The Center for Effective Philanthropy

CEP has identified managing operations as a key area for attention in its framework of overall foundation performance assessment. To assist foundation leaders in managing operations, CEP provides several assessment tools on a fee basis. In particular, the Operational Benchmarking Report, offered as part of the Grantee Perception Report^® and also as a stand-alone tool, provides foundations with comparative data on dimensions such as program officer caseload, administrative expenses relative to grantmaking budgets, and proportion of staff time devoted to grantmaking and other activities.

CEP’s case studies and reports on exemplary practices include the following:

Assessing Performance at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: A Case Study (2004)
Foundation Communications: The Grantee Perspective (2006)
“Luck of the Draw,” an article in the Spring 2007 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review, which explores how grantee experiences are affected by differences in the quality of program officers, even within a single foundation, and discusses how foundation leaders might best support improved program officer performance
A forthcoming case study on The David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s use of the Grantee Perception Report^® and development of Grantee Experience Standards
A forthcoming report on foundations’ provision of nonmonetary assistance to grantees

CEP is also actively collecting data on foundation staff perceptions and is planning to write a report sharing insights.

For more information on CEP’s research, contact Vice President – Research Lisa R. Jackson, PhD. For more information on CEP’s assessment tools, contact Vice President – Assessment Tools Kevin Bolduc.