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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,...
At the Center for Effective Philanthropy, we believe that improved performance of philanthropic funders can have a positive impact on nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve. As part of our work, we aim to highlight stories from funders who...
Ellie Buteau, Ph.D., discusses response bias—the decision of foundation leaders to participate or not—to CEP research, and what readers should keep in mind about this particular challenge.
Over the past decade foundations have worked to assess their performance in the fields and communities they seek to address. In particular, data-driven forms of measurement have become more widely used to judge the results of programs, along with a broader range of information now used to assess performance.
Findings drawn from a survey of the CEOs of 173 U.S. foundations with annual grantmaking of at least $5 million focus on the current status of performance assessment among larger foundations.
Phil Buchanan glances back 10 years as CEP prepares to release a new report on performance assessment for foundations.
Leaders from philanthropy and the nonprofit sector have been invited to CEP from time to time to talk about a wide range of issues. Here, two staff members reflect on conversations with Beth Smith of the Hyams Foundation and Allen Grossman of Harvard Business School.
Phil Buchanan writes about the challenge of ensuring that the current efforts of the big foundations and philanthropists to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for poor kids don’t meet the same fate as failed efforts of the past.
In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op ed, Phil Buchanan, Fay Twersky, and Valerie Threlfall argue for listening to students to find out what’s really going on in schools.
David Trueblood reports on CEP’s visibility in coverage of the Gates Foundation 2010 annual report.
Kathy Merchant, president and CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, and Neil Steinberg, president and CEO of The Rhode Island Foundation, talk about using the Donor Perception Report to strengthen the work of their organizations.