Author Archive
Hard Facts: Data Tells an Unexpected Story in Boston
December 12th, 2011
The city of Boston stands as a gleaming example of the renewed and widespread appreciation for urban living. Its charms, after all, are abundant, from 18th century Beacon Hill streets to dynamic and diverse SOWA, the “new” South End. ...
Podcast Interview Explores Findings in CEP’s Recent State of Foundation Performance Assessment Report
November 7th, 2011
A podcast interview with CEP President Phil Buchanan provides a timely take on the state of foundation assessment. The interview is conducted by Larry Blumenthal and Bill Silberg for Talking Philanthropy, a Foundation Center service. ...
Unexpected Examples of the Very Real Power of Data and Analysis
October 26th, 2011
To my surprise, baseball and Shakespeare have both recently underscored for me the importance of the mission and values of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, putting in to focus why I made the decision to join this organization. Not two elements I would expect to find sharing a Venn diagram, but the common theme has to do with the importance of data and the power of analysis. ...
The Power of Donor Feedback
September 28th, 2011
The conversation at the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) tends to move rapidly toward the subject of feedback. The assessment tools we provide to foundations make it possible to collect responses in areas relevant to foundation organization and practice from a wide range of constituent groups — grantees, local stakeholders and donors among them. ...
A CEP Advisory Board Member Weighs In
September 26th, 2011
Two weeks ago, CEP released a report about strategy at community foundations. Last Thursday, Ellie Buteau wrote a blog post about some responses we have received since the report’s release. ...
Two Personal Takes: Accountability and the Issue of Diversity
September 2nd, 2011
The Center for Effective Philanthropy has welcomed leaders from across the philanthropic sector over the past few years to speak with our staff. The result has been a conversation—sometimes provocative, always probing—about the state of the sector from different perspectives. ...
The Case for Looking at More Than Just Test Scores
August 10th, 2011
Phil Buchanan, Fay Twersky, and Valerie Threlfall highlight the work of the YouthTruth Initiative and argue the case for the importance of using student perceptions to gauge school performance. This piece originally appeared as an op ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on August 10. ...
Gates Annual Report Highlights CEP Role in Increasing Global Impact
August 5th, 2011
The power of CEP’s Grantee Perception Report (GPR) received a strong endorsement this week from Jeff Raikes, President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A widely published AP news story sparked by the giant foundation’s newly released annual report focused on the challenge of getting honest and useful feedback from grantees—and how effective CEP’s tools have been to that end. ...
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...
