Toward Meaningful, Valuable, Equitable Governance
Learn how effective philanthropic governance can support nonprofits and communities. GEO shares promising practices for boards and grantmaking leaders.
Resource Type: Publication
2025 National Study of Philanthropic Practice
Since 2008, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) has tracked trends in effective grantmaking through its national field study. The 2025 National Study of Philanthropic Practice, conducted in partnership with Strength in Numbers Consulting Group, is the only survey …
Community-Driven Philanthropy: Participation, Partnership and Power
This resource aims to provide grantmakers with tools for advancing community-driven practices, amplify examples from the GEO community that showcase the benefits and approaches to go deeper towards a community-driven model.
A Change Management & Deep Equity Primer: The What, Why, How & Nuance
This publication from Movement Tapestries offers insights and guidance for organizations navigating equity-embedded transformations, and the challenges that can come with embarking on such journeys.
Centering Equity through Flexible, Reliable Funding
With this guide, GEO seeks to reassert the value of flexible, reliable funding with an updated analysis and set of examples to illustrate how a commitment to flexible, reliable funding can support the sector to be more equitable and community driven in its practice.
Reimagining Capacity Building: Navigating Culture, Systems & Power
This publication builds on the principles outlined in Strengthening Nonprofit Capacity and will take a critical look at the ways in which capacity-building practices can be grounded in approaches that acknowledge and center racial equity.
Shifting the Evaluation Paradigm: The Equitable Evaluation Framework™
This publication provides an overview of the impetus for the Equitable Evaluation Framework™ (EEF) and attempts to document early moments and first steps of engagement with U.S. philanthropic institutions — most often their research, evaluation and learning staff — whom we refer to as foundation partners throughout this publication. The themes shared in this publication surfaced through conversations with a group of foundation staff who have been part of the Equitable Evaluation Project, now referred to as the Equitable Evaluation Initiative (EEI), since 2017 as advisors, investment partners and/or practice partners.
Engaging Boards and Trustees in Strategic Learning: A Toolkit
The fields of strategic learning and evaluation have also grown and shifted over the last decade, and new ways of thinking about and evaluating grantmaking and its impacts have emerged. This paper responds to these changes and provides a fresh outlook and set of resources for grantmaker CEOs, evaluation staff, and senior leaders to use to engage their boards and trustees in strategic learning. Our hope is that staff and leaders use any or all of the ten tools we have developed to help board members and trustees understand what strategic learning is (and isn’t), why it is important, and how to better incorporate strategic learning practices into their work.
GEO’s Resources on Equity
In your first year of GEO membership, to help you stay informed of the emerging trends and promising practices from the field, we’ll point you to GEO’s publications, research and peer conversations. Below, find some of GEO’s tools and resources on equity. We hope these are helpful as you explore how GEO can support your work.
Get on the Balcony: How Grantmakers Can Ignite Change
This publication seeks to offer some helpful approaches for jump-starting a change initiative, drawn from the reflections of GEO members who have been tasked with assessing challenges and cultivating the conditions for a productive change process.
GEO’s Resources on Capacity Building and Leadership Development
In your first year of GEO membership, to help you stay informed of the emerging trends and promising practices from the field, we’ll point you to GEO’s publications, research and peer conversations. Below, find some of GEO’s tools and resources on learning and evaluation. We hope these are helpful as you explore how GEO can support your work.
Conversation Starter: Translating Values into Practice
Values gain meaning and immediacy when they have a direct connection to policies, practices and behaviors. This piece discusses the importance of translating values into specific, actionable behaviors that can be experienced and noticed so that the organization’s culture reflects those values.