Funders, make a plan to gather vital feedback on your work in 2026!
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From November 12-18, community foundations across the country united in celebrating the 25th annual Community Foundation Week, a time designed to recognize the vital impact that community foundations have in their local areas. And all year long, community...
Gathering, analyzing, and acting upon feedback are key priorities here at CEP. These are the values that have driven us to develop our assessment tools, publish research reports that draw on the voices of key foundation stakeholders, and devote our energy to helping...
I gotta say reading Hearing From Those We Seek to Help: Nonprofit Practices and Perspectives in Beneficiary Feedback really spoke to me, not just because of our work at Social Venture Partners, but because it resonated so strongly from my days at Nestle and Microsoft,...
What do people actually want?Are they getting it?If not, then what should we do differently? These are the three questions that should be at the center of any funder’s strategy and operations. Yet they are far from the radar screen of many funders and implementing...
At the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, our current work is focused on a long-term audacious goal to increase the rate of high school graduates who are ready for college and career from 50 to 80 percent by 2030. In terms of attribution, we can claim to have made a...
In the United States, Canada is perhaps best known for being a source of cold weather and red-coated policemen. But in the foundation field, we can paint a picture that is a little more nuanced. The foundation sector in Canada is small (certainly compared to south of...
Many years ago, a very accomplished friend who was much further along in his career was discussing with me his potential transition to a new role he was considering accepting. We were on a walk, and he said that he was leaning toward taking the new job. “I think I...
“Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.” ~ Pericles In a recent press conference, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the data on inflation was on the “high side.” Then, she emphasized her belief that the data is “noisy” and that inflation remains...
Critiques of philanthropists and foundations seem to be on the upswing. A few weeks ago, I wrote about this trend and quoted a thoughtful Atlantic piece by Benjamin Soskis that argued that such critique is both healthy and in keeping with a long history of public...
It is no secret that nonprofit organizations are facing increasing pressure to measure and assess their progress toward their goals. In our 2012 report on nonprofit performance assessment, CEP found that 81 percent of nonprofits say that understanding the progress...