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4 Lessons from MacKenzie Scott’s Unconventional Approach

The Effects of Big Gifts: New CEP Research Report on MacKenzie Scott’s Giving

Big Changes and 7 Big Questions for Big Philanthropy

Philanthropy’s Role in a Better Future

Re-Purposing Foundation Boards

Two Years Later, Part Three: Observing Eight Traits of Effective Leaders

Two Years Later, Part Two: Who Trusted, and Why It Matters

Two Years Later, Part One: Nonprofit Heroism Up, Trust Down

Elevating the Conversation

5 Hopes for Philanthropy and Nonprofits

In Conversation: Phil Buchanan Interviews Dr. Beth Breeze, Author of “In Defence of Philanthropy”

Business Knows Best … or Not

Declining Giving Rates Should Catalyze the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Sectors

Giving Is Not Like Investing

CEP’s Definition of Philanthropic Effectiveness

Backlash: A Sharp Right Turn by a Philanthropy Membership Organization

Rethinking What Constitutes Impact

Re-Purposing Foundation Boards

Beyond the Usual Suspects: Supporting Community-Based Nonprofits in a Time of Crisis

Listening as the Path to Change

The Imperative of Foundation Board Diversity

Philanthropy’s Role in a Better Future

The Continued Need for Vastly Stepped-Up Giving — and the Role of DAFs

Race, Equity, and Unavoidable Challenges for Philanthropy

Mission First: Giving Counter-Cyclically

Supporting Our Unsung Heroes in a Moment of Crisis: Part 4

A Call to Funders to Increase Giving in an Unprecedented Time

Supporting Our Unsung Heroes in a Moment of Crisis: Part 3

Supporting Our Unsung Heroes in a Moment of Crisis: Part 2

Supporting Our Unsung Heroes in a Moment of Crisis: Part 1

Looking Back, Looking Forward Part 4: Hopes and Dreams

Looking Back, Looking Forward Part 3: Philanthropic Practice

Looking Back, Looking Forward Part 2: Big Questions

Looking Back, Looking Forward Part 1: Business Knows Best … or Not

From Lamenting to Learning

The Challenge of Nonprofit Leadership: Navigating a Perilous Moment

7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Foundation Boards

Thank You and Farewell to an Unsung CEP Star

Five Questions Every Foundation Board Should Be Discussing Right Now

Nonprofits and Philanthropy Need to Take Center Stage

Giving Done Right

Giving Is Not Like Investing

Putting Critiques in Perspective in Pursuit of More Effective Philanthropy

Seeking Input on CEP’s Revised Definition of Philanthropic Effectiveness

The Need for a Strong Voice for Institutional Philanthropy

Too Many Foundation Boards Are Failing at Diversity

Essential Responsibilities of Foundation Governance

On Perpetuity and Limited Life Foundations

Barbs, Jabs, and the Roles of Community Foundations

Life After Charlottesville: Choosing Our Paths

General Support and Myths about New Funders

Foundations React to Shifting Winds in Washington

Losing Our Religion: Against Sector Agnosticism

An Insider’s Guide to the CEP Conference

Influencing Philanthropic Practice Responsibly

Making a Conference Worth Attending

Foundation CEO Angst: Moral Imperatives and Insomnia

Policy Advocacy: Best Weapon in a Foundation’s Arsenal — or a Threat to Democracy?

Foundations and Policy: A Different Conversation

Learning History to Make History

The Big Issues: OK, So What Did I Miss?

Big Issue 5: A New Sophistication in Considering how to Support Nonprofits Effectively

Big Issue 4: The Embracing of — or Return to — Aligned Action

Investing in Infrastructure

Big Issue 3: Evolving Notions of Strategy and Measurement

Big Issue 2: Questioning the “Traditional” Approach to Endowment Management

Big Issue 1: Fundamental Questions about the Role of Philanthropy

Timeless Dimensions of Effectiveness

Slow, Steady, and Humble

Drawing Inspiration from What Has Worked

An Evolving Definition of Foundation Effectiveness

Four Questions about the Data on Foundation Boards

Confronting Overwork

7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Foundation Boards

Embracing Reality

Staff Quality Matters

What the Data Tells Us: You Need Staff to Do Certain Things Well

Staffing a Foundation for Impact

No One Model

It Takes Staff to Get to Know Nonprofits, Communities, and Fields

Are the New Big Foundations Lean or Just In the Process of Staffing Up?

Are Big Staffed Foundations Obsolete?

Is Maximizing Returns the Right Approach for Foundation Endowments?

Why Are Foundations Putting Small Dollars Toward Impact Investing?

Making History

A Misguided Call for “Reform”

New Data from CEP on Foundation Practices

How Do You Spend Your Time?

Making a Conference Worth Attending

A Moral Imperative

“Like a Business:” Toward a Deeper Discussion of “Overhead”

Hearing from Students: YouthTruth 3.0

A Foundation Success Story

A Real Job: New Report on Being a Foundation CEO

A Thank You to Someone Who Never Wanted the Spotlight

Legitimate Questions about Governance at a Foundation Deserve Answers

Critiques of Foundations, Learning from Success, and #GivingTuesday

Emerging Views of Emergent Strategy

Taking Aim

More Debate About Claims: An Update

Methodology Matters, Part 2: A Claim about Companies’ Role in Education in SSIR

Methodology Matters: HBR’s Weak Cover Story on Work vs. Life

Off to GEO 2014: Some Thoughts on Foundations – and Effectiveness – Today

A New Look and New Offerings

A Working Definition of Foundation Effectiveness

11 New Year’s Wishes

Looking Back at 2013: CEP’s Detroit Conference

Not Gettin’ It: Dispatch from After the Leap

Helping Grantees Assess and Improve

Looking Within for the Next Foundation CEO

Foundations Get Ready: There’s a #GivingTuesday Coming

Philanthropy End of Summer Beach Reading: Part 3

Philanthropy End of Summer Beach Reading: Part 2

Philanthropy End of Summer Beach Reading: Part 1

On Peter Buffett’s Op-Ed

Studying Philanthropy for Its Own Sake

Getting Clear About Overhead, Part 2: Questionable Fundraising Costs

Getting Clear About Overhead, Part 1

‘Strategy’ Is Not a Bad Word

Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?

Sifting Through the “Research”

Making Evaluation Matter

When “Dependency” is Not a Bad Word

From the Blog

View More Posts
January 26, 2023
2022 in Review: A Note of Thanks to Our Partners
Read More
January 24, 2023
The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Grants on Nonprofits: A Five-Year View
By: Kathleen Fleming, Anthony Michael Abril, and Jeff Bradach
Read More
January 19, 2023
Staffing for Success: What We Know about Staffing for Strong Funder-Grantee Relationships
By: Alice Mei
Read More
January 17, 2023
How Measuring Systems Change Can Open the Door to Transformative Impact
By: Nick Grono
Read More

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