Monthly Archive
September 2012
A New Phase for Nonprofit Performance Measurement
September 27th, 2012
The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s (CEP) Room for Improvement report is a very welcome addition to research on how nonprofits (or charities in the UK) can get better at assessing their own performance. This subject can generate a lot of sound and fury, and it is refreshing to see a well-researched study that raises some important questions and provides some useful qualitative and quantitative answers. ...
Five Hurdles to Nonprofit Performance Assessment
September 25th, 2012
At BELL, we recognize that our ability to measure performance has a direct impact on our scholars, our educators, our programs, and ultimately, our organizational sustainability. The ability to illustrate how and why programs work is a prerequisite to achievement of any nonprofit’s mission. ...
Recasting the Relationship Between Foundations and Nonprofits
September 20th, 2012
In their well-done report, Room for Improvement: Foundations’ Support of Nonprofit Performance Assessment, authors Brock, Buteau, and Herring lay out a vexing tension that exists between foundations and their nonprofit grantees. Their survey demonstrates that nonprofit leaders are hungry for more financial and technical assistance to drive the quality of ongoing performance assessment, while the vast majority of nonprofits receive no foundation support to establish and/or improve our assessment efforts. ...
A Wake-Up Call for Funders: Effectiveness Requires More Support for Grantees’ Assessment Efforts
September 18th, 2012
Room for Improvement is a wake-up call for foundations that seek to promote effectiveness in the nonprofit sector. Based on survey data reported by foundation grantees, it clearly documents what we and others have found: that most nonprofits desire to measure their performance, many are already engaged in trying to do so, and they desperately need resources to do it well. ...
A Crucial Missing Link: Where’s the Foundation Support for Nonprofit Assessment Efforts?
September 13th, 2012
Earlier in my career, I consulted for a number of nonprofit organizations, helping them think about how they could collect, analyze, and interpret data. What struck me at almost every one of these nonprofits was the lack of resources and knowledge they had to work with data. ...
Learning From Failure: The Genius of Little Bets
September 7th, 2012
Let’s say your new job is to help give away money in order to solve complex problems such as climate change or poverty. To protect biodiversity in the Rockies. ...
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/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
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.
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
Great questions. It is likely still too early to get a handle on whether the (potential) results reflect the hype meaningfully. However, I will be...
Great questions. It is likely still too early to get a handle on whether the (potential) results reflect the hype meaningfully. However, I will be...
