CEP in the News
Keep up with the latest in CEP news.
Effective Matters: Nonprofit Needs — and Funder Responses — in a Shifting Context, March 2025
Nonprofit Needs — and Funder Responses — in a Shifting Context CEP’s recent report, "Challenging Times: How U.S. Nonprofit Leaders are Experiencing the Political Context,” is a rapid-response report based on a nationally representative survey of nonprofits. The report...
Effective Matters: Back to School Edition – August 2024
It’s back to school season, and whether or not you are preparing to send kids off to new grades or return to the classroom yourself, this time offers the opportunity to embrace a “back to school” mindset. We return from vacations and hazy, hot summer days and gather...
Effective Matters: AI and Philanthropy
Last year, in a post that kicked off a series on AI and philanthropy on the CEP blog, we asked, “What does ChatGPT Know About Philanthropy?” A year later, that question has been turned on its head; what we hear more often is some version of, “what does philanthropy...
Effective Matters: March 2024
New Research from CEP: Funding Nonprofit Endowments The CEP report sheds light on the prevalence of and approach to funding nonprofit endowments, finding that these types of grants represent a small slice of foundation giving. Fewer than a third of foundations fund...
Effective Matters: February 2024
New CEP Research Snapshot: Grantmakers Respond to the Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings Following the Supreme Court’s rulings in June 2023 against university admissions policies that take race directly into account, many feared that grantmakers would back away...
Effective Matters: January 2024
Watch Now: CEP2023 Plenary Recordings You can now watch CEP2023 plenary session recordings on CEP’s YouTube channel! Ranging from philanthropy’s role in strengthening democracy to the future of the global climate crisis, the effects of...
Effective Matters: December 2023
NEW CEP RESEARCH: The Emerging Impacts of MacKenzie Scott’s Giving MacKenzie Scott’s large, unrestricted gifts are having dramatically positive effects on recipient organizations and the communities they serve and have so far rarely resulted in the challenges or...
Effective Matters: Individual Giving Done Right
You’ve heard it before — giving is not like investing, it is not like business, and it is not as easy as is often assumed. Whether you are giving a few hundred dollars a year or allocating gifts in the millions, you will almost certainly find yourself...
Effective Matters: October 2023
CEP2023: Next Week! We’re excited to welcome those of you coming to CEP’s 2023 conference in Boston, beginning next Monday, October 30! It promises to be a packed three days of insight, learning, and connection. If you aren’t able to join us in person next week,...
Effective Matters: September 2023
CEP Announces Launch of New Learning Institute Drawing on rigorous research and decades of experience advising foundations, CEP’s new Learning Institute supports individuals and groups looking to improve their philanthropic practice and maximize their impact. Through...
Effective Matters: Evaluation + Trust
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) recently released two reports that delve into how nonprofits are faring right now and how their relationships with funders have shifted since 2020. Both reports address questions of trust and how foundations approach...
Effective Matters: July 2023
NEW CEP RESEARCH: Before and After 2020: How the Pandemic Changed Nonprofit Experiences with Funders Nonprofits are experiencing meaningful changes in the practices of funders since 2020, according to a new Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP)...
Effective Matters: June 2023
NEW CEP Research: State of Nonprofits 2023 Nonprofits across the U.S. report that they are experiencing an increase in trust from funders and positive changes in funder practice, while simultaneously noting that they are facing high levels of...
Effective Matters: May 2023
Early Bird Pricing on CEP’s Conference Ends Soon! Join us for the CEP conference this fall!When: Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2023Where: Omni Seaport Hotel in Boston Register by May 31st to benefit from an early bird discount on registration and ensure you reserve your spot at...
Effective Matters: Building Strong Leaders, Organizations, and Movements
This month’s special edition Effective Matters takes its cue from a recent piece authored by leading organizer and activist Maurice Mitchell: “Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Process in a Time of Crisis.” If you haven’t yet, we encourage you...
Effective Matters: March 2023
What’s on at CEP2023 CEP’s biennial national conference will be held this year at the Omni Seaport Hotel in Boston Oct. 30 - Nov. 1. As we draw closer to finalizing the agenda, we are excited to share more about two of our plenary speakers: Internationally renowned...
Effective Matters: January 2023
CEP2023 Conference Registration: Join Us This Fall in Boston This fall, hundreds of senior foundation leaders, program officers, trustees, and major donors will gather in Boston to connect with one another and engage with philanthropy’s most pressing issues. CEP also...
Effective Matters: November – December 2022
NEW CEP Research: Giving Big: The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Gifts on Nonprofits The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) has released the first report in a three-year, three-part study on the effects of MacKenzie Scott’s large, unrestricted gifts on the...
Effective Matters: October 2022
COMING SOON – Giving Big: The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Gifts on Nonprofits Look for the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s new research, out Nov. 15, on the impact of the large, unrestricted gifts that have made MacKenzie Scott’s approach to giving...
Effective Matters: Philanthropy’s Role in Policy Advocacy
As the 2022 midterms approach, election season campaigning and policy advocacy are in full swing. For funders, this can represent a moment of tension over whether to engage in advocacy work — and how to do so. Historically, philanthropy has had a significant influence...