CEP in the News

America’s nonprofits are being asked to do more with less, and the executives running them say the strain is causing massive burnout. 

Nonprofits are under siege as funding from government, foundations and donors dries up and policies target their missions—and as demand for services swells.

The country's nonprofit sector — organizations from food banks and homeless shelters to immigrant aid groups — is facing a crisis in the wake of federal funding cuts, advocates say.

Nonprofits say they face an existential crisis from funding cuts and other moves by the Trump administration. A new survey warns, some are in danger of folding altogether.

Craig Newmark's philanthropic strategy is shaped as much by what didn’t work as by what did — leading to an approach that favors scale, networks, and trusted intermediaries over scattershot giving.

The philanthropist known for donating to historically Black colleges and nonprofits working on climate change offered the news by updating an October blog post.

The nonprofit sector is adrift in a flat sea, with no wind, tattered sails, and gaping holes in the hull. We need a new source of momentum!

The financial contributions that billionaire MacKenzie Scott has made to more than 2,000 nonprofits over the past six years have proven to have a "transformational effect," a new study says.

– Big gifting. Over the past five years, MacKenzie Scott has given over $19 billion in unrestricted gifts to more than 2,000 organizations in her quest to spend down the billions she received as part of her divorce settlement from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. As I wrote...

Whether you’re an occasional donor, a charity or a big bucks philanthropist, this new podcast looks at how to make the most of what you give. 

Did you donate to charity in the past, but no longer do so?  If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. For the second year in a row, the philanthropy research foundation Giving USA reported that fewer Americans are donating to nonprofits than they...

You don’t hear so much about effective altruism now that one of its most famous exponents, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty of stealing $8 billion from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange. (This spring, at age 32, he was sentenced to 25 years in...

Is your foundation any good? I don’t mean: is it big, or does it give away a lot, or does it run an efficient process, or do the grantees achieve much. Rather, I mean: are you any good at being a foundation? Are you effective? Are you good at finding work that will...

Philanthropy’s constructive critics, financial activists, and virtually all nonprofits have long argued for a dramatic increase in unrestricted grantmaking. Yet grants untethered from funder restrictions and requirements remain relatively rare. As a result, funding is...

Elements of the charitable sector appear to be suffering from long COVID, which impacts those infected for months and even years. New data from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) shows executive and staff burnout top the list of issues. In a new...

For anyone hoping that burnout in the nonprofit sector was a pandemic-era phenomenon that would recede like mask-wearing and social distancing, the latest report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy offers little reason for hope. On the contrary, the center’s...

The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, triggered massive protests around the world against police violence and systemic racism. Those events, in turn, prompted a surge in pledges from corporations, foundations, and wealthy individuals to advance racial equity in...

Much about billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s giving remains a mystery, but those receiving grants from her recent open call for nonprofits do offer some insights, experts say. Scott’s grants, announced in March, largely fall in line with her usual themes —...

Grants to create or increase nonprofit endowments represent only a small portion of foundation giving, and the most likely recipients are arts organizations or direct services charities, according to a study released Tuesday. Nonprofits love endowments because of...

Billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday she is giving $640 million to 361 small nonprofits that responded to an open call for applications. Yield Giving’s first round of donations is more than double what Scott had initially pledged to...