Performance Measurement in Philanthropic Foundations

Performance Measurement in Philanthropic Foundations PDF Author: Helmut K. Anheier
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351665898
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 143

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Book Description
The growth of philanthropic foundations in numbers and significance raises two immediate questions. First, what makes for success and failure of foundations’ projects and activities? Second, what yardsticks or benchmarks are used to measure performance and track goal attainment? The purpose of this book is to delve deeper into the complex set of issues that lie behind the performance and wider impact of philanthropy. Performance Measurement in Philanthropic Foundations looks at the strengths and weaknesses of philanthropic foundations, which are independent of both the market and ballot box and yet open to signal and incentive deficiencies. The authors use in-depth case studies from different countries to illustrate the problems and challenge much of the conventional wisdom on foundation "success" and "failure." The book also outlines the main contours of a proactive governance and management style to address those problems.

Performance Measurement in Philanthropic Foundations

Performance Measurement in Philanthropic Foundations PDF Author: Helmut K. Anheier
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351665898
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 143

Get Book Here

Book Description
The growth of philanthropic foundations in numbers and significance raises two immediate questions. First, what makes for success and failure of foundations’ projects and activities? Second, what yardsticks or benchmarks are used to measure performance and track goal attainment? The purpose of this book is to delve deeper into the complex set of issues that lie behind the performance and wider impact of philanthropy. Performance Measurement in Philanthropic Foundations looks at the strengths and weaknesses of philanthropic foundations, which are independent of both the market and ballot box and yet open to signal and incentive deficiencies. The authors use in-depth case studies from different countries to illustrate the problems and challenge much of the conventional wisdom on foundation "success" and "failure." The book also outlines the main contours of a proactive governance and management style to address those problems.

Measuring Social Change

Measuring Social Change PDF Author: Alnoor Ebrahim
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503609219
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
The social sector is undergoing a major transformation. We are witnessing an explosion in efforts to deliver social change, a burgeoning impact investing industry, and an unprecedented intergenerational transfer of wealth. Yet we live in a world of rapidly rising inequality, where social sector services are unable to keep up with societal need, and governments are stretched beyond their means. Alnoor Ebrahim addresses one of the fundamental dilemmas facing leaders as they navigate this uncertain terrain: performance measurement. How can they track performance towards worthy goals such as reducing poverty, improving public health, or advancing human rights? What results can they reasonably measure and legitimately take credit for? This book tackles three core challenges of performance faced by social enterprises and nonprofit organizations alike: what to measure, what kinds of performance systems to build, and how to align multiple demands for accountability. It lays out four different types of strategies for managers to consider—niche, integrated, emergent, and ecosystem—and details the types of performance measurement and accountability systems best suited to each. Finally, this book examines the roles of funders such as impact investors, philanthropic foundations, and international aid agencies, laying out how they can best enable meaningful performance measurement.

Measuring and Improving Social Impacts

Measuring and Improving Social Impacts PDF Author: Marc J. Epstein
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351276220
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Identifying, measuring and improving social impact is a significant challenge for corporate and private foundations, charities, NGOs and corporations. How best to balance possible social and environmental benefits (and costs) against one another? How does one bring clarity to multiple possibilities and opportunities? Based on years of work and new field studies from around the globe, the authors have written a book for managers that is grounded in the best academic and managerial research.It is a practical guide that describes the steps needed for identifying, measuring and improving social impact. This approach is useful in maximizing the impact of different types of investments, including grants and donations, impact investments, and commercial investments.With numerous examples of actual organizational approaches, research into more than fifty organizations, and extensive practical guidance and best practices, Measuring and Improving Social Impacts fills a critical gap.

Give Smart

Give Smart PDF Author: Thomas J Tierney
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1586489895
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
A decade ago, Thomas J. Tierney left Bain & Company to cofound The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit focused on helping donors and nonprofit leaders to develop and execute strategies to accelerate social change. In Give Smart, Tierney pools his hands-on knowledge with Duke professor Joel L. Fleishman's expertise to create a much-needed primer for philanthropists and the nonprofit organizations they support. Drawing from personal experiences, research spanning twentieth- and twenty-first-century philanthropy, contemporary interviews, and Bridgespan's extensive field work, Give Smart presents the definitive guide to engaged philanthropy.

Strategic Giving

Strategic Giving PDF Author: Peter Frumkin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226266281
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 471

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Book Description
The philanthropic landscape is changing dramatically as a new generation of wealthy donors seeks to leave its mark on the public sphere. Peter Frumkin reveals in Strategic Giving why these donors could benefit from having a comprehensive plan to guide their giving. And with this thoughtful and timely book, he provides the much-needed framework to understand and develop this kind of philanthropic strategy. After listening for years to scores of individual and institutional funders discuss the challenges of giving wisely, Frumkin argues here that contemporary philanthropy requires a thorough rethinking of its underlying logic. Philanthropy should be seen, he contends, as both a powerful way to meet public needs and a meaningful way to express private beliefs and commitments. He demonstrates that finding a way to simultaneously fulfill both of these functions is crucial to the survival of philanthropy and its potential to support pluralism in society. And he goes on to identify the five essential elements donors must consider when developing a philanthropic strategy—the vehicle through which giving will flow, the way impact will be achieved, the level of engagement and profile sought, the time frame for giving, and the underlying purpose of the gift. Frumkin’s point is that donors must understand strategic giving as the integration of these five critical dimensions to giving. Essential reading for donors, researchers, and anyone involved with the world of philanthropy, Strategic Giving provides a new basis for understanding philanthropic effectiveness and a promising new way for philanthropy to achieve the legitimacy that has at times eluded it.

Money Well Spent

Money Well Spent PDF Author: Paul Brest
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
ISBN: 0470885343
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Winner of the 2009 Skystone Ryan Prize for Research, Association of Fundraising Professionals Research Council “All outstanding philanthropic successes have one thing in common: They started with a smart strategic plan,” say authors Paul Brest, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Hal Harvey, president of ClimateWorks. Money Well Spent explains how to create and implement a strategy that ensures meaningful results. Components of a smart strategy include: Achieving great clarity about one’s philanthropic goals Specifying indicators of success before beginning a project Designing and implementing a plan commensurate with available resources Evidence-based understanding of the world in which the plan will operate Paying careful attention to milestones to determine if you are on the path to success or if midcourse corrections are necessary Drawing on examples from over 100 foundations and non-profits, Money Well Spent gives readers the framework they need to design a smart strategy, addressing such key issues as: Effective use of tools—education, science, direct services, advocacy—that can achieve your objectives. How to choose the forms of funding to achieve stated goals How to measure the impact of grants or programs When to be patient and stick with a winning strategy and when to abandon a strategy that isn’t working This is a book for everyone who wants to get the most from a philanthropic dollar: donors, foundations, and non-profits.

Giving Done Right

Giving Done Right PDF Author: Phil Buchanan
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1541742230
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
A practical guide to philanthropy at all levels of giving that seeks to educate and inspire A majority of American households give to charity in some form or another--from local donations to food banks, religious organizations, or schools, to contributions to prevent disease or protect basic freedoms. Whether you're in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference? In Giving Done Right, Phil Buchanan, the president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, arms donors with what it takes to do more good more quickly and to avoid predictable errors that lead too many astray. This crucial book will reveal the secrets and lessons learned from some of the biggest givers, from the work of software entrepreneur Tim Gill and his foundation to expand rights for LGBTQ people to the efforts of a midwestern entrepreneur whose faith told him he must do something about childhood slavery in Ghana. It busts commonly held myths and challenging the idea that "business thinking" holds the answer to effective philanthropy. And it offers the intellectual frameworks, data-driven insights, tools, and practical examples to allow readers to understand exactly what it takes to make a difference.

The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox

The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox PDF Author: Robert M. Penna
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118044460
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Book Description
An invaluable guide to the outcome-based tools needed to help nonprofit organizations increase their effectiveness The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox identifies stages in the use of outcomes and shows you how to use specific facets of existing outcome models to improve performance and achieve meaningful results. Going beyond the familiar limits of the sector, this volume also illustrates how tools and approaches long in use in the corporate sector can be of great analytical and practical use to nonprofit, philanthropic, and governmental organizations . An outstanding resource for organizational and program leaders interested in improving performance, there is nothing else like this work currently available. Shows how to identify and set meaningful, sustainable outcomes Illustrates how to track and manage with outcomes Offers guidance in assessing capacity, and using outcome-based communications Features a companion Web site with the tools found in this book Providing the tools and explanations needed to achieve program success, this book is a complete resource for the nonprofit, governmental, or philanthropic professional striving for greater effectiveness in programs or organizations.

Business Performance Measurement and Management

Business Performance Measurement and Management PDF Author: Paolo Taticchi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642048005
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Measuring and managing the performance of a business is one of the most genuine desires of management. Balanced scorecard, the performance prism and activity-based management are the most popular frameworks in this setting. Based on the findings of R.G. Eccles’ acclaimed "Performance Measurement Manifesto (1991)" this book introduces new contexts and themes of application and presents emerging research areas related to business performance measurement and management, e.g. SMEs and sustainability. As a result of the 1st International Summer School Piero Lunghi on "Perspectives of Business Performance Management" this book is written both for students and academics, as well as for practitioners looking for new, yet proven ways to measure and manage business performance.

Engine of Impact

Engine of Impact PDF Author: William F. Meehan III
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503603628
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
We are entering a new era—an era of impact. The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history will soon be under way, bringing with it the potential for huge increases in philanthropic funding. Engine of Impact shows how nonprofits can apply the principles of strategic leadership to attract greater financial support and leverage that funding to maximum effect. As Good to Great author Jim Collins writes in his foreword, this book offers "a detailed roadmap of disciplined thought and action for turning a good nonprofit into one that can achieve great impact at scale." William F. Meehan III and Kim Starkey Jonker identify seven essential components of strategic leadership that set high-achieving organizations apart from the rest of the nonprofit sector. Together, these components form an "engine of impact"—a system that organizations must build, tune, and fuel if they hope to make a real difference in the world. Drawing on decades of teaching, advising, grantmaking, and research, Meehan and Jonker provide an actionable guide that executives, staff, board members, and donors can use to jumpstart their own performance and to achieve extraordinary results for their organization. Along with setting forth best practices using real-world examples, the authors outline common management challenges faced by nonprofits, showing how these challenges differ from those faced by for-profit businesses in important and often-overlooked ways. By offering crucial insights on the fundamentals of nonprofit management, this book will help leaders equip their organizations to fire on all cylinders and unleash the full potential of the nonprofit sector. Visit www.engineofimpact.org for additional information.