Welcome to the new look of the CEP blog!
When we started this blog two and a half years ago, it was an experiment. We wanted to see if by sharing our research and observations in a new format we could help raise the level of conversation about the use of data and strategy at foundations. As Phil Buchanan wrote in our inaugural post, “we hope to bring data and insight to bear on the pressing issues related to philanthropic effectiveness and impact.”
The results thusfar have been encouraging. We have posted over 200 data points, opinion pieces, guest posts, book reviews, and videos to the site. Our audience has continually grown in size and quality since the blog has been active. We’ve even seen independent confirmation that we are on the right track: Foundation Center found us to be the second most read blog among foundation leaders.
So we’re doubling-down. Building on the inherent advantages that the blog format affords, we are seeking to improve the user experience for our readers. This new site allows us to feature multiple posts at once, complete with an enhanced visual element, rather than just seeing a long, chronological scroll. New menus in the right sidebar keep you apprised of the most popular posts and which comment threads have been recently active. And if you’ve found a post you particularly like, we now direct you to similar posts right from the same page.
In our strategic plan for 2011 to 2014, we state a desire to “facilitate the exchange of information and a sense of belonging to an important community among those who are most committed to using data to improve the effectiveness of their foundations.” In an effort to achieve this goal, we continue to repurpose insights from our research in hopes of making them both more easily digestible and more easily found through our increased use of new media.
We hope you enjoy the new look and feel of the CEP blog. Please explore and send us any feedback on what you think!
Stephen Sullivan is Senior Coordinator of Communications and Programming at the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
