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Resource Library

Browse helpful resources for funders, including evidence-based reports, profiles of funders making change, case studies, and blog series.

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Policy Influence: What Foundations are Doing and Why
Policy Influence: What Foundations are Doing and Why

Foundations’ engagement in public policy has contributed to advances in society in areas from civil rights to consumer protections to public health. At the same time, and with greater intensity in recent years, the role of philanthropy in influencing policy has been...

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Donors: 5 Things Nonprofits Want You to Know
Donors: 5 Things Nonprofits Want You to Know

Nonprofit leaders have specific ideas for how donors can best support them to do their most effective work, but the power imbalance means important things are often left unsaid. What do nonprofits want their donors to know that they may not be telling them directly?...

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A Date Certain: Lessons from Limited Life Foundations
A Date Certain: Lessons from Limited Life Foundations

The limited life approach in philanthropy has received increased attention in recent years. But across foundations, perpetuity is often still seen to be the default, and there is considerable uncertainty about the practice of spending down. To learn more about limited...

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The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective
The Future of Foundation Philanthropy: The CEO Perspective

At a time of growing concern over issues like inequality and access to education, increasing anxiety about climate change, and rising levels of distrust in institutions, foundation leaders are considering their role in addressing society’s challenges. When they look...

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Sharing What Matters: Foundation Transparency
Sharing What Matters: Foundation Transparency

On a typical foundation board, what are its members’ most common areas of expertise? How common is it for an original donor — or a family member — to sit on a board? To what extent are board members involved in grantmaking?

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Investing and Social Impact: Practices of Private Foundations
Investing and Social Impact: Practices of Private Foundations

There’s been a lot of discussion about aligning investment practices and mission at foundations, but to what extent are foundations engaging in practices like impact investing and negative screening? To dig beneath the talk and better understand the current state of practice at large private foundations, CEP surveyed CEOs at those foundations to learn more. Analysis of responses from 64 chief executives suggests that the rhetoric seems to be outpacing the reality.

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