PSO / Philanthropic Practice
The Forum supports and advances the work of our members to strengthen and grow effective philanthropic practice through high-quality philanthropy education in two primary ways: providing education to PSOs and providing education to funders.
About
We provide education for national and regional philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs) to advance their important work in the sector. Second, we provide education that our members can deliver to their members and constituents to advance effective philanthropy.
Education for PSOs
The Forum provides ongoing education, professional development and networking opportunities to help PSOs in their important work to support, inform and advance philanthropy across the country. This includes periodic calls and webinars; Peer Communities that offer our members ongoing opportunities to connect and learn with their peers who have similar job responsibilities; and our signature Annual Conference, which is the nation’s largest gathering of the CEOs and staffs of regional and national PSOs in the field.
Peer Communities
The Forum’s Peer Communities and listservs offer our members ongoing opportunities to connect and learn with their peers with similar job responsibilities in regional and national philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs). Peer Communities offer opportunities for members to connect through ongoing listserv discussions, regular round-robin calls and an in-person convening each year at the Forum’s Annual Conference. Our Peer Communities include:
The Communications Peer Community is for those with a communications role at a PSO. Topics for discussion may include newsletter, social media strategy, website and other content curation, writing op-eds, etc.
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Annual Conference
The 2022 Forum Annual Conference is unlike any other event in the philanthropy sector. It is the only event that brings together people from all of the country’s philanthropy associations and networks—philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs) that play a key role in advancing, convening, mobilizing, informing and supporting the field.
The Forum’s 2022 Annual Conference is the ONLY conference where you can connect with your Forum colleagues engaged in the same type of work as you. You’ll be inspired by a roster of engaging keynote speakers; build your skills in key functional areas for PSOs; have plenty of structured and informal time to network with your peers, and have several opportunities to explore Seattle.
Education for Funders
The Forum develops and implements strategies that leverage the full knowledge and skills within our network to develop high-quality education opportunities to advance philanthropic practice, which can be delivered by our members throughout the network in a consistent, effective and efficient way. We focus our work in three core areas: philanthropic practice, which focuses on the “how” of philanthropic work and on building skills and knowledge for deeper impact; advancing racial equity, diversity and inclusion in philanthropy; and special programming to serve specific types of philanthropy, such as our community foundation services. View past examples of the Forum's work to develop philanthropy education to be used throughout our network, including the Essential Skills & Strategies for New Grantmakers curriculum and the Maximizing Corporate Community Investments curriculum.
Community Foundation Services
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Essential Skills & Strategies for New Grantmakers
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Maximizing Corporate Community Investments
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Grantmaker Education Programming Directory
The Forum’s Grantmaker Education Program Directory, a searchable database of regional associations’ grantmaker education programs, favorite speakers, and planning tools, was developed by and for regional associations to help them more effectively and efficiently meet their members' diverse educational needs.
Katharine Keller
Director of Public Policy at Forefront
Samuel Greenlee
Executive Director at Alchemist Community Development Corporation
Joanne Kelley
CEO at Philanthropy Colorado
Rusty Stahl
President & CEO at Fund the People
Events
March 31
Better Stories, Better Language: A New Voice for Philanthropy
2:00pm to 3:00pm EDT
Virtual
July 17-18
2023 Forum Annual Conference
Mon, Jul 17, 2023 to Wed, Jul 19, 2023
New York City, NY
Resources
Online Community Foundation Express Training
The Forum is partnering with CF Express Training on online training and certificate program focuses on core essentials over a 15-module series that covers nearly every aspect of community foundation work: from asset development and quality grants programs design to fiduciary and policy matters.
PSO / Philanthropic Practice Listserv
Join our new PSO / Philanthropic Practice Listserv created to support an open exchange of equity-focused learnings, ideas, practices and tools among Forum members.
The COVID-19 Crucible
The COVID-19 Crucible: How Philanthropy-Serving Organizations Responded to the Pandemic and Are Adapting in a New Landscape.
Active Community Capital Infographic
The Council of Michigan Foundations shares this easily customizable template for a story on public-private partnerships based on CMF's Active Community Capital 25 year public-private partnership story completed this summer in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Programming for New Grantmakers
Many philanthropy-serving organizations offer a training program or series for philanthropy professionals who are new to the field or are looking to update their skills and knowledge.
Foundation Legal Help Desk
The Help Desk is designed to provide foundations with access to answers to legal questions related to the operations of a foundation. The foundation world is a complex field that requires specialized legal knowledge and many foundations do not have easy access to an attorney with expertise in this field.
The Forum's philanthropy education work is led by Traci Slater-Rigaud, the Forum’s Director of Member Engagement & Partnerships.