Phil Buchanan

Phil Buchanan

President, Center for Effective Philanthropy

Phil Buchanan, President of CEP, is a passionate advocate for the importance of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and deeply committed to the cause of helping foundations to maximize their impact. Hired in 2001 as the organization’s first chief executive, Phil has led the growth of CEP into the leading provider of data and insight on foundation effectiveness. CEP has been widely credited with bringing the voice of grantees and other stakeholders into the foundation boardroom and with contributing to an increased emphasis on clear goals, coherent strategies, disciplined implementation, and relevant performance indicators as the necessary ingredients to maximize foundation effectiveness and impact.

Phil is co-author of many CEP research reports, a columnist for The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and a frequent blogger for the CEP Blog. Phil is also co-founder of YouthTruth, an initiative of CEP’s designed to harness student perceptions to help educators accelerate improvements in their K–12 schools and classrooms. He holds an MBA from Harvard University and received his undergraduate degree in Government from Wesleyan University. He has been recognized six times as among the Nonprofit Times “power and influence top 50” – most recently in 2017. In 2016 he was named the Nonprofit Times “influencer of the year.” Phil was born in Toronto, grew up in Oregon, and currently lives in Lexington, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.

Putting it Together: What Effective Philanthropy Looks Like Right Now

Minneapolis Ballroom ABCD

A moment of political divisiveness and threats to democratic institutions requires philanthropy to be at its best. Drawing on CEP’s nearly 18 years of research and experience, a new book, Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count lays out an argument about what is required for impact and about the need, once and for all, to reject the analogies to business that have framed so much guidance about philanthropy over the past two decades. This session will respond to the arguments made by the book’s author, Phil Buchanan, as a launching point to debate the elements of […]

Plenary
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Pre-conference Session – Greater Good: Lessons from Those Who Have Started Grantmaking Organizations and Reception

Minneapolis Ballroom EFG

New foundations and grantmaking entities (including donor-advised funds, LLCs, and others) face unique challenges in the first years of their giving. Countless donors and staff have sought advice from those who have come before them in areas such as board relations, staffing up, and daily operations. We invite all foundation leaders, trustees, and major donors of entities that have begun their grantmaking in the last 20 years to join an exclusive pre-conference session in which we will explore the findings from a new CEP report on new grantmakers’ best practices, hear candidly from leaders of early-stage organizations, and connect with […]

Pre-Conference
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