1.11 Organizational Leadership in Philanthropy 

Purpose 

This framework is intended to help foundations and nonprofits achieve greater impact and efficiency. It focuses on four key areas:

Strengthening grantee relationships: Building strong and supportive connections with the organizations receiving grants

Fostering nonprofit resilience: Enhancing the long-term sustainability of nonprofit organizations

Promoting continuous improvement through learning: Encouraging a culture of learning and adaptation for ongoing improvement

Fostering collaboration for maximized impact: Emphasizing the importance of collaboration and partnerships to achieve greater impact.

The individuals or entities expected to utilize this framework and the related questionnaire include members and leaders of philanthropic foundations and leaders and stakeholders of nonprofit organizations. The results of the questionnaire may benefit foundations and nonprofits by enhancing self-assessment, strategic planning, decision making, capacity building, and reporting and transparency.

Description 

The mixed methods questionnaire based on the organizational effectiveness framework was developed by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). GEO is an affinity group affiliated with the Council on Foundations, which promotes learning and facilitates dialogue among funders dedicated to organizational effectiveness in the philanthropic sector.

Specific reliability and validity data for the instrument are not provided by the developers. However, given GEO’s reputation and focus on promoting effective practices, the instrument is likely designed with considerations for reliability and validity. Common limitations of such instruments may include response bias, subjectivity in Likert scale responses, and challenges in capturing the complexity of organizational effectiveness in a single questionnaire.

Access 

GEO’s website (www.geofunders.org) has links to organizations that study or promote organizational effectiveness and an extensive list of relevant readings and publications.

References