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Two recent trends in philanthropy—increased focus on measurable outcomes and greater investment in capacity building or organizational effectiveness—lead to an important question: How should we go about measuring the effectiveness of capacity-building efforts? Consulting and evaluation perspectives offer two very different, sometimes conflicting approaches to it. Without sound and positive evaluation results, the foundations that have been behind the capacity-building trend are unlikely to continue to make these kinds of much needed resources available to nonprofits generally, whether they in truth work or not. Seven unresolved issues, that neither consultants nor evaluators can so far answer, put continued funding for capacity building at risk. The article lays out the seven issues and discusses their implications for the design, management, and evaluation of capacity-building initiatives. The article closes with next steps for moving forward.

Despite extensive research on feedback and almost complete agreement on its power to effect learning, there is little theoretical understanding of the concept. Its ultrabroad definition and difficulties operationalizing both its causal mechanisms and the learning it supposedly effects have hampered understanding. The particular language used favors certain explanations and lines of research over others. Implications for group facilitation and the design of experiential learning programs are discussed.

AbstractFoundations take many forms and wield widespread influence within the nonprofit sector. One aspect of foundations that has received limited research attention is the relationship between the foundation and the grantee. Some authors have encouraged a reframing of this relationship to be more one of equals, where each party brings attributes valuable to the other and where collaboration can germinate and produce more effective philanthropy. This exploratory study suggests that the quality of these relationships varies widely and that it is often difficult to form collaborative ones. It identifies some of the earmarks of fruitful relationships and suggests some ways to replicate those successes.I hate foundation officers—they're all jerks!—Experienced nonprofit executiveWe care about these [nonprofit] organizations—it is through them that we do our work.—Senior foundation program officer