Vice President, Assessments and Advisory Services, Center for Effective Philanthropy
Kevin Bolduc, Vice President — Assessment and Advisory Services, leads the creation and delivery of CEP’s performance assessments. He oversees the design of new tools, the refinement of CEP’s suite of current assessment offerings, and oversees CEP’s customized advisory services. After joining CEP in 2001, Kevin helped design CEP’s groundbreaking Grantee Perception Reportand other funder assessments. He also helped conduct and write early CEP research on issues of strategy and grantmaking, such as Beyond the Rhetoric: Foundation Strategy and “Luck of the Draw,” a Stanford Social Innovation Review article exploring how grantee experiences are affected by the quality of program officer performance. Kevin is a frequent speaker at conferences and to funder boards and staff on topics of strategy, assessment, and high quality grantmaking.
Kevin is currently a member of the board of directors of PEAK Grantmaking (formerly Grants Managers Network). He was one of Aspen Institute’s Fellowship for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders in 2012 and was in the first class of Independent Sector American Express NGen Fellows, subsequently serving as a selection committee member. Among others, Kevin has served on advisory boards for Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, Independent Sector, and the Communications Network. Before joining CEP in September 2001, he was a consultant with The Parthenon Group, a Boston-based strategy consulting firm. Kevin graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Biology from Williams College.
Funders know that building strong partnerships with stakeholders and grantees is crucial for creating change in communities and on crucial issues. Foundation leaders’ decisions about how they structure their organizations — defining roles, building staff, creating process, and managing culture — enable or inhibit the success of program officers and other staff in creating meaningful relationships. In this session, hear brief presentations from CEP and three funders engaged in efforts to define and create conditions for success in their organizations. Then join in table discussions about how these dynamics play out at your organization.
Forthcoming research from CEP will explore how funders approach the question of influencing policy at the national, local, and regional levels. When and how should funders influence policy? When do funders’ actions strengthen democracy, and when might they undermine it? What should be the guiding principles for funders as they consider the role of policy influence in their strategies? CEP’s research and a panel of philanthropic leaders will consider these questions.
Join your fellow foundation leaders in a learning session exclusively for funders that have participated in CEP’s assessments and advisory services. Drawing from CEP’s research and experience working with dozens of funders, this session provides a unique opportunity to connect with and learn from peers and CEP leaders about using feedback to make effective change and improve your work over time. If your foundation has commissioned a CEP assessment or advisory engagement, and you are a CEO/president, board member, vice president, program officer, or main contact with CEP at your foundation, this pre-conference session is for you. For the full […]