Tag Archive
stakeholder engagement
Who Wants to Go to Detroit?
January 10th, 2013
I was surprised the first time I heard doubts about why we’re holding our 2013 National Conference in Detroit. When I pressed the person, who works in philanthropy, the skepticism seemed to miss the point. ...
Data Point: Getting Input When Developing Strategies
November 4th, 2011
Being “strategic” in philanthropy is sometimes equated with being isolated, arrogant, or top-down, with foundation leaders asserting detailed theories of change to rigidly guide grantmaking. But CEP’s research suggests that the opposite is the case. ...
Data Point: Stakeholders’ Understanding of Foundation Goals and Strategies
September 30th, 2011
The use and management of data stands at the core of the work undertaken by the Center for Effective Philanthropy. The set of survey tools CEP has developed as well as field-wide research builds comparative data drawn from key constituent groups—grantees, donors, staff members and others—providing insights that enable funders to better define, assess and improve their effectiveness. ...
Social Media, Foundations, and Grantees: What Works, What Doesn’t?
May 27th, 2011
This piece was originally posted on Beth’s Blog on May 12: This week I attended Center for Effective Philanthropy’s conference “Better Philanthropy: From Data to Impact” where I participated on a panel about social media, foundations, and grantees. Vincent Stehle moderated, and other panelists included Paula Goldman, Omidyar Network, Jacob Harold, Program Officer, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Travis Manzione, Director of Assessment Tools for CEP. ...
CEP Conference To Unveil New Research on Community Foundation Strategy
January 28th, 2011
At CEP, we know that community foundations face distinct challenges in developing and implementing strategy. What does it mean to be strategic in a community foundation context? ...
How Understanding Their Fields Helped Three Foundations Make Better Decisions and Avoid Costly Mistakes
December 16th, 2010
At CEP, we are always looking for ways that our data can help foundations forge stronger relationships with their grantees and become more effective in their work. Recently, our research showed that when a foundation’s staff exhibits a high level of expertise in the field in which it funds, that expertise usually results in stronger relationships with grantees. ...
“Open-Source Strategy” (Part 4): Foundation Strategy Development and the Perils of Isolation
October 27th, 2010
If adopting a stance of openness with stakeholders in strategy development processes makes sense for nonprofits, as I have argued, then it makes even more sense for foundations. No one is susceptible to isolation in quite the way foundations are: foundations, after all, are surrounded by those who are predisposed to tell them what they think they want to hear. ...
“Open-Source Strategy” (Part 1): Community Engagement and Building Take-Overs
October 20th, 2010
“Can you open-source your strategy?” That is the provocative headline of a short piece in the current Harvard Business Review co-authored by Barry Newstead, an executive at Wikimedia Foundation and former Bridegespan partner, and Laura Lanzerotti, a current Bridgespan manager. ...
Those Who Should Matter Most
July 12th, 2010
Are funders listening to those who should matter most? Are funders listening to those whose lives they seek to improve? ...
Report Watch: Engaging Stakeholders
July 7th, 2010
Do Nothing About Me Without Me: This is the title of a just-released, toughly worded, “action guide” that calls on funders to embrace “stakeholder engagement.” The report, released by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) in partnership with the Interaction Institute for Social Change, calls on funders to substantively engage stakeholders in their decision making, defining stakeholders in five categories: Internal stakeholdersGranteesGrantmaking peersLocal community membersThought leaders / experts I was pleased to see the emphasis on hearing from and listening to stakeholders. ...
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...
