PEAK Community
Curiosity. Transparency. Diversity. Vulnerability. Collaboration.
While emergent learning is a new term we are using to explain the type of organization we want to build, the networks we want to foster, and the philanthropic values-alignment we want to lead across the sector, the qualities of emergent learning—curiosity, transparency, diversity, vulnerability, collaboration—reflect how we’ve always operated, and so much of what our community does day in and day out.
Whether it’s exploring the creation of a mentorship program with our members, meeting with a chapter or caucus to discuss grant reporting or career trajectories, or trying out a new volunteer role, we are always learning from and with you, our members.
We are excited to share all of the ways we’ve been convening, connecting, sharing, and learning together in 2022, celebrate our growing community and our members’ career trajectories, and give you a sneak peek of what’s coming next.
Board of Directors Update
This past year, PEAK’s board of directors has been on a journey to explore what it means to be a best-in-class governing body and has led with imagination, collaboration, and care. We are excited for the board to continue this work under the direction of our new officers (from left): Cochairs Allison Gister, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Miyesha Perry, Bainum Family Foundation; Treasurer Elsa Chin, JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and Secretary Jane Ward, Meyer Foundation. We also extend our deepest gratitude to Bridget De Leon, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, who resigned from the board earlier this year, for her service.
The nominating committee, cochaired by Perry and Adam Sanders, Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, is now interviewing candidates to serve on the board for the 2023–2026 term. The committee is working to ensure a board that is diverse in personal demographics, organization type, job band, and region, and they are prioritizing candidates’ demonstrated dedication to PEAK’s Principles and community, as well as experience and commitment to DEI, evaluation, finance, and fundraising.
We look forward to sharing five new candidates for approval by our membership in spring 2023. Special thanks to committee members Kathleen Badejo, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Alexandria Featherston-Gomez, Kenneth Rainin Foundation; Dominique Hilliard, Ballmer Group; Kerri Hurley, Barr Foundation; Adam Liebling, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Kelly Martin, The James Irvine Foundation; Bonnie Rivers, The JPB Foundation; Deena Scotti, Missouri Foundation for Health; Suzanne Shea, Ford Foundation; Ursula Stewart, Salesforce.org; Kristen Summers, East Bay Community Foundation; and Patrick Taylor, Zellerbach Family Foundation.
PEAK Board and Staff Host First Annual Retreat
During the final week of July, PEAK staff and board members gathered for an inclusive convening focused on connecting, learning together, and strategically planning for the future. Board members reported that they appreciated getting time to dig into board culture and align around the steps needed to have a best-in-class governing board. Staff launched into formal work on racial equity, brainstormed ways to more deeply infuse our Principles throughout the organization, and learned about one another’s strengths and work styles. New connections were made, relationships were deepened, and there was a healthy mix of learning, food, and fun. Special thanks to our facilitators Jackie Hanselmann Sergi, Radical Spark Coaching; Mia Roberts, Freshpower; and Daniel Weinzveg, Weinzveg Consulting; and to our meeting planner Marva Lewis McKnight, MLM Consulting.
Community News
Former PEAK Southeast Communications Chair Suzanne Philemon has been promoted to executive director at The Cannon Foundation.
PEAK DEI Learning and Support Community Cochair Valerie Black has been promoted to senior community organizer at the Kansas Health Foundation.
Former PEAK Northeast Cochair Indya Hartley has been promoted to director, grants management at The ELMA Philanthropies.
Mary Eisler has retired from the Walther Cancer Foundation, where Susan Luse has started as the new office and program administrator.
PEAK Equitable Grantmaking Community Cochair Katie Kaluza has started a new role as director, grants and philanthropic services at Hillspire.
At the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, Kim Dame has been promoted to operations manager and Grace Loughborough has been promoted to program assistant.
Sarita Michaca, former PEAK Northeast volunteer, is now director of grants at Tides.
Sara Jatcko has been promoted to senior specialist, grants operations at DuPont.
Former PEAK Board Cochair Gary Romero has retired from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
Jessica Gonzalez-Wagner has started a new role as senior grants manager at the Groundswell Fund.
PEAK2022 Conference Committee Member Kathleen Badejo has started a new position as program associate at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
PEAK Latinx Caucus Steering Committee Member Cecilia Rivas-Gonzalez, of The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, was a part of the Council on Foundations Career Pathways 2022 Spring Cohort.
Holly Dodge has retired from The Wallace Foundation.
Jonathan Goldberg, a PEAK board alumnus, is celebrating 25 years of service at The Surdna Foundation.
Marcus McGrew, a PEAK board alumnus, began a new role as director of grantmaking, learning, and operations at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Former PEAK Northern California volunteer Kayla Cook has joined 1892 consulting as a grants management consultant.
Volunteer Leadership Summit Planning Committee Member Roberto Cremonini has been promoted to senior VP of client innovation and impact at GivingData.
PEAK2022 Conference Committee Member Bernadette Gladish was promoted to grants and programs manager at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.
George L. Askew, MD has been appointed president and CEO of the Meyer Foundation.
PEAK2022 Conference Cochair Amy Hall has been promoted to senior charitable giving associate at the Georgia Power Foundation.
PEAK Midwest Leadership Committee Member Deborah Clark has been promoted to director of grants management at the Woods Fund Chicago. This summer, Woods Fund staff and board, philanthropic peers, and dear friends came together to celebrate Deborah’s 20th anniversary, posting this message to LinkedIn: “Deborah is the memory, the glue, and the joy that has held the mission of the foundation up high over the past two decades.”
PEAK Board Member Teresita Maz has been promoted to VP of operations at BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation.
Anna Huynh, PEAK AANHPI Caucus Cochair, has started a new role as grants and systems director at the Baszucki Family Foundation.
Former PEAK Northeast Cochair Paige Granger has been promoted to managing director, grants management at The Rockefeller Foundation.
Kristen Summers, former PEAK Mideast chair, has started a new role as grants and scholarships manager at the East Bay Community Foundation.
PEAK Minnesota Cochair Kaitlin Ostlie also began a role at the Foundation as senior grant specialist.
PEAK Board Member Steven Casey has started as deputy director of grants at the We Mean Business Coalition.
PEAK Oral and Alternative Reporting Working Group Cochair Rachel Kimber has joined Smile Train as vice president, grants management.
Emerson Merkerson has been promoted to director of grants administration at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Roshell Rinkins has been promoted to VP for grants administration and chief DEI officer at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
PEAK Northeast Communications Cochair Abigail Osei is one of the Youth Giving Summit ambassadors for The International Social Impact Institute’s inaugural event.
PEAK Board Member Adam Sanders was promoted to managing director of grants management at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
PEAK Midwest Cochair Tara Havlicek has been promoted to program manager at the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation.
Traci Johnson, PEAK Small Foundations Affinity Group cochair, began a new role as director of grantmaking at The Pittsburgh Foundation.
Krista Batey has started a new role as director of grants management at Resources Legacy Fund.
Wendy Elliott has begun a new role at United Way of Central Oklahoma as vice president of community impact.
PEAK Greater Washington, DC Cochair Andrew Brown is now mission adaptation grants manager at the American Red Cross.
Kristy Klein Davis was appointed president of the Healthcare Georgia Foundation.
Miabi Chatterji has started a new role as grants manager at the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Andrea Ricci has started a new role as associate grants and administrative manager at the George Family Foundation.
Kenneth Jones has been promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer at the MacArthur Foundation.
Send your news for the next edition to info@peakgrantmaking.org.
Welcome, New Organization Members
Akonadi Foundation
Amalgamated Foundation
American Diabetes Association
Baszucki Family Foundation
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation
The Broad Foundation
Building Impact*
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Cargill
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Climate Imperative
The Community Foundation of Muncie & Delaware County
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Democracy Fund
Dorot Foundation
Dramatists Guild Foundation
The Eleven Consulting*
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
Fondation CHANEL
Fremont Group Foundation
General Mills
Group Health Foundation
Health Net
Health Research Alliance
HMSA Foundation
Indigo Innovation Group*
Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix
Katz Amsterdam Foundation
Laird Norton Family Foundation
Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
Marguerite Casey Foundation
MetLife Foundation
MJS Foundation
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
North Star Impact Group*
Wayne Rollins Foundation
Omaha Community Foundation
Perenchio Foundation
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
Poetry Foundation**
Project Management Institute Educational Foundation
Resources Legacy Fund
Roey Thorpe*
Roundhouse Foundation
Mark Taper Foundation
S.H. Cowell Foundation
The SCAN Foundation
SECU Foundation
Sunlight Giving
United Way Fox Cities
United Way Suncoast
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
YMCA of the USA
The Zeist Foundation
*Consultant Members
**Sustaining Members
PEAK Completes Its First Pilot Mentorship Program
PEAK concluded its first-ever mentorship program this July after a year of connecting grants management peers to support one another on their career trajectories! Forty-two members from across the PEAK Northeast chapter committed to the program, where they were paired intentionally by our selection committee. Pairs met at least six times throughout the year, and periodically as cohorts of mentors and mentees to troubleshoot challenges, share resources and ideas, and discuss ways we can improve mentorship opportunities moving forward.
A common thread in what we heard from both mentors and mentees was how mentoring can be a mutually beneficial experience when power dynamics are addressed and minimized, and the focus is put on co-learning.
Mentee Zenia Dacio-Mesina, World Education Services Mariam Assefa Fund, stated that it was “so helpful to get to chat with someone else in grants management and hear a different perspective. At some point, the line between mentor [and] mentee became blurred and I enjoyed having a peer to discuss various grants management topics with!”
Mentee Elizabeth Flores-Amaya, Women’s Sports Foundation, had “only positive things to say about the program. It was such a great experience that my mentor and I have decided to continue to stay in touch.”
This program was developed to honor the memory and legacy of Orneata Prawl, one of PEAK’s beloved founding members, an early volunteer chapter leader, and a mentor to countless professionals. Our special thanks go out to the Ford Foundation and Salesforce.org for sponsoring this effort. We will share information about the next iteration of the mentorship program in the new year.
Grants Management 101—Class of 2022
In August, PEAK launched its latest iteration of Grants Management 101 as an interactive virtual learning series designed to take a deep dive into the fundamentals of grants management, the philanthropic sector, and equitable, effective grantmaking practices. Thank you to NGOsource for sponsoring this year’s program.
Embarking on this journey with PEAK are 120 professionals new to the field. Across the five-month program, they’ll attend content sessions facilitated by a diverse faculty of PEAK staff and guest presenters, as well as cohort convenings that offer space to meet in smaller groups, discuss content together, go over homework, and connect with each other. These small groups are being facilitated by six Cohort Advisors, PEAK board alumni who are offering their leadership, time, expertise, and experience (left to right, from top row): Jennifer Burran, Fidelity Foundation; Margaret Egan, Egan Consulting; Adriana Jiménez, American Jewish World Service; Adin Miller, Los Altos Community Foundation; Ursula Stewart, Salesforce.org; and Patrick Taylor, Zellerbach Family Foundation.
Member-Exclusive Tools and Insights
PEAK resources, tools, and insights are just a click (or two) away at peakgrantmaking.org. From the navigation bar, select the Resources tab to access our ever-growing collection. You can then use the dropdown menus to easily search by topic. Resources can also be searched by type: For example, select Annual Convenings for past conference keynotes and breakouts, or How-To Guide for a deep dive into our Principles. A global search tool at the top right of every page is a helpful shortcut if you know the title or speaker.
Click the Insights tab to access PEAK’s expansive library of articles, weekly reads, and news, which is searchable by topic. Here, you can also explore every issue of the Journal, either choosing to download the PDFs or read the articles online.
Explore (and post) career opportunities on PEAK’s job board. New in 2022: A filter to search for jobs with salary ranges posted. Searching for a new team member? PEAK members are invited to add job postings at no cost.
Coming in 2023: A deep dive into our Steward Responsively Principle
Early next year, we will release an in-depth suite of resources around the Steward Responsively Principle for Peak Grantmaking. This Principle encourages grantmakers to manage all entrusted resources—people, finances, reputation, and time—with care to balance stewardship with an agile approach to risk. The release will include an openly-available action planner, case stories, and how-to guides exclusive to Organization Members. Be on the lookout for this release, and an invitation to join our Community Conversation for a deep-dive discussion around these resources.
Learn, Share, and Evolve at PEAK2023
We’ll reunite in Baltimore from May 7–10. We’re excited to debut a new kind of annual convening that invites and inspires the PEAK community to join us on a collective emergent learning journey toward more equitable, effective grantmaking.
And the timing couldn’t be better: In 2023, we’ll focus on our Learn, Share, Evolve Principle. Throughout those three days, and throughout the year, we’ll lift up stories from across our community of the ways that PEAK members are leaning into each of our five Principles and transforming practices.
We’ll bring diverse voices to the mainstage and introduce new experiences like open fishbowl conversations, world cafés, and ideation rooms to help us explore pressing questions, such as: What makes a best practice in grantmaking? What might philanthropy achieve if it centered around trust of our nonprofit partners? What’s standing in the way of progress in our organizations and in our careers? And how can each of us activate as a changemaker, both inside our organization and across the field?
Be there and be inspired! We’ll also be streaming keynotes and selected sessions for virtual participants.
2022 Volunteer Leadership Summit
PEAK hosted its signature Volunteer Leadership Summit from September 19–22, with more than 100 volunteer leaders from across our community coming together virtually to participate in professional development, networking, and self-care activities geared toward building leadership skills. This summit is a way for us to celebrate and give back to the volunteers who have led peer networks, participated in our advisory councils and committees, served on the board of directors, and acted as PEAK champions over the years.
This year’s summit incorporated a unique mindfulness session led by Melissa Mueller-Douglas of MYRetreat that featured a tasty twist (practicing mindfulness with chocolate—yum!), an interactive workshop focused on navigating the complexities of leadership led by Marissa Lifshen-Steinberger of One Eleven leadership, and a panel on leadership and career trajectories featuring volunteers Jina Freiberg, Katz Amsterdam Foundation; Traci Johnson, The Pittsburgh Foundation; and Abigail Osei, The Starr Foundation; and facilitated by PEAK board alumnus Adin Miller, Los Altos Community Foundation. Ruchika Tulshyan, founder of inclusion strategy practice Candour, presented the keynote, “From Intention to Impact: Inclusive Leadership for Immediate Change,” highlighting the importance of psychological safety to creating a truly inclusive workplace.
PEAK offers its deepest gratitude to the planning committee for cocreating this event with us, including Johnson, Miller, and Osei, along with David Bender, Pinellas Community Foundation; Roberto Cremonini, GivingData; Elizabeth Donohue, Peter G. Peterson Foundation; Alexandria Featherston-Gomez, Kenneth Rainin Foundation; and La Keisha Leek, MacArthur Foundation.
Around the Chapters
Deepening peer relationships, exploring challenging topics, and expanding the grants management skills toolbox are priorities for our chapters. Many are hosting frequent, informal conversations with members that often lead to aha moments and make participants feel more connected to the work and the community of philanthropic professionals. And to help ease the day-to-day challenges of navigating a pandemic, chapters have been finding ways to highlight the simple joys in life and bring levity to the work through lighthearted icebreakers and activities. PEAK has the amazing privilege of working with talented, dedicated volunteers who unwaveringly lead chapters in developing and strengthening meaningful connections!
—Altinay Cortes, Chapter Manager
PEAK Florida led a robust discussion that highlighted the value of multiple communication strategies. The star-studded panel, which featured (from left) Grace Maseda, Helios Education Foundation, Jessica Cohen, The Miami Foundation, Lashonda Curry, Florida Humanities, and Leigh Davis, Pinellas Community Foundation, shared ways to efficiently link grants management to communications that ensure that a foundation’s work, and the work of their grantees, does not go unnoticed. They also explored annual reports, grantee stories, and social media reels.
PEAK Washington, DC led a webinar that explored how the American Nurses Foundation handles rejections, and the challenges they face when trying to offer support to applicants that were denied funding.
In partnership with Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, PEAK Mideast cohosted a workshop about smart grant reporting, where participants further developed their competencies in communications and knowledge management while exchanging best practices and new ideas with peers.
This year, PEAK Midwest launched a series of coffee chats featuring an array of topics and volunteer hosts. A recent chat centered on ways to support one another as organizations continue to navigate the changing landscape of work settings. Members will continue gathering to discuss trends in philanthropy and grantmaking practices while strengthening and building relationships with colleagues.
PEAK Minnesota led a panel of policy, legal, government, and philanthropic experts in which they discussed the strategies that the nonprofit and government sectors can employ to support and strengthen our democracy. The panel encouraged attendees to explore the ways their organizations can step up and participate in civic engagement work.
PEAK New England launched monthly coffee hours this year. Topics have ranged from tipping, grassroots funding, and fiscal sponsors to a deep dive on how the grants management team at Borealis Philanthropy weighs the pros and cons of working as a philanthropic intermediary. These coffee hours have led to rich discussions and resulted in attendees sharing numerous resources and tactics to handle all sorts of complicated challenges.
Earlier this year, PEAK Northeast brought together PEAK Southwest and Philanthropy New York for a panel conversation on information governance and managing grant records. Participants learned from thought leaders in foundation archiving who covered the value of foundation records for future internal and external research and the challenges and opportunities presented by the move to digital recordkeeping. This dynamic discussion was the most highly-attended virtual chapter meeting to date!
PEAK Northern California and PEAK Rocky Mountain collaborated to lead an engaging discussion where grants management professionals shared the ways they used trust-based philanthropy principles to change practices at their organizations. This event featured the perspectives of (left to right, from top row) Stupski Foundation’s Malila Becton-Consuegra and Daniel Oviedo, San Francisco Foundation’s Brandi Howard, General Service Foundation’s Elaine Mui, and Zellerbach Family Foundation’s Patrick Taylor. Each panelist explained how their organization began the journey and where they are now.
In addition to hosting two coffee hours, PEAK Pacific Northwest led a riveting conversation about the basics of advocacy and lobbying in philanthropy. Brassington Consulting’s Melanie Matthews and Northwest Health Foundation’s Felicita Monteblanco (shown here) shared ways that philanthropic professionals can legally and ethically advocate for the causes they support and engage with local elected officials. Members learned the differences between political and philanthropic advocacy and lobbying, and left with examples to help them try out much of what was discussed.
PEAK Southeast discussed ways to say no to grant applicants in a way that makes an organization a door-opener rather than a gatekeeper. The extensive list of sample messages they created showcases a variety of ways to communicate helpfully when organizations aren’t a good match.
PEAK Southern California led an informal discussion on wellness and networking, where they shared creative ways that local foundations are integrating staff wellness into their organizational culture to address burnout, disconnect, and the ever-elusive life-work balance.
Peer Groups
Learning, meaningful gatherings, peer sharing around practice-change work, and vulnerable conversations that deepen peer connections are at the heart of PEAK’s peer groups. Each peer group centers community, giving members space to support one another through sometimes challenging discussion topics and the important change management work that’s transforming the sector. These groups have continued their commitment to serve as supportive networks, evident in their ongoing conversations around self-advocacy in the workplace, intention setting, and reimagining reporting.
Visit peakgrantmaking.org/peer-groups to learn more and join.
PEAK’s Affinity Groups and Caucuses
All members are welcome to join these identity-based groups, which are focused on networking and peer learning.
The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Caucus (AANHPI) hosted a discussion around self-advocacy in the workplace, with panelists Andrew Brown, American Red Cross; Belguun “Bella” Bat-Erdene, Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights; and Lorraine Nibut, Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, sharing their experiences followed by small-group discussions. Participants received various tips and approaches for being your own best champion.
The Black Caucus has been deeply focused on the interpersonal elements of career development. This year’s conversations were facilitated by guest speaker and consultant Denise Barreto and by staff liaison Chantias Ford, and focused on professional and personal self-advocacy as well as navigating workspaces as Black professionals.
The Latinx Caucus is building comunidad through periodic Cafecito Hours. Topics have included thoughtful intention-setting that balances organization and personal goals and career trajectories with PEAK Board Member Eusebio Díaz of Health Forward Foundation.
The Accountability and Action for Allies Caucus continues its practice of meeting every six weeks to build relationships within the group, reaffirm their collective commitment to allyship, and share challenges, successes, and lessons learned along the way. The caucus’s three cochairs are eager to bring in outside voices to share expertise and dig deeper into learning and practicing the art of allyship.
The Corporate Grantmakers Affinity Group hosted an open discussion during PEAK2022 Online covering business-aligned charitable giving versus non-business-aligned charitable giving, integrating trust-based philanthropy in corporate grantmaking, and working with employee resource groups to maximize impact.
The Small Foundations Affinity Group facilitated discussions around methods to create transparent and transformational processes and relationships with grantees.
The Intermediaries Affinity Group is hosting quarterly open meetings for those who work at a funding intermediary to talk with peers about their unique position in the sector and “all the little things nobody else seems to understand.”
PEAK’s Communities of Practice
Exclusive to Organization and Consultant Members, these groups are focused on organization-based peer learning as well as resource sharing and development.
DEI Learning and Support Community members are on a journey toward improving and elevating grantmaking practices that often go unnoticed or remain status quo. Earlier this year, they hosted a panel that featured several members who are deep into the work of demographic data collection, sharing their perspectives on operationalizing the guidance from PEAK’s Driving Equity with Demographic Data Collection and reflecting on the ways foundations must ensure that demographic data collection is instilled in the work of the organization.
The Equitable Grantmaking Practices Community has been building a strong community of growth and accountability. Utilizing a benchmarking survey from last year on equitable grantmaking practices, the group has been reviewing case studies and holding discussions on topics such as sourcing grantees equitably and alternative forms of reporting. Sessions are designed to understand what others are doing, and to create goals to move practices forward at respective organizations.
The Tech and Data Futurists Community has focused on discussions and sharing resources around data management tools, techniques, and best practices. Members are able to learn better ways to utilize their grants management systems, manage and share data through innovative data dashboards, and use technology to develop more equitable grantmaking practices.
This spring, PEAK Grantmaking welcomed the Grants Management Directors’ Circle, a safe space for senior-level grants management leaders at high asset foundations to support collaborative leadership, promote more equitable practices, and exchange ideas and learnings. Jennifer Adams, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Marcus McGrew, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Jennifer Adams, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, are cohosting the group’s fall retreat, which will be centered on healing, wellness, and celebrating ten years of connections.
PEAK’s Working Groups
Working groups are informal forums created and led by PEAK members to explore specifically defined topics on grantmaking practice. Working groups are open to all members.
The Oral and Alternative Reporting Working Group has been busy exploring ways to shift reporting practices. Sessions have highlighted case studies from members who have adopted alternative forms of reporting, such as oral reporting or focus groups, or eliminated reporting altogether. Discussions have been rooted in framing for equitable, trust-based grantmaking practices. Recently, through a partnership with Philanthropy New York, the group held an interactive workshop on best ways to learn from nonprofit partners and how to shift the power imbalance through reporting.
The Impact Assessment Tool Working Group has hosted productive exchanges on ways to use tools and technology to better assess grantmaking impact. Recently, a question on the CONNECT forum sparked the creation of a session on using Microsoft Power BI to advance grants data reporting and data visualization. Brittany Andersen, Walder Foundation, led a panel conversation examining case studies with Traci Johnson, The Pittsburgh Foundation; Patricia Jones, Health Foundation of South Florida; and Wendy Rohrbach, Missouri Foundation for Health.
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