The Center for Effective Philanthropy
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 | |
| Formation | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit research institute |
| 04-3523528 | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 42°13′21″N 71°03′50″W / 42.2225°N 71.0638°W |
Key people | Phil Buchanan President |
| Website | cep.org |
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) 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.[1]
- 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.[2]
- Programming and Communications feeding CEP efforts to build leaders who can maximize the impact of philanthropic institutions.[3]
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.[4] Since then, CEP has produced 34 research reports[5] 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.[6]
CEP has created data sets relevant to foundation leaders, surveying foundations' staffs,[7] boards, grantees, stakeholders, donors, and even beneficiaries and applicants. CEP hosts programming[8] 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"[4] and The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiled CEP in their 2005 article "Giving Charities a Voice".[9] 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[10]
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.[11]
