Foundations Are Trying to Perform Better

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor:

Francie Ostrower is absolutely right to urge foundations to assess their own performance in ways that go beyond simply asking grantees to demonstrate their achievements (“Foundations, Heal Thyselves,” June 9).

But her broad generalizations, based on data collected two years ago, create the impression that few foundations have taken steps to do so. In fact, more than 100 foundations have used new foundation-assessment tools developed by the Center for Effective Philanthropy over the past several years. We have been impressed and inspired by the seriousness with which these foundations have approached the quest to assess and improve — and by their willingness to help build new data sets that are yielding insights about foundation effectiveness.

One initiative, made possible both by the funding and broad participation of foundations, is the Foundation Governance Project, involving 53 foundations and 600 foundation trustees. Participants in this initiative, which is co-sponsored by BoardSource and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, received in January a pilot version of a new tool, the comparative board report. This diagnostic report illustrates both board practice and trustee perspectives, on a comparative basis. Already, many of the foundation participants have made changes in their governance practices in response to what they have learned.

Ms. Ostrower is absolutely correct that “foundations cannot satisfy the obligation to develop self-evaluation standards and processes solely by requiring their grantees to demonstrate that they are operating effectively.” But we see mounting evidence that many in the foundation field do, as well.

Phil Buchanan
Executive Director
The Center for Effective Philanthropy
Cambridge, Mass.