Assessing Performance

CEP has explored the issue of overall foundation performance assessment, researching current practice and opportunities for new methods of assessment, as well as the inherent challenges funders take on when trying to understand their impact.

Indicators of Effectiveness: Understanding and Improving Foundation Performance (2002) contains a framework for assessing performance.
 
Use this worksheet to develop your own set of indicators.


All resouces on assessing performance are available in the Content Library. The full list includes our case studies on the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and The Wallace Foundation, which highlight how foundations assess and track their performance.

Our research also informs development of our assessment tools. CEP’s tools give individual funders comparative data drawn from key groups that are often not in the position to provide candid feedback. Funders that use these tools are able to gauge their performance relative to peer foundations on a range of crucial dimensions.

Some Questions Our Research Can Help You Answer

How do you track your foundation’s performance?

Learn how the following foundations track their performance:

What are the impediments program officers and CEOs face in assessing performance?

Program officers cite technical challenges, lack of resources and support, and lack of grantee capacity. CEOs are looking for more help from their boards. Learn more in an excerpt of Essentials of Foundation Strategy.