Author Archive:

Phil Buchanan

Opinion Phil Buchanan, Naomi Orensten and Katarina Malmgren 10 September 2022

Can philanthropy rise to the challenge of combating climate change?

Climate change is widely acknowledged as the existential crisis of our time, a ‘code red for humanity‘, in the words of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. With the Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last month …

Opinion Phil Buchanan 1 June 2020

Race, equity, and unavoidable challenges for philanthropy

The murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis has led to an outpouring of protest, rage, and in some cases destruction that should surprise no one. From Amadou Diallo to Trayvon Martin to …

Opinion Phil Buchanan 16 August 2017

Myths about new funders

There are a lot of statements made about ‘new’ donors and how they differ from more ‘established’ older ones. Some are probably true. Many, alas, are myths. The latest statement, which I think falls into …

Special feature Phil Buchanan 1 March 2014

Beyond formulas and easy answers

Context is everything. That’s what I take away from this deeply thoughtful set of articles exploring the role of grantmaking, why (and even whether) it matters, and how to do it best. Barry Knight and …

Letter Phil Buchanan 1 September 2013

A perplexing set of tensions

Nick Deychakiwsky is a great colleague and someone who has been supportive of the organization I lead in a variety of ways: as an adviser to me, a member of our advisory board in the …

Letter Phil Buchanan 1 September 2009

CEP responds to Aaron Dorfman

I appreciate Aaron Dorfman’s kind words about the impact of the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) and the quality of our conference in his review in the June issue of Alliance. I welcome both his …

Letter Phil Buchanan 15 June 2009 For Subscribers

CEP responds to Aaron Dorfman

I appreciate Aaron Dorfman’s kind words about the impact of the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) and the quality of our conference in his review in the June issue of Alliance. I welcome both his …

Special feature Phil Buchanan 1 December 2007

Center for Effective Philanthropy – What can we measure?

The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s approach to assessment derives from our belief that, to create maximum impact with their resources, foundations need clear goals, coherent strategies to achieve them, and robust indicators of performance. Foundation …

Special feature Phil Buchanan 1 June 2006

Beyond learning for learning’s sake

Foundation staff and board members should embrace learning not for its own sake but as a means towards improved performance and greater positive impact. It is easy to endorse the rhetoric of the learning organization, …