Tag: Guest Author
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Is the Call to Give More Distracting Foundations From Giving Better?Neel Hajra CEO, Michigan Health Endowment Fund
I’ve appreciated seeing CEP’s leaders contribute thoughtful viewpoints in recent weeks on some of the burning topics facing our field. I’m thinking specifically about Phil Buchanan’s column about smart approaches […] The post Is the Call to Give More Distracting Foundations From Giving Better?Neel Hajra CEO, Michigan Health Endowment Fund appeared first on The Center…
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The Sector Is Still Burning – Here’s What We Know NowCarolina García Jayaram CEO, Elevate Prize Foundation
Two years ago, burnout in the nonprofit sector was a five-alarm fire — and it’s only spread and raged further since then. At the time, I wrote “A Call for […] The post The Sector Is Still Burning – Here’s What We Know NowCarolina García Jayaram CEO, Elevate Prize Foundation appeared first on The Center…
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What it Takes to Build Locally-Grounded Systems ChangeCamilo Andrés Morales Country Director for Colombia, Jacobs FoundationAna Cubillo Global Program Director, Jacobs Foundation
When it comes to effecting tangible improvements in local or regional systems, collaborations across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors are of paramount importance. That said, many in philanthropy will […] The post What it Takes to Build Locally-Grounded Systems ChangeCamilo Andrés Morales Country Director for Colombia, Jacobs FoundationAna Cubillo Global Program Director, Jacobs Foundation…
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Learning Is Not a Luxury: Bringing Learning Closer to Decisions and CommunitiesClare Nolan Co-Executive Director, Engage R+DYvonne Belanger Director of Learning and Evaluation, Barr FoundationSarah Stachowiak CEO and Owner, ORS Impact
In our previous post, we shared findings from Let’s Keep Learning, a research initiative led by Engage R+D and ORS Impact, with support from the Barr Foundation and others. In […] The post Learning Is Not a Luxury: Bringing Learning Closer to Decisions and CommunitiesClare Nolan Co-Executive Director, Engage R+DYvonne Belanger Director of Learning and…
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Funders Just Don’t Understand … Or Do They?Sarah Stachowiak CEO and Owner, ORS ImpactClare Nolan Co-Executive Director, Engage R+DYvonne Belanger Director of Learning and Evaluation, Barr Foundation
When we started the Let’s Keep Learning initiative in the spring of 2025, we had an initial hypothesis: philanthropic learning seemed to be declining during a volatile time when learning […] The post Funders Just Don’t Understand … Or Do They?Sarah Stachowiak CEO and Owner, ORS ImpactClare Nolan Co-Executive Director, Engage R+DYvonne Belanger Director of…
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To Strengthen Nonprofits, Fund Cost Clarity FirstThaddaeus Hubbard Principal, BSEG Advisory
CEP’s “State of Nonprofits 2026” confirms what many funders already sense: The sector is under severe strain. Burnout among nonprofit CEOs jumped to 46% this year, up from just under […] The post To Strengthen Nonprofits, Fund Cost Clarity FirstThaddaeus Hubbard Principal, BSEG Advisory appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto full post…
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What the Birthright Citizenship Decision Reveals About Philanthropy’s Path to Protect and Defend DemocracyAarti Kohli Executive Director, Asian Law CaucusElica Vafaie Program Director, Immigrant Rights, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
The Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Barbara decision upholding birthright citizenship is bittersweet. On one hand, it reaffirms a core tenet of our Constitution and reflects our longstanding commitment to being a welcoming and […] The post What the Birthright Citizenship Decision Reveals About Philanthropy’s Path to Protect and Defend DemocracyAarti Kohli Executive Director, Asian Law CaucusElica Vafaie Program Director,…
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A Floor, Not a Ceiling: What the Knicks’ Championship Asks of FoundationsBrian Byrd Founder, BiBYRD Consulting
As a lifelong New York Knicks fan, I watched last month’s run to the franchise’s first NBA championship in 53 years with a mix of disbelief and joy. But the […] The post A Floor, Not a Ceiling: What the Knicks’ Championship Asks of FoundationsBrian Byrd Founder, BiBYRD Consulting appeared first on The Center for…
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Navigating the Headwinds: Why Funders Should Lean Into Equity-Centered EvaluationMaryam Khojasteh Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson FoundationMiranda Yates Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson FoundationSonia Taddy-Sandino Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Engage R+DMichael Arnold Partner and Executive Director, Informing Change
The philanthropic sector is no stranger to headwinds, but the current storm is testing funders’ commitment to equity in ways we’ve never experienced before — and learning and evaluation is […] The post Navigating the Headwinds: Why Funders Should Lean Into Equity-Centered EvaluationMaryam Khojasteh Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson FoundationMiranda Yates Senior Program Officer,…
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Capability Scoring: A Model for Capital Allocation That Moves Beyond Capacity as the GoalDavid Bonbright Principal, Deep Fathom
Midy Aponte-Vargas has written one of the clearest statements of philanthropy’s core problem I’ve read this year. The operating-system framing is right. Capacity-as-deficit is right. The argument that more flexible […] The post Capability Scoring: A Model for Capital Allocation That Moves Beyond Capacity as the GoalDavid Bonbright Principal, Deep Fathom appeared first on The…
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When Is AI in the Public’s Interest? Four Questions Philanthropy Should Ask FirstBen Zeno Tracy McFerrin Founder and Principal, Credo Advisors
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), these are not merely interesting times. They are disorienting ones. The technology is evolving quickly, the claims around it are louder than the […] The post When Is AI in the Public’s Interest? Four Questions Philanthropy Should Ask FirstBen Zeno Tracy McFerrin Founder and Principal, Credo Advisors appeared…
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The Case for Funding Courage: Why Donors Who Embrace Risk Should Embrace Strategic LitigationNick Grono CEO, The Freedom Fund
In 2016, my Freedom Fund colleagues and I met with lawyers preparing to represent three Eritrean refugees in a case against Nevsun, a Canadian mining company. The men alleged they […] The post The Case for Funding Courage: Why Donors Who Embrace Risk Should Embrace Strategic LitigationNick Grono CEO, The Freedom Fund appeared first on…
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You Can’t Build Ecosystems on BurnoutLaura Hennighausen Director of Strategic Philanthropy, Purpose Possible
The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s annual State of Nonprofits report is out, and its findings were not a major surprise: nonprofit leaders are increasingly burned out at the exact moment […] The post You Can’t Build Ecosystems on BurnoutLaura Hennighausen Director of Strategic Philanthropy, Purpose Possible appeared first on The Center for Effective Philanthropy. Goto…
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Nonprofits Have Options: A Framework for Mission Continuity in a CrisisBrenda Falk Research Manager, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for PhilanthropyTory Martin Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy
The nonprofit sector has a complicated relationship with endings. Organizational survival is often treated as an unquestioned good: funders reward persistence, boards equate closure with failure, and leaders internalize institutional […] The post Nonprofits Have Options: A Framework for Mission Continuity in a CrisisBrenda Falk Research Manager, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for PhilanthropyTory Martin Director…
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What Funders Miss When They Treat Capacity as the GoalMidy Aponte-Vargas Founder and Chief Executive, Civil Strategies
The operating system philanthropy uses to define nonprofit strength no longer fits the conditions we are in. It rewards what funders can measure, mistakes legibility for credibility, treats community rooted […] The post What Funders Miss When They Treat Capacity as the GoalMidy Aponte-Vargas Founder and Chief Executive, Civil Strategies appeared first on The Center…
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Beyond Payout: What Is Charitable Capital Doing Right Now?Kirstin Hill President and Chief Operating Officer, Social Finance
Center for Effective Philanthropy President Phil Buchanan recently made a strong case for why foundations should increase their payouts. He does not think all foundations should spend down and has […] The post Beyond Payout: What Is Charitable Capital Doing Right Now?Kirstin Hill President and Chief Operating Officer, Social Finance appeared first on The Center…
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AI Is Reshaping the World — Foundations Must Revisit Their StrategyChantal Forster Independent AI Advisor, Warren West AdvisoryLakshmi Iyer Managing Director, FSG
AI is not just changing the way foundations work — it is changing the world that philanthropy is trying to change. In 2026, we believe that foundations must go beyond […] The post AI Is Reshaping the World — Foundations Must Revisit Their StrategyChantal Forster Independent AI Advisor, Warren West AdvisoryLakshmi Iyer Managing Director, FSG…
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As Fiscal Hosting Expands, What Philanthropy Should KnowPaula Castells Carrión Governance and Localization Consultant, Trust, Accountability, and Inclusion Collaborative
At its core, fiscal hosting refers to a model in which a nonprofit organization extends its legal and tax-exempt status to a project or initiative, enabling it to receive and […] The post As Fiscal Hosting Expands, What Philanthropy Should KnowPaula Castells Carrión Governance and Localization Consultant, Trust, Accountability, and Inclusion Collaborative appeared first on…
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When Federal Policy Retreats, Local Action Must LeadRip Rapson President and CEO, The Kresge FoundationShamar Bibbins Managing Director, Environment Program, The Kresge Foundation
When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced earlier this year that it was reversing the Endangerment Finding — the long-standing federal policy establishing that greenhouse gases pose a clear and present danger […] The post When Federal Policy Retreats, Local Action Must LeadRip Rapson President and CEO, The Kresge FoundationShamar Bibbins Managing Director, Environment Program, The Kresge…
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Philanthropy in Prose: Why Better Grantmaking Matters Now More Than EverDaniel Stid Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) has recently shared some sobering survey data in “State of Nonprofits 2026: What Funders Need to Know.” The proportion of nonprofit CEOs who report […] The post Philanthropy in Prose: Why Better Grantmaking Matters Now More Than EverDaniel Stid Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute appeared first on The Center…