PEAK Grantmaking
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our mission is transforming philanthropy by elevating the field of grants management and empowering grants management professionals to lead the way in operationalizing equity-centered, values-driven grantmaking practices. Ultimately, our vision is realizing the full potential of philanthropy to drive equity and opportunity.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Programs Overview
PEAK Grantmaking is a vibrant, growing community of philanthropy professionals coming together to transform philanthropy through equitable grantmaking practices. Our core membership of grants management professionals is uniquely positioned to lead the way as change agents and influencers for internal practice changes that best support nonprofits and see them as true partners.
PEAK delivers an array of peer learning opportunities where members learn, share, and evolve together—from our CONNECT online forum to chapter meetings, learning cohorts, affinity groups and communities of practice, community conversations and webinars, and our annual conference. Our Principles for Peak Grantmaking, introduced in 2019, provide a values-driven, equity-centered, practice-based roadmap for change. A growing collection of resources delivers practical tools for putting the Principles into practice with on-demand webinars, action planners, how-to guides, case stories, and research reports. We also publish a biannual Journal—a deep dive into critical issues facing philanthropy—and deliver weekly insights contributed by our members, partners, and team that delve into a range of core topics.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people in our network
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of contributing organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of annual convening attendees
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of program participants
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of resources accessed or downloaded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our Purpose and Theory of Change: We believe in principled grantmaking practices that align funders and nonprofits as equal partners in advancing their respective missions and strategic objectives. Narrowing the power gap and ensuring that funders live their values through their grantmaking practices will result in positive change for the causes and solutions we seek to collectively advance.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
A new strategic framework, unveiled in 2021, puts forth a dynamic blueprint for PEAK Grantmaking’s next chapter—identifying four anchors by which to define our goals and guide our work in the years ahead:
1. From Grants Management Professional to Change Agent for Equitable Practices
Our members stand at a critical nexus point within philanthropic institutions, poised to lead change within their organizations and for the field. Grants management and operations staff remain at the core of our community; however, that community now includes a myriad of roles.
We will support and empower our expanding network in raising their voices as change-management practitioners to influence shifts in grantmaking practices. We will continue to support role-specific grants management skills while expanding the knowledge base of our members to include more “generalist” skills in philanthropy—advancing their competencies around best practices in grantmaking practices including the ties to finance, investments, philanthropy technologies, equity, and organizational development—while also positioning them for strategic decision-making roles, career advancement, and more.
2. Emergent Learning Community as Core Philosophy
Our peer networking structure positions us well to create an emergent learning community around our Principles work—shifting from a traditional, linear learning environment toward a more adaptive learning process that is continuously evolving based on the complexity of the issue and the experience of participants. This ensures that we capture lessons learned and new practices to either embed them in current guidance or create new guidance and programs for t
3. New Models for Growth and Sustainability
We are committed to developing new revenue development models that include expanding organizational memberships in key areas including corporate, community, family, and small- to mid-sized foundations; and ensuring that large-asset institutions are gaining value through membership.
This also includes developing a new, customized member-services model that allows us to more deeply engage with members who are ready to embed equitable grantmaking practice changes. Members will be able to request technical assistance and advice as they build their bandwidth to fully embrace the ways that equity can and should be embedded throughout their operations.
4.Strategic Partnerships Extend Reach and Influence
Our engagement in strategic partnerships with other nonprofits, funders, and key constituents extends our reach and influence. This will help accelerate and advance learning—showcasing the expertise and experience of our partners within our member community, demonstrate thoughtful alignments and collaborative thought leadership, and center our grants community as change leaders for the sector. PEAK is on a path to launch a cooperative model with like-minded partners that drops old scripts and co-designs collaborations that will transform philanthropy.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
PEAK Grantmaking’s core membership of grants management professionals is uniquely positioned in philanthropy be agents for practice changes within their organizations to advance equitable grantmaking practices. Those who lead the process of how grants are made are in a unique position to identify disparities and suggest more equitable practices. They serve as a key link between data on the people, nonprofits, and geography their organization serves and their organization’s strategies and priorities. And they can also be strong internal champions in supporting and influencing their organization’s culture and equity practice.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Recent highlights:
In 2019, we launched a call to action to transform the practice of philanthropy through our Principles for Peak Grantmaking, a values-driven, equity-centered, practice-based roadmap for change. In late 2019 and across 2020, we released suites of case stories, action planners, how-to guides, and webinars to support putting the Principles of “Tie Practices to Values,” “Narrow the Power Gap,” and “Drive Equity” into practice.
In March of 2020, just days before 975 conference attendees were set to arrive for PEAK2020 in Seattle, the major threat of COVID-19 spread became apparent. PEAK’s Board of Directors made the decision to cancel, prioritizing the safety of our community and the communities in which we live and work. Attendees rallied to support us, with the majority converting fees into contributions or new memberships. Two months later, PEAK2020 Online brought together 1,132 attendees for a monthlong learning and networking series centered around the theme of Courage in Practice.
In 2020, we saw community participation reach unprecedented levels, including record attendance at 93 virtual events, record downloads and page views of PEAK resources, and heightened engagement on our social networks. Members also supported one another i tackling the urgent issues they faced using PEAK's CONNECT discussion forums. Members logged nearly 45,000 sessions—with 80% starting new discussion threads—to ask questions, offer help, share experiences, and download peer-contributed templates and sample documents.
We launched communities of practice to support peer-to-peer learning and build connections among the advocates and change agents who will transform philanthropy. In addition, we began development of volunteer-led affinity groups for Small Foundations, Corporate Grantmakers, and groups based around race; a pilot mentoring program in partnership with our PEAK Northeast chapter; and cohosted two new virtual cohorts, Grants Management 101 and the Equitable Evaluation Initiative: Making the Case Collaboratory.
We also published the first two editions of a reenvisioned PEAK Grantmaking Journal that delves into critical areas of practice—inviting thought leadership from across our community that challenges us all to rethink norms and transform practices. The new Journal debuted with a spring issue on Black Voices in Grants Management, followed by a fall issue on Reimagining Grantmaking.
Finally, we responded to members’ call to improve their online experience with more intuitive navigation, search, and access features across PEAK’s platforms. We also advanced a series of website development projects that consolidated our insights and resources into convenient hubs; streamlined search, login to access member resources; and launched a new job board.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
PEAK Grantmaking
Board of directorsas of 03/05/2024
Ify Mora
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
Term: 2023 - 2025
Miyesha Perry
Bainum Family Foundation & Kenneth Rainin Foundation
Term: 2022 - 2024
Steven Casey
MacArthur Foundation
Tiauna George
Energy Foundation
Elsa Chin
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Ify Mora
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
Adam Sanders
Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
Jane Ward
National Park Foundation
Josh Abel
Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust
Janet Disla
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
Teresita Maz
Eusebio Diaz
Health Forward Foundation
Theresa Jackson
Seybert Foundation
Roland Kennedy, Jr.
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Justine Palacios
Arnold Ventures
Kyrstin Thorson-Rogers
Proteus Fund
Kelli Rojas
Rose Community Foundation
Miyesha Perry
Bainum Family Foundation & Kenneth Rainin Foundation
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/11/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.