Navigate Disruption: Equip Your Grants Management with a Continuity Plan

This event is part of the PEAK2026 Second Set Series.

As a grants manager, your grantees and your colleagues rely on you to ensure timely processing of requests and payments. But what happens when you can’t be there? What if a family member becomes ill and you need to take unplanned leave, or you get a once in a life-time opportunity to take a sabbatical to New Zealand? How would your organization or team cope if a key staffer leaves unexpectedly, if a major project was assigned to you, or if a natural disaster strikes? Ensuring continuity of operations and support internally and externally is essential, especially for those who serve as the sole grantmaker in their organization.

This interactive session covers the fundamentals of continuity planning for grants management, why it matters, and a workshop to get you started. Real-world case studies will illustrate the step-by-step process of developing a contingency plan, including key scenarios, roles, and practical strategies for maintaining operations. Attendees will work in groups to begin drafting a continuity plan tailored to their own roles or teams, using a simple structure and guided prompts. The session concludes with Q&A and resource sharing, empowering participants to strengthen resilience and take actionable steps.

Attendees will:

• Understand the core components and value of a grants management business continuity plan
• Identify key risks and scenarios relevant to your role
• Begin drafting a continuity plan using a practical framework
• Learn strategies for engaging colleagues and securing leadership buy-in

Speakers

Jen Ruffner, The Summit Charitable Foundation

Mary Kadzielski, Philanthropy.io

Quinn MacNichol, Northwest Health Foundation

What To Expect

This session is 90 minutes and will be recorded. Registrants will have access to the recorded session for one month post-event.

Registration

Cost per person for each session:

• Organization Members: $50 per session
• Consultant Members: $50 per session
• Individual Members: $75 per session
• Nonmembers: $75 per session