Shaping the Future Is Up to Us

Stephen Covey, a sage advisor on planning and motivation, said, “You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically—to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside.”

The biggest “yes” for me is definitively making equity the work of philanthropy. And the PEAK community, anchored in grants management experts and philanthropy professionals who represent every job title in the sector, is perfectly positioned to shape—or reshape—the practices, policies, and procedures that undergird the philanthropic sector to advance equity.

At PEAK’s 2022 Annual Membership Meeting, we put a bow on our 25th anniversary by reflecting on the past year, how members of this community held on to each other through triumphs and tragedies and how PEAK was able to thrive and set a strategic course for our next 25 years. We also looked at the future of grants management through an insight-filled conversation with members Josh Abel, Rachel Kimber, and Rebecca Van Sickle. 

If you weren’t able to join the meeting, I urge you to stream the recording and read our 2021 annual report. We’ve centered voices from our community in both, and I hope they inspire you to share loudly and proudly that your participation with PEAK yields sector-changing dividends. Truly, we would not be here without you. 

I credit the work of our founders and each of you for making grants management what it is today. Whether at a small organization or a large institutional funder, you lead from where you are. You hold critical knowledge. You have positional authority. You can be the spark that ignites equitable, transformational practice change—and there’s no going back. 

Shaping the future of our profession is up to us, and whether you’re breaking down the administrative barriers we erected, banishing status-quo thinking, or advancing equitable grantmaking practices, there is much work to do. The future is in your hands. Let’s get to work!