Seven days into the second Trump administration, after a raft of executive orders including several targeting “DEI programs,” we published a piece I authored on this blog titled “In Defense […] The post Revisiting the DEI Debate: What We Can Learn From Corporate CapitulationPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy.…

More than a few philanthropy observers have suggested that foundations are now (or will soon become) a less significant segment of the landscape of U.S. philanthropy than they once were. […] The post Despite What You May Have Heard, Foundations Are More Relevant Than EverPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective…

A few years into my tenure as CEP’s president, when I was in my mid-30s, I made a confession to our board of directors in executive session. It was a […] The post On Not Knowing What I Am Doing: Leadership Lessons From a Tumultuous TimePhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for…

Institutional neutrality has been all the rage these past few years, but it is time to recognize that it is a fallacy. Let me start with some background. Since the […] The post Shifting Out of Neutral Phil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full post >>

When Grace Chiang Nicolette joined the Center for Effective Philanthropy in 2011, our staff numbered 32. Our audience was overwhelmingly foundations. Our media profile was relatively modest — and it […] The post A Fond Farewell to a Catalyst of CEP’s Growth and EvolutionPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy.…

It’s not necessarily the most popular take, but I am not afraid to admit it: I am a believer in long-time horizon — or perpetual — foundations. Like any category […] The post A Call for Higher Payout from a Believer in Perpetual FoundationsPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy.…

It’s a milestone birthday for us here at CEP, but I’ll be honest: we don’t really feel like celebrating. More on that later. Let’s start at the beginning. The Center […] The post Reflections on CEP’s 25th BirthdayPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full post >>

Advice on leadership is everywhere you turn but, unfortunately, a decent amount of it is not so helpful. Enter into this uneven genre a newly released report from McKinsey & […] The post McKinsey Report Misses Mark on Foundation LeadershipPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full post >>

The actions of federal agents in Minneapolis, and the federal government’s blatant lies about what occurred, have taken the crisis facing our country to another level. It doesn’t matter your […] The post Neutrality is Not Viable: Leaders Across Sectors Must Speak Out in Defense of Basic Rights Phil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The…

This is an edited version of comments Phil Buchanan made to the Maryland Philanthropy Network on September 17, 2025. These comments draw on some previously published material, including Phil’s blog […] The post A Message for Philanthropy in the 2025 Giving SeasonPhil Buchanan President, CEP appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full…

This is the third in a series of occasional chats among some of CEP’s staff we’ll be posting on the blog, in which they discuss current challenges for philanthropy and […] The post We Won’t Know Unless We Ask: In Conversation About Forthcoming CEP Research on the Current ContextElisha Smith-Arrillaga, Ph.D. Vice President, Research, CEPPhil…

This is the first in a series of occasional chats among some of CEP’s staff we’ll be posting on the blog, in which they discuss the current context for philanthropy […] The post In Conversation: About Those 100-and-Some Days appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full post >>

It’s clear that nonprofits are looking for more support from their foundation funders, in both words and deeds, as they grapple with a Trump administration that seems hell-bent on going […] The post A Wave Forming? Funders Taking Action in Response to a Challenging Context appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full…

I think it’s time for a shift away from the approach that some larger U.S. foundations and key infrastructure organizations have taken to operating in the second Trump administration. That […] The post It’s Time for a New Approach to the Current Context appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full post >>