Monthly Archive
January 2010Can Foundations Be Learning Organizations?
January 19th, 2010
Nobody dislikes learning, at least in the abstract. It ranks right up there with apple pie, baseball, and foundation partnerships – almost everyone is in favor of it. ...
Understanding the Complexities of Assessment
January 15th, 2010
In yet another excellent and thought-provoking post, Bob Hughes raises important concerns about a focus on quantitative metrics to the exclusion of qualitative assessment. All of us pushing for greater assessment must guard against the risks Bob outlines, and I wholeheartedly agree that “the heart of measurement is comparative assessment, and this doesn’t require quantitative analyses. ...
What Are the Limits of Quantitative Performance Measurement?
January 13th, 2010
CEP’s Essentials of Foundation Strategy concludes, “Assessment of results against strategies remains a significant challenge for foundations: staff struggle to determine the right data to collect and how to collect it.” This is an important finding, and explanations are well worth exploring. ...
Can Failure Be the Key to Foundation Effectiveness?
January 11th, 2010
Philanthropic failure – when there is clear evidence that a project, a program, a strategy or any combination of foundation investments designed to achieve a goal doesn’t work – is beginning to gain a critical mass of attention. From Annie E. ...
Why Haven’t Foundations Made More Progress in Becoming Strategic?
January 6th, 2010
Let me say up front that I am a big admirer of CEP. The field needs an independent voice devoted to the comparative assessment of philanthropic practice, and CEP has helped many foundations, including RWJF, improve over the last eight years. ...
2013 Conference
assessing performance
beneficiary feedback
beneficiary perceptions
communications
community foundations
comparative data
conferences
developing strategy
Donor Perception Report
economy
effective philanthropy
Essentials of Foundation Strategy
foundation effectiveness
foundation governance
foundation performance
foundation staff/program officers
foundation strategy
foundation transparency
funder/grantee relationships
funder effectiveness
giving strategy
goals
Grantee Perception Report
grantee perspectives
Grantee Voice
indicators
leadership
nonprofit sector
overall foundation performance assessment
performance assessment
performance measurement
philanthropy
role of philanthropy
social media
Staff Perception Report
stakeholder engagement
strategy implementation
youth
YouthTruth
Will What Was Said in Detroit Stay in Detroit?
While I unable to attend the conference, I was interested in this edition of your blog. As someone who has moved in and out of...
While I unable to attend the conference, I was interested in this edition of your blog. As someone who has moved in and out of...
Lessons from a Risk Taken
I really appreciate your willingness to share this and your assessment of what didn't work out as planned or anticipated. Thanks.
I really appreciate your willingness to share this and your assessment of what didn't work out as planned or anticipated. Thanks.
Lessons from a Risk Taken
Jon, thanks for the comment. If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that the cost in time and effort and dollars were all higher than...
Jon, thanks for the comment. If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that the cost in time and effort and dollars were all higher than...
Lessons from a Risk Taken
Thanks for sharing the lessons learned, and what I sense are second thoughts about the cost/benefit of the whole enterprise. I appreciate the thirst for...
Thanks for sharing the lessons learned, and what I sense are second thoughts about the cost/benefit of the whole enterprise. I appreciate the thirst for...
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
Great insight. Sometimes it's great to invest in multiple countries as security as the economy in one country might decrease and increase in another.
Great insight. Sometimes it's great to invest in multiple countries as security as the economy in one country might decrease and increase in another.
