The Center for Effective Philanthropy


The Center for Effective Philanthropy is a nonprofit organization focused on the development of comparative data to enable higher-performing philanthropic funders.
CEP's mission is to provide data so that philanthropic funders can improve their effectiveness. CEP believes that the improved effectiveness of philanthropic funders can have a positive impact on nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve.
CEP pursues its mission through data collection that fuels:
  • Research that looks into questions facing funders and their leaders. Drawing from comparative data, its objective is to provide funders with insights that they can apply to their work.
  • Assessment Tools that are rooted in research and allow individual funders to gauge their performance. CEP offers tools that provide data for foundation leaders to optimize their organization's performance.
  • Programming and Communications feeding CEP efforts to build leaders who can maximize the impact of philanthropic institutions.
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History

CEP received initial funding in 2001, produced its first publication in 2002, and conducted its first Grantee Perception Reports and Applicant Perception Reports in 2003. Since then, CEP has produced 34 research reports on foundation performance assessment, foundation strategy, foundation governance, and foundation-grantee relationships. More than 285 foundations, most of the largest in the United States, have used CEP's assessment tools, and many have implemented significant changes on the basis of what they have learned.
CEP has created data sets relevant to foundation leaders, surveying foundations' staffs, boards, grantees, stakeholders, donors, and even beneficiaries and applicants. CEP hosts programming focused on issues related to funder effectiveness.
CEP's work was reported on in a 2004 article in The New York Times, "Charities Surprise Donor Foundations with Bluntness" and The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiled CEP in their 2005 article "Giving Charities a Voice". In June 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy highlighted CEP's work with the Gates Foundation developing a survey for students attending Gates-funded high schools
CEP has a staff of 36 and has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, and San Francisco, California, United States.

Research

CEP's research projects delve into issues of funder effectiveness, examining common practice, and challenging conventional wisdom.

Publications

Foundation Transparency: What Nonprofits Want Employee Empowerment: The Key to Foundation Staff Satisfaction Room for Improvement: Foundations' Support of Nonprofit Performance Assessment Grantees' Limited Engagement With Foundations' Social Media The State of Foundation Performance Assessment: A Survey of Foundation CEOs Rhetoric versus Reality: A Strategic Disconnect at Community Foundations Can Feedback Fuel Change at Foundations? Grantees Report Back: Helpful Reporting and Evaluation Processes Lessons from the Field: From Understanding to Impact A Time of Need Working with Grantees: The Keys to Success and Five Program Officers Who Exemplify Them Essentials of Foundation Strategy The Stuart Foundation Striving for Transformative Change Aligning for Impact: Connecting the Dots – Insights from a Gathering of Foundation Executives and Trustees Becoming Strategic: The Evolution of the Flinn Foundation More Than Money: Making a Difference with Assistance Beyond the Grant Aiming for Excellence at the Wallace Foundation Improving the Grantee Experience at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Beyond the Rhetoric: Foundation Strategy Assessment to Action: A Report on a Gathering of Foundation CEOs, Trustees, and Senior Executives CEP at 5: Comparative Data Enabling Higher-Performing Foundations In Search of Impact: Practices and Perceptions in Foundations' Provision of Program and Operating Grants to Nonprofits Foundation Communications: The Grantee Perspective Beyond Compliance: The Trustee Viewpoint on Effective Foundation Governance Higher Impact: Improving Foundation Performance: Insights from a Gathering of Foundation CEOs, Trustees, and Senior Executives Turning the Table on Assessment: The Grantee Perception Report Listening to Grantees: What Nonprofits Value in Their Foundation Funders Assessing Performance at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Foundation Governance: The CEO Viewpoint Foundation Effectiveness: A Report on a Meeting of Foundation CEOs, Senior Executives, and Trustees Lessons Learned From a Gathering of Foundation Leaders Indicators of Effectiveness: Understanding and Improving Foundation Performance
  • ''Toward a Common Language: Listening to Foundation CEOs and Other Experts Talk About Performance Measurement in Philanthropy''