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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.
Many leaders in our field, perhaps a majority, understand that for too long, philanthropy has operated in a top-down, hierarchical mode, isolated from the people and communities impacted by our decisions. We have privileged voices and perspectives of the wealthy and...
What will it take to make lasting change for women’s rights? The gut punch of last summer’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and the subsequent wave of state anti-abortion bans — on the heels of a difficult pandemic that disproportionately affected women — raises...
Imagine coming home from working or from running errands, and there are people on your property. There are trucks everywhere. Your yard is being dug up, your valuables taken. When you approach them and ask them to leave, they attack you. They tell you they’re not...
Before I departed for South Africa in 2018, our team had been told that men there would never take a daily pill for HIV prevention. According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, South Africa remains the epicenter of the HIV pandemic — 20 percent...
This article originally appeared on the Arabella Advisors blog. It is reposted here with permission. As Arabella Advisors was working to open our newest office in Durham, North Carolina earlier this month, we used a co-working space in a building that also...
This post was originally posted on the CEP blog in March 2021. Foundations and individual donors need to reconceive impact in a way that puts hearing firsthand the experiences of those they seek to help front and center. If any area illustrates this point, it is...
Many of us want to help those in need, but often, we are overwhelmed and do not know where to start. This year offers a new opportunity to begin crafting an intentional giving plan. Much like a budget, a giving plan needs to be well thought-through. You should have...
The world, and the international development sector, are facing more uncertainty and volatility than it has in living memory. This state of ongoing fragility — stemming from the pandemic, climate change, the war in Ukraine, and related humanitarian emergencies —...
The world, and the international development sector, are facing more uncertainty and volatility than it has in living memory. This state of ongoing fragility — stemming from the pandemic, climate change, the war in Ukraine, and related humanitarian emergencies —...
As our team here at the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) begins planning in earnest for our fall 2023 conference, I am reminded of the power of this gathering. There is something invaluable about coming together in person in this way: a unique time to learn...
For some time now, I have been thinking about how we can be clearer with the terms we use in philanthropy and nonprofit circles. We seem to adopt new terms without much thought about what they mean, or the implications of adopting them as part of our programs,...
Philanthropy and foundations exist and work for change within systems pervaded with racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism, among other harmful “-isms.” In fact, some foundations have amassed their wealth precisely because of these inequitable systems. These forces...
Since its formation in 1999, the Skoll Foundation has advanced bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators that seek durable systems change. Over the...
This winter, I celebrated my 10th year at the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP). Many of the foundations I worked with in my earliest few years here were first-time partners who had signed up for their first CEP assessment — and in some cases, their...
It is one of the ideas with the greatest currency in philanthropy right now: More funders need to make large, unrestricted grants, and then trust nonprofits to use them well. Despite all the dialogue, however, the practice is still all too rare. Giving in this way...
The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time for reflection, and this year connection has been front of mind for me. I’m grateful for renewed opportunities to connect with my family, my community, and my work. Core to connection, of course, are people and the...
It has been wisely observed elsewhere that "not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."1 As CEO of a global fund that aims to end modern slavery2, I have experienced this truth first-hand. Tim Hanstad’s recent post on the...
Discussions of MacKenzie Scott’s unconventional approach to giving tend to devolve into binaries. Scott’s doling out of massive, unrestricted gifts — some $14 billion to 1,600 nonprofits so far — is presented by some as the philanthropic holy grail, to be emulated by...
I gained a first-hand view of the scourge of domestic violence during law school, when I worked for the Los Angeles Bar Association helping survivors secure temporary restraining orders. What struck me most as a young law student was their courage. People of all walks...
Mackenzie Scott’s gifts now total over $14 billion to more than 1600 organizations. CEP’s ongoing “Big Gifts” study is documenting the significant impact these gifts are having on the leadership, values and work of the recipients. Given the scale of giving, the...