The Center for Effective Philanthropy
The Center for Effective Philanthropy is a nonprofit organization that develops comparative data, research, assessment tools, and programming to help philanthropic funders improve their effectiveness.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) is a nonprofit organization focused on helping philanthropic funders understand and improve their performance. Its work is built around the idea that foundations and other funders can make better decisions when they have credible comparative information about their strategies, practices, relationships, and results. By improving funder effectiveness, CEP seeks to strengthen nonprofit organizations and, ultimately, the people and communities those organizations serve. CEP's principal activities are organized around three connected areas. First, it conducts research on questions facing foundation leaders, boards, program staff, and other philanthropic decision-makers. This research examines subjects such as foundation strategy, governance, performance assessment, relationships with grantees, transparency, reporting requirements, staff experience, and the use of assistance beyond grant funding. CEP's comparative approach is intended to show how funders' practices are experienced by different stakeholders and how those practices vary across organizations. Second, CEP develops assessment tools that allow individual foundations to compare their performance with relevant peer data. Its best-known instruments include the Grantee Perception Report and the Applicant Perception Report, which gather structured feedback from nonprofit applicants and grantees. CEP has also assembled datasets from foundation staff, boards, donors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders. These tools are designed not simply to produce ratings, but to give foundation leaders actionable information that can inform organizational change, strategy, and relationships with nonprofits. Third, CEP supports the philanthropic field through programming and communications. It convenes foundation executives, trustees, and senior staff around questions of impact and organizational performance, and it publishes research reports, guides, and field-oriented analyses. Its publications have addressed topics ranging from foundation transparency and nonprofit performance assessment to community-foundation strategy and the quality of reporting and evaluation processes. CEP received initial funding in 2001, released its first publication in 2002, and carried out its first Grantee Perception Reports and Applicant Perception Reports in 2003. Over the years covered by the available reference material, it produced 34 research reports and its assessment tools had been used by more than 285 foundations, including many large U.S. foundations. The organization has also worked with individual funders on tailored research, including the development of a survey for students attending high schools supported by the Gates Foundation. The organization has been covered by philanthropy-sector and general-interest media, including The New York Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Its work has helped make grantee feedback, comparative performance information, and funder accountability more visible topics in foundation management. CEP operates from offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California. The available material does not identify a founder, current chief executive, ownership structure, or financial figures.
History
The Center for Effective Philanthropy emerged in 2001 with initial funding and a mission centered on improving the performance of philanthropic funders through better information. Rather than functioning primarily as a grantmaker, CEP was established as a research, assessment, and field-building organization. Its core premise was that foundations could become more effective if they had access to comparative evidence about how their strategies and operating practices were viewed by grantees, applicants, staff, boards, donors, and other stakeholders. CEP produced its first publication in 2002. The early work sought to create a shared language for discussing foundation performance and to examine how foundation leaders understood effectiveness and performance measurement. Its subsequent research addressed foundation governance, strategy, relationships with nonprofits, and the practical challenges of assessing impact. The organization combined field research with convenings for foundation executives, trustees, and senior staff, creating a link between published analysis and peer learning. In 2003, CEP conducted its first Grantee Perception Reports and Applicant Perception Reports. These assessment instruments became central to the organization's approach. By collecting structured feedback from nonprofit organizations that receive or seek funding, CEP gave foundations information about the accessibility, communication, transparency, reporting requirements, and perceived value of their relationships with nonprofits. The reports were intended to support improvement rather than serve simply as public rankings. During the following years, CEP expanded its research portfolio. Its publications examined foundation governance from the perspective of trustees and chief executives, foundation communications from the grantee perspective, operating and program grants, strategic development, performance assessment, and assistance provided beyond grant money. Later work considered employee empowerment, staff satisfaction, transparency, social-media engagement, and how community foundations translated strategic rhetoric into practice. This body of work positioned CEP as a specialist organization connecting foundation management with nonprofit experience. CEP also broadened the populations represented in its datasets. In addition to surveying grantees and applicants, it gathered information from foundation employees, boards, donors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders. One reported collaboration involved developing a survey for students attending high schools funded by the Gates Foundation. This project illustrated how CEP's methods could be adapted to capture the experiences of people affected by philanthropic initiatives, not only the institutions that administer them. The organization's work received attention from both general-interest and sector-specific media. A 2004 New York Times article discussed the candid responses that charities provided about donor foundations. In 2005, The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiled CEP's effort to give nonprofits a stronger voice in assessing funders. The same publication later highlighted CEP's Gates-related student survey in 2009. These reports helped bring foundation accountability and grantee feedback into wider discussions about philanthropic practice. By the period documented in the reference material, CEP had produced 34 research reports and more than 285 foundations had used its assessment tools. Many of those users were among the largest foundations in the United States, and some made significant changes after reviewing the resulting data. CEP's continuing activities include comparative research, customized assessment, publications, communications, and programming for philanthropic leaders. It has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California. The available sources do not establish a named founder, detailed legal structure, current executive roster, or financial profile.
- 2009
Student survey collaboration reported
[1]CEP's work with the Gates Foundation on a survey of students in Gates-funded high schools was highlighted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
- 2005
The Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights nonprofit feedback
[1]A Chronicle of Philanthropy profile examined CEP's work to give charities a stronger voice in evaluating foundation practices.
- 2004
Work covered by The New York Times
[1]The New York Times reported on CEP's efforts to obtain frank feedback from charities about donor foundations.
- 2003
First Grantee and Applicant Perception Reports conducted
[1]CEP conducted its first structured feedback studies of grantees and applicants, establishing a foundation for its assessment-tool program.
- 2002
First publication released
[1]CEP published its first research work, addressing the emerging need for a common language and evidence base around foundation performance.
- 2001
Initial funding received
[1]CEP received initial funding and began developing an organization focused on using comparative data to improve philanthropic-funder effectiveness.
Products and positioning
An independent, evidence-oriented resource for philanthropic funders seeking comparative data and practical insight into strategy, governance, performance, and relationships with nonprofit organizations.
Assessment tool · 2003
Grantee Perception Report
A structured feedback instrument that collects grantee perspectives on a foundation's practices and relationships. It can provide comparative information about communication, accessibility, reporting, grantmaking behavior, and the perceived value of the funder's support. CEP uses the resulting data to help foundation leaders identify strengths and areas where changes may improve the grantee experience and the effectiveness of the funder's work.
Assessment tool · 2003
Applicant Perception Report
An assessment service based on feedback from organizations that apply for foundation funding. The report gives funders information about how applicants experience the application process, communications, decision-making, and other interactions. Its purpose is to help foundations understand the effects of their practices on organizations that may not ultimately receive grants.
Research and publications · 2002
Foundation effectiveness research
CEP's research program uses comparative data and field inquiry to study foundation strategy, governance, performance assessment, transparency, staff experience, communications, and relationships with nonprofits. The work is published in reports, guides, and analyses intended for foundation executives, trustees, program staff, and other philanthropic-sector leaders.
Professional learning
Leadership programming and convening
CEP organizes programming and communications for foundation leaders, trustees, and senior staff. These activities connect research findings with peer discussion and practical reflection on funder performance, organizational strategy, assessment, and relationships with nonprofit organizations.
Recent events
- 2009
CEP works with the Gates Foundation on a survey of students in funded high schools[1]
Other
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on CEP's work developing a survey for students attending high schools supported by the Gates Foundation, extending CEP's stakeholder-feedback model beyond grantees and applicants.
- 2005
The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiles CEP's grantee-feedback approach[1]
Other
The Chronicle of Philanthropy highlighted CEP's efforts to bring nonprofit perspectives into assessments of foundation performance and funder relationships.
- 2004
The Center for Effective Philanthropy gains national attention for giving charities a voice[1]
Other
The New York Times reported on CEP's work and the willingness of nonprofit organizations to provide candid feedback about donor foundations.
Sources2 sources
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