Philanthropedia Custom Research

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Philanthropedia, a division of GuideStar, has developed an expert crowd-sourcing methodology to identify strong nonprofit organizations by assessing their impact—a vital dimension of nonprofit effectiveness. More and more donors are demanding in-depth information to make informed giving decisions. Philanthropedia Custom Research is a great resource you can use to help make those decisions, or share with donors in your community.

By leveraging the expertise of professionals (foundation directors and program officers, academics, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, government officials, and more), Philanthropedia produces high-quality research that you and your community can trust. Your organization can commission rigorous research in two-five social causes that are important to your community. For each cause, Philanthropedia identifies the 10-20 nonprofits that are having the most impact and provides detailed information about the effect each nonprofit is having, why it's so strong organizationally, and how it could further improve.

What sets Philanthropedia Custom Research apart?

Hundreds of experts are surveyed to identify nonprofits that are having the most impact in your community.
This research provides detailed analyses of the responses of professionals from various sectors.
All recommendations are based on the impact nonprofits have had, not on financial ratios.
This research is able to highlight start-up or new, promising organizations in your community as well as older, more established nonprofits.
This research captures something that is often difficult if not impossible to find: areas for improvement for each recommended nonprofit.

Examples of Custom Research

Minnesota Environment: 18 high-impact nonprofits were recommended by 178 local experts. Minnesota Philanthropy Partners shared these results in this report.

Minnesota Workforce Development: 18 high-impact nonprofits were recommended by 100 local experts. Minnesota Philanthropy Partners shared these results in this report.

Philanthropedia Custom Research at a Glance

What: High-quality, rigorous research that identifies high-impact nonprofits in your community focusing on the issues you care about

Who should purchase: Community foundations, family foundations, nonprofit organizations or consortium groups, academic/research institutions or think tanks – anyone or any group interested in learning about the nonprofits in their area

Why: To offer in-depth insight into high-impact nonprofits and direct more support to these nonprofits.

How: Using Philanthropedia’s proprietary crowd-sourcing methodology, this research harnesses expert assessments to discover high-impact nonprofits

Cost: Contact us for pricing and details

Minnesotans are generous people and they seek information to help them make smart decisions about which nonprofits to support. Philanthropedia’s customized research gathers and analyzes experts’ opinions about nonprofits in Minnesota, giving donors the opportunity to support their favorite causes with greater confidence that their funds are having a positive impact.
—Carleen Rhodes, President and CEO, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners