New CEP Survey Reveals Grantee Feedback on Our Funding

Surveying grantee partners and responding to their feedback is one way we’ve committed to be supporters of the changemakers we serve.

We believe real change happens when funders listen, learn, and evolve alongside their grantee partners. That’s why we turn to our partners every few years for feedback through a grantee perception survey from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP)—a tool that gives our partners a confidential platform to share honest insights on our funding practices. CEP has a widespread reputation for the depth and insight of its survey, which has become a standard for the field.

Since 2014, we’ve used survey feedback to refine our approach to grantmaking and learn how we can do better. The 2024 survey results tell a powerful story: We’ve made significant strides—with some of our strongest ratings yet—especially since deepening our justice-centered approach in 2021.

“Our grantee partners are on the front lines of creating lasting change in their communities. They know what they need to do the work, and it’s our job to listen and support them in ways that reflect our values, connection, and commitment to do better,” says Kevin Walker, president and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation. “Every piece of feedback we receive is an opportunity to learn and grow alongside them.”

The good news: Grantee partners rated us highly for impact, trusted relationships, and meaningful support.

Grantee partners overwhelmingly affirmed that our funding is making a significant difference. That’s good news! Here’s what the numbers say:

• We received the highest score for overall impact among our cohort of partner foundations, a score that was near the top for funders nationally.
• When asked if our funding met an important need, our grantees’ rating was the highest among our cohort of partner foundations.
• Our rating for whether our funding strengthens organizations, a measure for how well our grants help organizations build long-term capacity, was also the highest among our cohort of partner foundations.

Beyond financial support, grantee partners also told us we provide trust, transparency, and meaningful relationships. According to one survey respondent, “Northwest Area Foundation staff members have consistently shown a genuine interest in the success of our projects, providing valuable insights and guidance that have significantly enhanced our efforts.”

We also saw a big leap in trust and communication:

• Our partners said they feel more comfortable reaching out if a problem arises. Our score was in the 85th percentile of funders nationally, a huge jump from 2015, when we were in the 30th percentile.
• We’ve made our priorities clearer. Our score for how well we communicate our goals and strategy improved to the 78th percentile nationally, up from a rating in the bottom quartile in 2015.
• We’ve reduced the administrative burden on grantees. Grantees now spend an average of just 16 hours on funder requirements per grant, compared to 40 hours in 2019 and 2015.

Grantee partners also liked our deep commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Our partners affirmed how much they value our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI), rating our commitment with strong agreement. Partners said they overwhelmingly support our focus on JEDI.

“It is important to have funding champions to support work that addresses racial disparities,” said one respondent. “The Foundation gives me a sense of confidence in the work I do in a conservative state, knowing we are able to fund projects and programs without marginalizing or harming folks.”

How we can do better: increase our responsiveness and be more interactive.

While we’ve made progress, we also heard we can still do better. Here’s how:

Need for more responsive communication.

Our partners told us that while our relationships are strong, some received less frequent communication. For example, 78% of grantees reported regular contact with their program officer, down from 87% in 2019. This drop is likely tied to staffing shifts—we didn’t replace one program officer position last year, as we realized our program officer-to-partner ratio is higher than many peer funders.

Our response? We’re growing our team to build stronger relationships. We hired two new program officers in 2024, which will help us be more available, more engaged, and more responsive to our partners’ needs.

Need to be more interactive about evaluation.

Finally, our grantee partners told us that evaluation should be a two-way conversation, not just a reporting requirement. Grantee partners want chances to share their work but also have opportunities to learn and grow.

In response, we’re working on a new assessment framework—one that invites grantees to help shape how success is measured, ensuring evaluations are useful to both them and us. We also plan to increase the number of convenings throughout the year, providing more opportunity for our partners to connect and collaborate.

Additionally, grantee partners appreciate and want continued opportunity for multiyear and unrestricted funding—74% of our grantees receive multiyear funding, and 68% receive unrestricted grants. We’re committed to expanding these funding practices further to provide grantees with stability and flexibility.

We’re listening—and we’re committed to growth.

“Listening to our grantee partners isn’t just an exercise—it’s essential to being a responsible funder,” says Karla Miller, vice president of program. “These insights guide us in becoming more effective, more responsive, and more aligned with the realities of their work. This survey is one way we hold ourselves accountable, and we’re committed to turning feedback into meaningful action.”

The 2024 CEP survey confirms that we’re on the right path. But we know the work isn’t done. We will keep learning, improving, and supporting our priority communities in meaningful and impactful ways. Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about survey results—it’s about how we show up for people doing the work of justice, equity, and transforming communities.