Over the past decade foundations have worked to assess their performance in the fields and communities they seek to address. Data-driven forms of measurement have become more widely used to judge the results of programs, as part of a broader range of information used, as CEOs place great importance on assessing their foundations’ effectiveness.

Findings drawn from a survey of the CEOs of 173 U.S. foundations with annual grantmaking of at least $5 million focus on the current status of performance assessment among larger foundations.

This report was co-authored by Ellie Buteau, Ph.D. and Phil Buchanan.

September 2011