with 35 foundation leaders in the United Kingdom into what constitutes a strong...
Bearing Witness
[vc_row][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]This post originally appeared on The Gathering blog. The first time I read the phrase “bearing witness” was in Elie Wiesel’s book “Night” recounting the horrors of the Holocaust and the...
Take the Ethical Storytelling Pledge
Listening, Learning, Reassessing: Translating Potential to Effectiveness
Successful organizations and people have at least one thing in common: they are honest with themselves about their strengths and limitations. As executive director of a mid-sized foundation, I know we do not possess the human capital or spending power to...
Why We Might Be Undervaluing Strong Funder-Grantee Relationships
At CEP we are always thinking about the ways that strong funder-grantee relationships affect the success of foundations’ efforts. This topic has been a major emphasis in our research agenda for more than a decade, as we have continually investigated the questions,...
Nonprofit Media and Exposing Injustice: How Philanthropy Can Help
[vc_row][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]From time to time, events at the highest levels of legal and political decision-making in Washington shed light on the importance of nonprofit media and the critical role of philanthropy in the support of journalism. Last...