Unleashing Your Superpowers

PEAK centers its work on elevating the field of grants management because we believe it needs to be a core competency for all philanthropy professionals, regardless of what their official title might be. Grants management is not only a role and a function, it is a driver for how mission-focused funding institutions achieve impact and results. For those who have prioritized advancing equity and effective grantmaking practices, this must include the values of transparent, clear communications that deepen relationships with your nonprofit partners.

Early on in my career journey, I envisioned that the pinnacle of my professional experience would be to work as a corporate community relations officer. What I wanted most was to find a role that utilized my academic degrees in political science, psychology, and law while immersing myself deeply in helping children and families in need. I was blessed to have mentors helping to guide me, and I held on to every guidepost they offered. One of these mentors turned out to be a community relations officer at a major funder in Akron, Ohio, who was an embedded resource at the city’s newspaper. And so began my introduction to the world of philanthropy and its ability to directly support communities in a host of ways.

Knowing I needed a broad set of experiences to do well when the right role presented itself, for the next eight years I focused on developing cross-cutting skills working in direct service, policy advocacy, and development roles, while learning about different industries through informational interviews with professionals I admired. I also honed an important skill—moxie, which helped me earn the cachet and gumption to walk into any room and be the best advocate for myself and for others. I shared my aspirations with anyone who asked—taking the sage advice I’d received to not keep my plans to myself. As a result, I eventually got a call from someone in my network who was leaving her role. “I remember you sharing that you wanted my job,” she said. “Are you still interested?” Yes, please!

What did I learn from this experience? Be empowered to advocate for yourself. You have much more influence and reach than you sometimes give yourself credit for. I’ve lived by these learnings over the course of my career journey, even as my notion of my ideal role shifted over time.

Each story in this issue—plus our refreshed Grants Professionals Competency Model—demonstrates how grants management and operations staff hold skills that are essential to funders achieving their goals. I hope you see yourself and a path forward that drives you to be a silo-breaking philanthropy generalist and use your superpowers to drive equity-centered, values-driven grantmaking practices.

This issue also explores what holds us back from charting successful and fulfilling careers in this sector. For starters, funders continue to struggle with the outdated notions that, when their employees are under-resourced and depleted, it’s a sign of their commitment and that they are giving the best possible service to the community. Adding insult to injury, as our 2023 Grants Professionals Salary Report makes clear, grants management and operations staff continue to not be seen and recognized on par with their programmatic peers, and the pay gaps that persist in many foundations need to close. In order to transform the sector, we need to develop and support all facets of our people so that they are in the best position to bring their energy, solutions, and ideas into supporting community members who are most in need.

That’s why, at PEAK, we center people—including our own staff—as the most essential and critical lever for successfully shifting and changing the sector. We also center people because careers can stall when you don’t have communities of mutual learning and support both within and outside of your organization. And we are committed to empowering our members to lead and to supporting their career journeys as their roles and professional goals evolve. We are also committed to working with this community to build their dreams and expertise into tangible resources that can more expediently move dollars to the people and communities needing support and transform the sector.

True to our name, PEAK will continue to champion and cultivate a sector that aims high. Let’s dispense with the notion of best practices, which only encourage us to reach a fixed goal and become complacent. Instead, we will continually strive to reach the next level in all things. Let’s reimagine a sector where innovative grantmaking practices know no bounds and where the power of PEAK’s network activates us to accelerate philanthropy to more equitably fulfill the incredible promise that it holds.

Be curious. Be courageous. Be a leader. Your career and our sector will be better for it.