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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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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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CEO Reflections on the Future of Foundation Philanthropy
CEO Reflections on the Future of Foundation Philanthropy

This collection of essays shares reflections from eight foundation CEOs in response to the findings of CEP’s 2016 research report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy. These thoughtful reflections are from leaders of foundations ranging in size, scope, and mission,...

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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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Benchmarking Foundation Evaluation Practices
Benchmarking Foundation Evaluation Practices

For foundations, there are lots of questions to reflect on when thinking about which evaluation practices best align with their strategy, culture, and mission. How much should a foundation invest in evaluation? What can they do to ensure that the information they receive from evaluation is useful to them? With whom should they share what they have learned?

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Big Issues, Many Questions

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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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Benchmarking Foundation Governance
Benchmarking Foundation Governance

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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Employee Empowerment: The Key to Foundation Staff Satisfaction
Employee Empowerment: The Key to Foundation Staff Satisfaction

This report is based on survey responses from 1,168 staff members at 31 foundations. The surveys were conducted from 2007 to 2011 as part of CEP’s Staff Perception Report (SPR), which analyzes feedback from foundation staff about their work experiences and views of the foundation’s overall operations.

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The State of Foundation Performance Assessment: A Survey of Foundation CEOs
The State of Foundation Performance Assessment: A Survey of Foundation CEOs

Over the past decade foundations have worked to assess their performance in the fields and communities they seek to address. Data-driven forms of measurement have become more widely used to judge the results of programs, as part of a broader range of information used, as CEOs place great importance on assessing their foundations’ effectiveness.

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Can Feedback Fuel Change at Foundations?
Can Feedback Fuel Change at Foundations?

When foundations make a commitment to getting consistent feedback from their grantees that is candid and comparative, they can make substantive changes that result in different—and better—grantee experiences.

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