Topic Archive
Developing Strategy
Lessons from a Risk Taken
April 25th, 2013
We hear a lot about “risk” in the social sector. We’re told that it’s a key function of philanthropy to provide risk capital. ...
This Revolution Will Be Improvised
April 10th, 2013
A few weeks ago, I had the great privilege of visiting London, including appointments with senior advisors to Number 10 Downing Street and the UK Cabinet. There, inside the wood-paneled room of Number 10, surrounded by paintings of icons and trophies of the past, the main message I heard was: We cannot do this alone. ...
Chasing Staff Satisfaction
March 20th, 2013
After reading our latest research report, Employee Empowerment: The Key to Foundation Staff Satisfaction, and discussing CEP’s own Staff Perception Report results from 2012, I found myself asking the question, “Can staff satisfaction ever be fully achieved?” I don’t mean this to suggest that the pursuit of staff satisfaction isn’t achievable or important. ...
Opportunity in Communities: Developing the Whole Picture
March 7th, 2013
Three years ago, Opportunity Nation brought together a coalition of over 250 nonprofits, businesses, educational institutions, faith-based groups, community organizations, and individuals with a ten-year goal of expanding economic opportunity and closing the opportunity gap in America. We kicked off our campaign with a listening tour, where we heard from hard-working young people who feared their zip code would affect their lives more than the their GPA. ...
Building Through Collective Experience
February 27th, 2013
Philanthropy tends to work on big problems, where the way forward isn’t necessarily clear and even the end point is up for debate. Given that ambiguity and the scope of work required to make meaningful progress, it can be hard to know where to start or how to keep yourself focused on moving forward. ...
Mission Driven Investing: Philanthropy’s Surprising Returns
February 20th, 2013
“We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. ...
When “Dependency” is Not a Bad Word
January 15th, 2013
I have a dependency problem. No, it’s not drugs or alcohol. ...
Measuring Our People: A Metrics-Based Approach to Talent Management
November 7th, 2012
Across the sectors—philanthropy, nonprofit, and for-profit—we’ve experienced a shift in how “people management” is defined. My profession, which was once described as “personnel,” changed into “human resources” and is now transitioning to “talent management. ...
It Takes Dedicated Funding to Do Leadership Development Right
October 18th, 2012
At the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, we believe strongly in the critical importance of unrestricted general operating support because it provides nonprofit leaders with the flexibility to direct spending toward strategic priorities facing their organizations. ...
Philanthropy’s Innovation Pile Up
October 4th, 2012
This piece was also posted on Impatient Optimists, where Jeff Raikes will be blogging regularly about challenges and opportunities facing the philanthropic community. At the Gates Foundation, we believe in the power of innovation to improve lives. ...
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...
