The McKnight Foundation depends on the work of grantees as key partners in our efforts to improve lives through identified program areas. To enable the most effective collaboration, we are always considering how best to establish and nurture these essential relationships. Critically important in this are our grantees' perceptions of our contributions, as well as their input to help us become a more useful partner.
Starting in 2003, McKnight engaged the Center for Effective Philanthropy — a nonprofit research group — to survey our recent grantees. CEP gathers anonymous feedback about various components of foundations' work, including grantmaking process, communications, and overall impact, and then compares results to grantee perceptions of other foundations around the country, resulting in a Grantee Perception Report.
To date, McKnight has participated in CEP's Grantee Perception Survey three times: 2003, 2006, and 2009. With each iteration, we endeavor to take what we've learned from grantees and transform it into concrete, meaningful changes that improve how we work.
Click below to view all three iterations of McKnight's Grantee Perception Report and corresponding action plans:
