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“I was left in awe. I didn’t know what to say except thank you. Our core values were repeated back to us as we were given this gift and investment. I thought, ‘Wow, we can now support the growth of our organization and concentrate on our work, not the fundraising...
Big, unrestricted gifts have a transformative effect on nonprofits that receive them. They can lead to greater financial strength and documented program results. They can also lead to increased confidence and reduced burnout of leaders. While foundation leaders have...
The positive effects of MacKenzie Scott’s massive, unrestricted gifts are increasingly apparent and, to date, the experiences of recipient organizations belie widespread concerns about negative unintended consequences from her approach. These are among the key...
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...
We’ve been researching foundations and donors, and the way they interact with the nonprofits they fund, for two decades. We have heard many funders announce their arrival by declaring they’re taking a new, innovative approach to philanthropy: charting a new path and...
In a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy piece, one of the donors interviewed suggests that, “When fundraisers approach donors with the idea that they’re going to help the donor do what the donor wants to do, that’s what works.” I must admit to shaking my head as I read...
Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest, or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, will stay that way unless acted upon by a force. Staying at rest and moving at a constant speed in a straight line aren’t all that different in Newtonian...
Today, CEP released the second report in a three-part series about foundations’ responses to the crises of 2020. Foundations Respond to Crisis: Toward Equity? focuses on how foundations have changed their practices to support communities most affected by the pandemic...
It was almost two decades ago that I got my first taste of how frustrating funder restrictions on grants could be. I had recently started working at CEP, and we were discussing a project proposal draft with a potential funder. The funder asked us to add additional...
This post originally appeared on the blog in March 2015, and is reposted here as part of our Rewind series. CEP is currently in the process of renewing its membership with AAPOR's Transparency Initiative. “There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be...
There is tremendous opportunity for philanthropy to contribute significantly to progress against the toughest social problems that defy government and market solutions. While philanthropy alone cannot solve all of the world’s complex social problems, it can take on...
Nonprofit CEOs believe that the diversity of their organizations matters, and they recognize that, currently, their staffs and boards should better represent the populations they seek to serve. This is just one of the stark findings that emerged when we surveyed...
Philanthropy alone cannot solve the problems our society faces, but it has a vital role to play. We know this because it has historically played such a role, even as we can all agree that we wish it had achieved more. Over the past many years, philanthropy has...
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...
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...
CEP‘s new research report released today, titled Nonprofit Diversity Efforts: Current Practices and the Role of Foundations, shares nonprofits’ perspectives on diversity in their work and what their needs are. Initially, we set out to conduct a study on diversity,...
We are confronted daily with numbers and statements, often conflicting. Take two recent headlines about a daily habit many of us enjoy: one headline from CNN proclaims, "Coffee may come with a cancer warning in California," while another from The Seattle Times says,...
We’re excited to share with you today that CEP is releasing its first resource for individual donors, Donors: 5 Things Nonprofits Want You to Know. CEP has spent more than 16 years developing data-based resources about effective philanthropic practice for...
Data and measurement sometimes get a bad rap in philanthropy. Here at CEP, one useful role we try to play is to balance information about timeless topics, like how to build strong funder-grantee relationships, with data that is crucial for smart decision-making on...
In my position at CEP, I have experienced what it is like to navigate funders’ individual guidelines and requirements. I know sometimes selection processes can feel like jumping through a series of irrelevant hoops rather than useful experiences. And I’ve been through...