Grantees were asked to indicate whether they had received any of the following fourteen types of assistance provided directly or paid for by the Foundation.
| Management Assistance | Field-Related Assistance | Other Assistance |
| General management advice | Encouraged/facilitated collaboration | Board development/governance assistance |
| Strategic planning advice | Insight and advice on your field | Information technology assistance |
| Financial planning/accounting | Introductions to leaders in field | Communications/marketing/publicity assistance |
| Development of performance measures | Provided research or best practices | Use of Foundation facilities |
| Provided seminars/forums/convenings | Staff/management training |
Based on their responses, CEP categorized grantees by the pattern of assistance they received. CEP’s analysis shows that providing three or fewer assistance activities is often ineffective; it is only when grantees receive one of the two intensive patterns of assistance described below that they have a substantially more positive experience compared to grantees receiving no assistance.
