Lance Buhl is a consultant to foundation, nonprofit and corporate contributions executives and trustees on strategic planning; evaluation design; community, and program assessments; and organizational, professional and program development. Buhl & Associates is a joint venture with Alice Buhl.
From 1981 to 1993 Lance was program officer, manager and then director of British Petroleum’s million annual corporate contributions program in the United States. He created the company’s grantmaking programs in urban revitalization — focused primarily on low-income community development — and in the environment, and he developed and managed the corporation’s million social investment program. He facilitated the early discussions between the Cleveland Housing Network, Enterprise Foundation and LISC that led to the creation of the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
Since leaving British Petroleum, Lance has provided services to foundations, nonprofits and corporations as they address critical issues affecting their ability to serve the public. He has designed and facilitated strategic planning processes for testing mission and reshaping programs; undertaken community and organizational assessments for the Ford and Kresge Foundations; helped institutional leaders create effective programs for staff and board development; and assisted clients develop grant and service programs which meet both institutional and community interests. His primary contract since 2000 has been as deputy to James A. Joseph, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, at the US-South Africa Centres for Leadership and Public Values at Duke University and at the University of Cape Town.
Lance has served on many local, state and national committees, most notably as president of the Cleveland Housing Partnership; chair of Ohioans for Affordable Housing and of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Funding the Housing Trust Fund of Ohio; a founder and president of the Donors Forum of Ohio; member of the Board and several committees of the Council on Foundations; founder and trustee of the national Council for Community-Based Development; and trustee of Goddard College.
He has spoken and written extensively on ethics, evaluation, programs and leadership in philanthropy, on professional and organizational development in higher education, and in history. He also served as Book Review editor for Foundation News and Commentary. Lance earned a doctorate in history from Harvard University and his undergraduate degree in history and political science from Kent State University. He completed a twent y-year career in higher education in 1981, holding teaching and administrative positions at Harvard and Cleveland State Universities and consulting nationwide on the reform of higher education.
Clients Include:
The Ford Foundation
Living Cities (via Metis Associates)
Centres for Leadership & Public Values
(at Duke University & University of Cape Town)
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
The Charles Steward Mott Foundation
The German Marshall Fund
INDEPENDENT SECTOR
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
LaSalle Adams Fund (a family foundation)
The Kresge Foundation
ARCO
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
The Fannie Mae Foundation
The Cleveland Foundation
Greater New Orleans Foundation
Rapides Foundation (Alexandria, LA)
Council on Foundations
European Foundation Centre (Brussels)
Donors Forum of Ohio
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthurFoundation
National Center for Family Philanthropy
The Cemala Foundation (a family foundation)
Environmental Federation of North Carolina
The National AIDS Fund
National Funding Collaborative on Violence Prevention
The Chautauqua Institution
MCI
The Enterprise Foundation
The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre (Toronto)
Neighborhood Progress, Inc. (Cleveland)
Eaton Corporation
Owens-Corning Fiberglas
New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative
Camden Development Collaborative
Enterprise Social Investment Corporation
Alliance to Save Energy
