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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.
Since 2003, I have had the privilege of leading two private foundations. While I have enjoyed my job immensely, there’s one aspect of this work that I have never enjoyed: the inherent power dynamic between foundations and our partners that inhibits — even discourages...
The other week, I was presenting at a conference about the importance of nonprofits systematically eliciting perceptual feedback from clients, or those they seek to help, about how things are going from the clients’ own perspectives. This practice, often termed...
The following is a revised and updated version of a post that originally appeared on the CEP Blog in March 2015. It is posted here as part of our Rewind series. Like anyone who spends a lot of time on the conference circuit, I’ve sat through a lot of dud sessions and...
Among the many myths that pervade the nonprofit sector, the Overhead Myth is perhaps the most destructive. It is the erroneous idea that nonprofits must keep their fundraising and administrative costs cripplingly low, which leads to anemic organizations that are not...
It’s no secret that we find ourselves in the midst of a time of dramatic and rapid shifts in the U.S. political context. In such a time of change and uncertainty, foundation leaders and board members are asking themselves many questions about how they can most...
At CEP, we have always prided ourselves on a commitment to diversity among our staff and to building a culture of inclusion. Diversity “done right” has a slew of benefits, including innovation and improved productivity. But how do organizations...
Last week, BoardSource, together with our colleagues at GuideStar, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals released a new recommended framework for measuring fundraising effectiveness. For funders concerned about effective...
Research into evaluation use gets me all fired up! It has a way of putting a number on experiences and feelings common to many of us. As the lead author of the State of Evaluation project, one area I care deeply about is how nonprofits engage with, use, and experience...
This post from Stuart Comstock-Gay, president and CEO of the Delaware Community Foundation, is the last in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective,...
It may be the time of year for resolutions, but, to start, I have a confession: openness is tough. In my role as project manager for Fund for Shared Insight (“Shared Insight”), a collaborative effort among funders to make grants that improve philanthropy, I think a...
Does spending more on evaluation provide “more meaningful” insights? Last year I completed a survey for the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) and the Center for Evaluation Innovation (CEI) on evaluation practices at the Hewlett Foundation, where I support staff...
This post from Nicky Goren, president and CEO of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, is the seventh in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective,...
This post from Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Arcus Foundation, is the sixth in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective, commissioned by...
This post from Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of the Hawai’i Community Foundation, is the fifth in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective,...
As we approach the end of 2016, I want to take a second to thank the many funders that entrusted CEP’s Assessment and Advisory Services team this year to help them grapple with important questions about their effectiveness. Every year at this time we take a look back...
No matter where you personally stand on the results of our recent elections, one thing is clear: we in the nonprofit sector — grantees and funders alike — are entering a moment of significant change in the context for our work. For some (voucher and charter advocates,...
This post from Kate Wolford, president of The McKnight Foundation, is the fourth in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective, commissioned by the...
This post from Judy Belk, president and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation, is the third in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective,...
This post from Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, is the second in a series of eight essays from foundation CEOs reflecting on findings from the CEP research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective, commissioned by the William...
More than two-thirds of the CEOs of large, staffed foundations in the United States believe foundations have the potential to make a significant difference in society. That’s the good (and perhaps hardly surprising) news in a new report from our...