Organizational effectiveness (OE) has gained attention in the nonprofit sector as agencies have increased their efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and share the knowledge gained from adopting best practices. As a result, a new discipline called Foundation Effectiveness (FE) has emerged as grantmakers recognize a need for accountability in delivering their programs and share the lessons learned form their endeavors. Agile Philanthropy, a publication from Grand Valley State University, attempts to create a uniform vision of FE and reviews current research in the field, including sharing the perceptions of FE garnered from interviews of foundation leaders. Joel J. Orosz is the Distinguished Professor of Philanthropic Studies at Grand Valley State University, while Phillips and Knowlton are management consultants specializing in philanthropy. The authors adopt the term "agile" to describe the responsiveness of foundations to changing needs and environments.

Agile Philanthropy analyzes data gathered from 34 telephone interviews with philanthropic practitioners involved with FE programs and creates a theoretical framework to be used by grantmakers in promoting philanthropy. The purpose of the monograph is not to act as a practical guide for developing foundation effectiveness programs, but to reach a consensus of what characterizes the field and create a working model for FE for promoting responsive philanthropy. The authors organize their premise into three sections. Section I gives the background of FE's evolution from concepts related to organizational learning and shares insights from foundation leaders as they grapple with incorporating FE into their programs. One of the frustrations shared by the interviewees is a lack of a cohesive vision of FE. In the second section, the authors offer a possible model for FE for practitioners and illustrate common themes that grantmakers encounter as they try to create a practical version of FE for their programs. Some of these factors include a commitment to developing common standards to evaluating programs and their outcomes, and realizing the participation of grantees is crucial to the success of FE. In Section III the authors identify priorities that foundations need to establish for increasing agility in philanthropy, particularly collaborating more with their partners and being upfront about their successes and failures. The appendices include a survey of other FE studies conducted, a bibliography for further reading, and a section on the methodology used for the study.

Overall, Agile Philanthropy does a thorough job of proposing a coherent vision of Foundation Effectiveness and presenting the challenges faced by funders as they attempt to apply FE to practical situations. Practitioners in philanthropy will find Agile Philanthropy an informative and thought-provoking analysis of a new field and its implications for the future of philanthropic ventures. Readers hoping for a more practical and instructive approach may find the content a little too academic, and at times, the language used can be somewhat obfuscating. However, Agile Philanthropy gives a comprehensive overview about the current research related to FE and also provides a model for grantmakers to increase dialogue and shared learning between themselves and their grantees, which will lead to more agile philanthropy within the nonprofit field.

For citations to additional materials on this topic, refer to Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online, using the subject heading "Foundation-management" or "Foundations-administration."