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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 CEP’s recent report, Strengthening Grantees: Foundation and Nonprofit Perspectives, Meher Shulman, associate director, Nonprofit Support Program, at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, says that capacity building is an investment “to ensure nonprofits have...
If there was ever any doubt that greater openness and transparency could benefit organized philanthropy, a new report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) about knowledge-sharing practices puts it to rest. Besides making a case for the need for greater...
A new CEP report titled Understanding & Sharing What Works highlights the challenges foundations face in understanding what does and doesn’t work programmatically, deciding what to do with that information, and sharing what they have learned. At the Edna McConnell...
The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s new report Understanding & Sharing What Works explores, from the vantage point of the foundation CEO, how foundations go about assessing their efforts, how they use this knowledge to make decisions, and how they share what...
In a post on the CEP blog last week about measuring foundation progress, Mark Zezza and Maureen Cozine of the New York State Health Foundation write, “As stewards of resources to advance the public interest, it is incumbent upon us to be transparent about our...
CEP’s recent report, Nonprofit Diversity Efforts: Current Practices and the Role of Foundations, provides funders valuable input on what they can do to lead the way in helping nonprofits make greater improvements in diversifying their boards and staff. Reading the...
We’re in the final month of early bird registration for Stronger Philanthropy, CEP’s 2019 national conference. At current registration levels, we’re predicting that the conference will sell out in the coming weeks. If you are a senior leader at a foundation (or a...
As the calendar year comes to an end, it’s performance assessment time for employees at many organizations. Did I meet my goals for the year? Where did I do well? Where might I have fallen short? What could I do differently to improve my performance next year? Many...
A recent report from CEP reveals that there is often a gap between what a nonprofit wants and what a funder provides. The report shows that foundation leaders frequently cite a lack of internal staff capacity or time to provide support to strengthen their grantees. As...
Massive challenges face this country and the globe, including threats to key democratic institutions, income inequality, and climate change, to name just a few. Given this context, and the stakes, philanthropic effectiveness is all the more important. While effective...
What words should we use to describe the clients served by nonprofits? Participants in nonprofit programs? Recipients of nonprofit services? End beneficiaries of philanthropy? Partners? Constituents? Citizens? The list of...
In 2008, the Center for Effective Philanthropy report, More than Money: Making a Difference with Assistance Beyond the Grant, found that “the majority of grantees of a typical large foundation receive no assistance beyond the grant, and the 44 percent that do receive...
As funders, we are privileged to support leaders, organizations, and networks that create movements for change. To succeed, that work must be done in partnership, moving together toward our shared goals for positive impact in the world. One of the most powerful ways...
Early in my tenure at the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), when our staff numbered just three, I realized that to get visibility for our research on foundation performance assessment, we would need to secure a spot on the agenda of the annual conference of the...
CEP’s new study, Strengthening Grantees: Foundation and Nonprofit Perspectives, finds that a gap in understanding exists between CEOs of nonprofits and foundation leaders when it comes to strengthening organizational needs. Since reading the report, I’ve been...
CEP released a study this week that shows the disconnect between nonprofits and funders on understanding grantees’ organizational strengthening needs. While almost all foundation leaders say they feel responsible for strengthening grantees and care about grantees’...
Strengthening nonprofit organizations and providing general operating support have been discussion topics for decades in philanthropy. When CEP set out to conduct research on these issues late last year, we wondered what the results would reveal to move these...
In a Telegraph interview several years ago, Lisa Marie Presley said, “Something happens to people around fame and power and money — it can bring out the worst and best in people; it’s a monster you have to tame.” In the world of philanthropy, this plays out in...
How many of us have read multiple reports and articles that encourage foundations to provide more unrestricted and multiyear grants? And how often are we reminded that the shift away from restricted project grants has made minimal progress? I’d like to make a friendly...
CEP's report on nonprofit diversity efforts comes at a time when we at the Ford Foundation have been thinking critically about how we collect, analyze, and act upon diversity data from grantee organizations. As a funder, we know we can play a role in normalizing...