September 10, 2001

For Immediate Release

CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY ANNOUNCES ADVISORY BOARD; PILOT STUDY TO DISCUSS MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE FOR FOUNDATIONS

Boston, MA: The Center for Effective Philanthropy has announced the formation of an Advisory Board of major foundation leaders. The Board will advise the Center on its Foundation Performance Metrics Pilot Study, which seeks to develop broad measures of foundation performance that will assist foundation executives and trustees in making decisions about strategic and operational issues.

"We aim to stimulate dialogue and demonstrate that it is, in fact, possible - and useful - to measure foundation performance," said the Center's Co-Founder and Chairman, Mark Kramer. "We are delighted to have assembled such an accomplished group of foundation leaders to advise us as we undertake the study."

The Advisory Board consists of major foundation leaders, including

  • Mike Bailin, President, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
  • Paul Brest, President, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
  • Dennis Collins, CEO, James Irvine Foundation
  • Alexa Culwell, CEO, Charles and Helen Schwab
  • Foundation Jonathan Fanton, President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • Joel Fleishman, President, The Atlantic Philanthropies
  • Ira Hirschfield, President, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund/ Chairman, F.B. Heron Foundation
  • Barbara Kibbe, Director of Organizational Effectiveness, David & Lucile Packard Foundation
  • Rebecca Rimel, President & CEO, Pew Charitable Trusts
  • Ed Skloot, Executive Director, Surdna Foundation
  • Lou Smith, President & CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
  • Mark Smith, President, California HealthCare Foundation
  • Page Snow, Chief Officer, Institutional Planning, Pew Charitable Trusts
  • Vince Stehle, Program Director, Surdna Foundation
"We greatly look forward to working with this distinguished group of foundation leaders as we undertake the difficult task of defining performance measures for the field," said Center co-founder Michael Porter, Bishop Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School and a leading international authority on strategy. "The goal is to provide foundation leaders and trustees with better tools by which to evaluate and improve performance, so that philanthropic dollars can achieve maximum social impact."

Members represent a range of foundations, including five of the 50 largest and eight of the 100 largest by total giving. Funding for the Pilot Study has been provided by The Atlantic Philanthropies, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.


ABOUT THE CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY

The Center for Effective Philanthropy is a nonprofit research and educational organization formed to help charitable foundations, corporations, and individual donors become more strategic and effective. It was founded by Mark Kramer, a foundation expert, and Michael Porter, the Bishop Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School and a leading international authority on strategy.


FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT

Phil Buchanan, Executive Director, at (617) 492-0800 x203 or philb@effectivephilanthropy.org

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