The use and management of data stands at the core of the work undertaken by the Center for Effective Philanthropy. The set of survey tools CEP has developed as well as field-wide research builds comparative data drawn from key constituent groups—grantees, donors, staff members and others—providing insights that enable funders to better define, assess and improve their effectiveness. We are posting this series to share our data more broadly and to highlight specific data points.
This week, our data point comes from the Stakeholder Assessment Report (STAR), which surveys the wide range of community leaders, field experts, and decision makers a foundation may wish to influence through its work. The report analyzes information from individuals who generally are not receiving funding but have an important perspective on a funder’s areas of concentration or are otherwise critical to its strategy.
Data represent the range of responses stakeholders gave to the following questions, respectively:
“How clearly do you understand the Foundation’s current goals?”
and
“How clearly do you understand the Foundation’s current strategy?”
Most stakeholders indicate more clarity regarding a foundation’s current goals than its current strategies. Even the top of the range of strategy understanding falls below the median response for awareness of a foundation’s goals.
The responses were given on a scale of 1 (Not at all clearly) to 7 (Extremely clearly). With responses from nearly 2,000 stakeholders representing 12 different foundations, we see, on the question of understanding the foundation’s goals, a range of 4.8 to 6.4, with a median of 5.6. On the question of strategy comprehension, the range is between 4.1 and 5.1, with a median of 4.4.
CEP is not the only organization that has noticed this mismatch. Both Spitfire Strategies (in the report From Big Ideas to Big Change) and Putnam Community Investment Consulting (in a report for the California Healthcare Foundation, Improving Communication Between Foundation Staff and Grantees) have offered advice on how funders can bridge this gap with stakeholders.
Readers of this blog post are invited to respond. What can foundations do to more clearly articulate their strategies to various stakeholder groups?
* * * * * * * *
CEP’s work reflects a belief that coherent, well-implemented strategy is a core element of foundation effectiveness. For a broader look at what makes philanthropic leaders more strategic, see the report Essentials of Foundation Strategy written by Phil Buchanan, Ellie Buteau, Ph.D., and Andrea Brock, published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
Kevin Bolduc is Vice President – Assessment Tools at the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
