Center for Effective Philanthropy

I have really appreciated the thoughtful conversation happening around the role of funding "intermediaries" over the past month on the Center for Effective Philanthropy blog, spurred by CEP's recently published grantee perception report. A few important points jump out: 1) No matter whether we are intermediaries or originating funders, we should center the grantee experience and adapt to critical feedback. 2) Intermediaries, some of which identify as "collaborative funds" like The Freedom Fund, are not immune to broader philanthropic problems, such as resistance to flexible, multi-year funding. Many collaboratives find creative ways to prevent passing on restrictions to their grantees, but we are still very often constrained by the same funding landscape that we hope to change. 3) Intermediary is a broad category containing a wide range of values, approaches and focus areas. Some of those of us who identify as collaborative funds choose to narrow the definition by focusing on our ability to mobilise new funding, reach grassroots groups that are excluded by traditional philanthropy, and provide more holistic support to grantees. 4) We still have a ways to go toward building the value proposition for collaborative funds, and the majority of that should come from evaluation of our impact - not from how articulately we talk about ourselves or the positive connotations of donor collaboration. Our impact should be judged by the relationships we build, the change we help to fuel, the organisations we support to grow, and the influence we have on the broader philanthropic landscape. Read some of the responses here:

🔍 What do high school students think about civic engagement? Our latest findings reveal some compelling insights: 🗳️ Only 53% of high school students believe that voting is important. 🏛️ Even more striking—only 34% think being actively involved in civic issues matters at all. Voting is one of the most important acts of civic engagement, reflecting a belief in our power to create change and trust in political systems. These numbers highlight an urgent need to inspire and engage our youth to participate more fully in shaping their future. More insights from our Youth Civic Engagement report here: https://lnkd.in/gBTvTWGh

Tune in to the latest episode of the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s Giving Done Right podcast, featuring INP President & CEO Yolanda Coentro! In this episode, Yolanda speaks with hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette about her leadership journey and shares a critical call-to-action on the need to equip nonprofit leaders with the resources to succeed. Listen now: https://bit.ly/3AdDyP3 #INProud2Lead

As part of our commitment to work collaboratively with the organizations we fund, we recently engaged the Center for Effective Philanthropy to help us see how we’re doing on that front – and if we are on the right track toward centering justice and equity in our mission to improve the lives of older Californians and their caregivers. We recently received the report and are pleased to share the results about what we're learning, and what we're changing, based on your feedback. Read more in our latest blog by our vice president of programs, Laura Rath.