 Presentations
by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
and MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton on the role
of strategy in achieving foundation impact are described in
a new CEP report encapsulating its March 2007 conference, "Assessment
to Action: Creating Change." Says CEP President Phil Buchanan,
"The key insights documented in this report span a wide
range of important issues: the role of strategy and performance
assessment, board functioning and the dynamics of race in the
boardroom, and the challenge of inspiring — and leading
— change."
More than 225 foundation CEOs, trustees, and
senior executives gathered in Chicago for sessions featuring
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor at Harvard
Business School; Spelman College President Beverly Tatum; and
former Atlantic Philanthropies President and CEO John R. Healy,
among others. The report's 11 articles on conference sessions
include a description of Healy's presentation on the Atlantic
Philanthropies' decision to spend itself out of existence by
2020. "Deciding that your life is limited to less than
two decades really concentrates the mind," Healy told conference
attendees. "It instills in the organization and everyone
who works there a tremendous sense of urgency."
To obtain a copy of the conference publication,
click
here.
To help their dollars pack a more powerful
punch, many foundations supplement checks to grantees with assistance
designed to increase their organizational effectiveness.
With focus on nonprofit organizational capacity
building increasing, many foundations are using multiple means,
both monetary and non-monetary, to achieve impact goals. The
support covers a range of activities, from assisting nonprofits
with information technology, publicity, or professional development
to loaning grantees foundation facilities for meetings.
To date, little systematic data has been developed
about the types of additional assistance foundations are offering,
what kinds of assistance grantees need and value, and what types
of assistance beyond the grant check do or do not lead to increased
foundation impact. To help fill this void, CEP has launched
a research study based on data garnered from grantees and foundations.
According to Ellie Buteau, PhD, CEP's senior research officer,
"CEP is in a prime position to lend data-based guidance
in this area. Our goal is to provide foundations with information
that will help them maximize their impact with assistance beyond
the grant check."
CEP has gathered data on this topic through
surveys completed by tens of thousands of grantees. The survey
gathers quantitative and qualitative data about assistance beyond
the grant check, and asks grantees to describe their experiences
with and perceptions of their foundation funders. "By comparing
foundation ratings for grantees that did receive assistance
beyond the grant check with the ratings of those that did not,
we can see the perceived impact of such assistance," says
Buteau, who is leading the project.
The research pinpoints those activities that
can be categorized as assistance beyond the grant check. "Our
analysis identifies 14 different types, and we are trying to
understand whether there are patterns of assistance that are
provided together," says Buteau. For example, one such
pattern might occur within field-related assistance activities,
such as introductions to other leaders in the field, keeping
a grantee abreast of research and practices in the field, providing
forums and seminars, and facilitating collaboration.
Once the grantee data has been examined, CEP
researchers will then interview foundation staff and grantees,
exploring ways to translate these findings into concrete steps
for foundations. "We are hoping to provide practical, data-based
advice and implications that foundations can act on," says
Buteau.
 How
do foundations maximize their impact? What is the role of strategy?
Is your foundation strategic? Are you? These are among the questions
that will be discussed in a special presentation of CEP's new
research findings on foundation strategy.
CEP President Phil Buchanan and Vice President
– Assessment Tools Kevin Bolduc will share results from
this groundbreaking research and highlight practical implications
for CEOs, trustees, and program staff. Research findings, documented
in the forthcoming report, Beyond the Rhetoric: Foundation
Strategy, reveal how foundation CEOs and program officers
view strategy — and the extent to which strategy guides
their decision making as they seek to achieve their impact goals.
The presentation of these findings will provide
an opportunity to ask questions, reflect on your approach to
philanthropy, and network with colleagues. The event also celebrates
the release of the report.
Please join us:
October 10, 2007
4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Cocktail reception to follow from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
The Hotel Monaco, Vienna Room
501 Geary Street, San Francisco
Space is limited. RSVP to Melissa Haskin by
Monday, September 24 via email
or call (617) 492-0800 ext. 205.
Those who are unable
to attend the live presentation won't miss out — a video
recording will be posted on CEP's Web site.
 Like
the foundations that use its tools, CEP values honest feedback
from its constituents. In 2005, CEP commissioned LaFrance Associates
LLC (LFA) to survey every foundation that obtains a Grantee
Perception Report® (GPR) one year after receiving
its results. LFA then compiles the data into a yearly report
for CEP.
"The report not only helps us understand
what changes foundations are making in response to their GPR
results, it motivates us to continue strengthening the GPR process,"
says Kevin Bolduc, CEP's vice president – assessment tools.
LFA's most recent report reveals that one hundred
percent of foundations that received a GPR in the past year
are making changes on the basis of what they learned. GPR results
have spurred foundations to improve in areas such as programmatic
strategy, grantmaking processes, and communications with grantees.
"These results show that the grantee voice can be powerful
in helping foundations change and improve their performance,"
says Bolduc.
The report indicates that the GPR facilitates
important discussions within respondents' foundations. It also
shows that foundation leaders find that CEP staff presentations
of GPR results provide useful examples of change and help spur
constructive thinking about the results.
Rating the GPR on a 1–7 scale, nine out
of ten foundations using the tool indicate it is more useful
than other processes they have undertaken to assess overall
foundation effectiveness. Nine out of ten subscribers also consider
the GPR very valuable relative to its cost, with close to half
rating it an "excellent value."
The LFA report also identifies areas for development.
One of the most common suggestions is to make the GPR easier
to interpret without CEP support. According to CEP President
Phil Buchanan, "We strive to make our work as useful as
possible for foundations. We are gratified that GPR users continue
to express high levels of satisfaction with the process and
the perception that the GPR is an excellent value. At the same
time, we always are working to make the report more user-friendly
and to increase the GPR's ability to stimulate positive change
in foundations' work."
To read the report, click
here (pdf).
In an August 14 guest column in the Seattle Times,
"Private Foundations: Spotlight Spurs Sharper Focus, Less
Secrecy," CEP President Phil Buchanan describes the unique
freedoms foundations enjoy as their greatest strength. "This
lack of fetters enables foundations to tackle social problems
that other societal actors ignore — whether due to a lack
of profit incentive or political will," writes Buchanan.
"But, as is often
the case, the virtue is also the vice," Buchanan continues.
"Their freedom means that ineffective foundations don't
go out of business, and inept foundation leaders sometimes enjoy
long tenures while accomplishing little."
Fortunately, according to Buchanan, an increasing
number of foundation leaders are embracing focused strategies,
assessing their foundation's work, soliciting critiques from
outsiders, and exploring new ways to achieve impact.
Buchanan argues that increased media and public
attention to foundations' work — fueled in part by the
announcement of Warren Buffett's gift to the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation in the summer of 2006 — is a positive.
"The spotlight, after all, is as healthy for foundations
as it is for actors and singers. It brings out the best performances.
Given the environmental and societal challenges we face, we
can't afford anything less."
To read the full piece, click
here.
CEP continues to be recognized by trade and
national media for its expertise on foundation effectiveness.
CEP President Phil Buchanan was quoted in recent months in a
New York Times article on foundation failures, a Seattle
Times profile of Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist
Paul Allen, and a Boston Magazine article on the philanthropy
of technology entrepreneurs.
Buchanan was also named one of the 50 most
influential nonprofit leaders in the country by The Nonprofit
Times; he was the only nonprofit leader chosen from Massachusetts.
To read these articles in their entirety, and for a full list
of articles about CEP, click
here.
Effective Matters is a quarterly newsletter
published by the Center
for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), a nonprofit organization
focused on the development of comparative data to enable higher-performing
foundations. CEP's mission is to provide management and governance
tools to define, assess, and improve overall foundation performance.
If you have questions about this newsletter
or would like general information about CEP and its activities,
please contact Alyse
d'Amico at 617-492-0800 ext. 206.
Permission to use, copy, and/or distribute
this document in whole or in part for noncommercial purposes
without fee is hereby granted, provided that this notice and
appropriate credit to the Center for Effective Philanthropy
is included in all copies. |
