Joining Funder Groups
/There’s a lot to know about what’s happening in philanthropy. Even if you are already up on issues or communities where you hope to make an impact with your giving, there are always new developments and more to learn. Joining a funder group is a great way to expand your knowledge and connections. These groups help donors explore giving strategies, philanthropic best practices and emerging opportunities. Their goal is to increase the impact of philanthropy through donor education, networking and community building. They are often the place where collaborative funds and other coordinated giving efforts gestate.
What Are the Main Types of Funder Groups?
Increasingly in the sector, insiders are using the overarching description “philanthropy-serving organization,” or PSO, but the terms below are more commonly used by donors.
Regional Associations. “RAs,” as they are sometimes called, bring together funders that make grants in a specific geographic area. Regional associations of grantmakers offer professional development, funder coordination on grantmaking areas, and sometimes advocacy. They generally do not make grants themselves, but they play an important role increasing the impact of philanthropy by those who do make grants or gifts in the region.
Most regional associations of grantmakers are membership-based organizations, and usually, membership has a minimum threshold — for instance, Southern California Grantmakers is for funders who give at least $25,000 annually to nonprofits in the region. Each RA will have a different set of membership criteria, some allowing individual donors or large donor-advised fund holders, others not.
RAs can provide opportunities for funders to think together holistically, across issue areas, about philanthropy in their region. They can also bring a local analysis to national or global issues. They frequently provide training to foundation staff at all levels, like how to read 990s to understand grantee fiscal health. And they can play a role — often alongside community foundations — in mobilizing resources to address challenges in a region through collaborative funding.
Issue-Focused Affinity Groups. Funder affinity groups bring donors together around a shared interest. They range from broad groups like Grantmakers for Education and Grantmakers in Health, to groups focused tightly on issues of concern to smaller numbers of funders, like Media Impact Funders and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders. United Philanthropy Forum, a national association of PSOs, maintains a public membership list that provides a thorough, if not exhaustive, list of regional associations and affinity groups funders might want to join. Donors come together in affinity groups to learn about funding opportunities and strategies, and often collaborate to maximize their collective impact.
A funder affinity group can be small and relatively informal, like a giving circle that chooses to learn together about an issue area where they intend to make grants, or more institutionalized, like one of the many established organizations in particular sectors of philanthropy that organize conferences, publish research, advise funders, engage in advocacy and more. In the latter category are groups like Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Environmental Grantmakers Association.
Community Foundations, Intermediaries and Other Peer Learning Organizations. Community foundations are another resource for peer learning about philanthropy. Many community foundations host giving circles or pooled funds where donors come together to do things like start a book club or attend educational events together to learn more about a topic related to their giving. Community foundations tend to be more oriented toward individual donors than regional associations and national affinity groups. If you establish a relationship with your local community foundation — for instance, by setting up a donor-advised fund or attending events there—you’ll hear about opportunities to learn from or with other funders, both foundations and major donors. You’ll also be in the loop about donor education events put on by the community foundation itself or partner organizations.
Sometimes the distinction between a “funding intermediary” and an affinity group that also manages collaborative funds can be blurred (or unimportant). Intermediaries like Borealis Philanthropy, Arabella Advisors and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors also provide donor learning services and coordinate like-minded funders. Similar to community foundations, they also tend to be open to serving individual major donors.
There are other national PSOs that present learning opportunities and funder coordination that don’t exactly fit the regional association or issue-based group mold. These include the Council on Foundations, Center for Effective Philanthropy, Exponent Philanthropy and National Center for Family Philanthropy. All of these groups have conferences from which donors may benefit.
Pros and Cons
There are many obvious benefits to joining with like-minded donors to explore better ways of giving, but there are also elements donors should consider before joining.
Costs. Most PSOs are structured as membership organizations. Sometimes, they have a flat annual membership fee, but usually, the fee is on a sliding scale based on annual grantmaking totals. Membership costs can be significant, but also relatively low compared to the learning and coordinating opportunities they offer.
Groupthink. A gathering of “like-minded” funders can feel exclusionary to donors who don’t approach the work with the same point of view. The groups are ostensibly about open exchange of perspectives, and debate among members on strategy and priorities is always an essential positive element of the groups. But many PSOs coalesce around a particular worldview that may not be apparent at the outset. Taking a look at the educational programming presented by the group is a good way to start getting a better sense of the group’s priorities.
Large Funder Dominance. One of the common complaints from members of PSOs, even if they value the totality of what the group offers, is that they are dominated by the funders that give the most money on the issue (and are most likely paying the largest membership fees on a sliding scale). Some groups have policies to mitigate this dynamic. It is appropriate to ask about this before joining.
Time. Sometimes, donors just want to write a check to their favorite charities and don’t need to be up on the latest concerns of other donors. Joining a PSO is a time commitment involving reading newsletters, attending educational programming, participating in planning meetings and other possibilities. Learning takes time!
Taking Action
Think about how you like to learn. To learn more about an issue on which you hope to make an impact as a philanthropist, would you prefer conversation and sharing with peers or independently directed research online? Might a funder tour of local nonprofits organized by a community foundation be of interest? A discussion series hosted by your regional association of grantmakers? All of these possibilities, and more, are out there. You could try a few, with different groups, and find the best fit for you. Some groups allow prospective members to come to a few meetings or to pay a nonmember rate to attend an annual conference before officially joining.
Check out the calendar of events of the regional association of grantmakers in your area and the affinity groups related to your giving priorities. There might be a conference, discussion series or other opportunities for peer learning with funders near you.
In addition to existing opportunities for peer learning, you can always start a giving circle with friends or family with shared philanthropic concerns. Learn together as you plan your giving. Share readings and other resources or attend educational events as a group. If you decide to establish your giving circle at a community foundation, they might also be able to provide information and educational resources.
Check out IP’s Grant Giver pages on issues or regions where you hope to make an impact as a donor. Read about the PSOs and community foundations highlighted.
Read IP profiles and other coverage of any organizations you’re interested in getting involved with.
