Center For Effective Philanthropy Inc

At the center of CEP's strategy to help funders become more effective is the creation and analysis of data, primarily comparative data, which CEP believes will help them clarify goals, refine strategies, improve implementation, and assess performance. CEP gathers comparative data through surveys of constituent groups of foundations—including grantees, staff members, and donors - as well as qualitative research. Findings drawn from CEP's work are provided to funders using CEP's survey-based assessment tools. <br/><br/>In addition, broadly relevant findings are shared through reports, white papers, webinars, presentations, conferences, media (both mainstream and sector-specific), blog postings, and social media outlets. This information is augmented with research separate from constituent surveys that collects information from foundation leaders. Raising awareness of CEP's work and findings informs conversations about philanthropic effectiveness inside and outside the sector. A critical part of CEP's strategy is to create and maintain a reputation for rigorous credibility and trustworthiness, so that the research findings published by the organization can have maximum impact on the philanthropic sector and the issues and causes foundations seek to affect. <br/><br/>Findings derived from CEP's work have been amplified by a commitment to programming, including presentations, forums, and webinars, as well as a biennial conference that gathers leaders from foundations for a broadly inclusive conversation about the state of research and issues related to foundation effectiveness. CEP's research and knowledge base also informs its advisory services, which help specific funders to overcome key challenges on their path to effectiveness. CEP also pursues its mission through the development of partnerships with other institutions and organizations that are similarly dedicated to making funders more effective.

CEP's ability to advance its strategy is supported in three principal ways: The growing amount of comparative data accrued over more than 15 years through CEP's efforts, which creates a solid foundation for research and analysis. A respected staff with a track record of accomplishment and a highly engaged board of directors that includes leaders in the sector design and drive the work of the organization. The growing list of nearly 300 assessment tool subscribers representing a diverse group of foundations nationally and abroad as well as a committed group of nearly 50 grant funders that provide the necessary funding to support CEP's research, newly developed assessment tools, and general operations. CEP has articulated its work culture in ways that speak to the organization's ability to realize its strategies. In 2016, a cross-organizational task force at CEP, with input from full stuff, crafted a working document articulating CEP's culture. Read the entire document here: http://effectivephilanthropy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/CEP-Culture-Document-2017.pdf

CEP routinely monitors and reports to its Board about progress on a set of performance indicators that we believe connect to our ultimate impact. These indicators include the number and effect of assessment tools used, downloads of research reports, and media hits. CEP also reports on information garnered from independent surveys about changes made by foundations that use our research and our tools. CEP shares its goals - and progress against these goals - on its website at www.cep.org. To evaluate CEP's impact, it seeks answers through a mixture of its own studies and third-party assessments of these key assessment questions: To what extent has CEP's work with funders contributed to them exemplifying the characteristics we believe to be essential to effectiveness? To what extent are grantees consequently having a different experience? To what extent are funders that exemplify these characteristics able to more persuasively demonstrate their impact? Just as CEP urges foundations to rigorously assess their performance, board, and staff, we believe the organization must hold a mirror up to its own. To date, CEP has seen powerful and positive signs of change. But more evidence, rigorously collected, is needed over time. CEP is committed to seeking out that evidence in the months and years ahead.

As a result of CEP's own analyses and the work that has been commissioned from LFA Group, CEP has arrived at a number of conclusions about the organization's influence to date. Evidence suggests that foundations that use CEP's tools are changing in ways that are consistent with CEP's logic model. But there is much left for CEP to do to help foundations to achieve their fullest potential. CEP has built a significant record of work with foundations that began with the 100 largest US private and community foundations and has expanded in 10 years to include foundations of widely disparate sizes and types, as well as individual donors. Foundations in England, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, and Israel have also used CEP assessment tools. Not all major foundations have made use of CEP assessment tools, and not all foundations that use CEP tools repeat them with a frequency that would maximize their impact—two areas of potential growth where CEP sees important opportunity. CEP has published important research on topics central to foundation effectiveness on topics including foundation-grantee relationships, foundation strategy, and foundation governance, which is considered "required reading" by foundation staff. CEP has the potential to uncover additional groundbreaking insights by analyzing newer comparative datasets that have not yet been analyzed. Highest priorities are beneficiary data and connections in perceptions between a foundation's staff and its grantees, which CEP recently began to analyze. CEP's programming, from conferences to regional speaking engagements to webinars, seeks to respond to the human challenges of moving from data to action. By building a community of foundation leaders committed to working on these issues, CEP creates a positive force that offsets the fear that may inhibit the embrace of goals, strategies, implementation, and indicators. Our audience tells us that they value the opportunity to learn from their colleagues - as well as to seek support as they confront particularly difficult challenges. In addition, CEP has committed itself to creating a community specifically for assessment tool subscribers that can promote the use of findings and insights and increase the impact of the tools and the culture of assessment. Some preliminary steps have been taken in this direction, but the idea of a fully engaged community is an additional challenge and opportunity for CEP.