Nonprofit Leaders: Foundations Don’t Support Assessment

massnonprofit.org ::: According to the study conducted by Cambridge-based Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), a nonprofit that helps philanthropic funders assess and improve their effectiveness, 81% of nonprofit leaders surveyed believe that nonprofits should demonstrate the effectiveness of their work by using performance measures, but 71% report receiving no foundation support, monetary or nonmonetary, for their organization’s assessment efforts.

“Nonprofits are routinely castigated for their unwillingness to make a hard-nosed assessment of their impact,” says CEP President Phil Buchanan. “Some even suggest that what we need are hybrid businesses that combine a for-profit focus on the bottom line with a mission. But when we actually stop and listen to nonprofits a very different picture emerges. The 177 nonprofit leaders we surveyed overwhelmingly care about measuring their impact. What they need is help – financial and practical help from their funders.”