INSIGHT

The Self-Adoring Leader: Nine practices for realizing your leadership potential

In these highlights from our 2023 Volunteer Leadership Summit, leadership coach CarolLaine García, PhD, explains how, in order to develop yourself as a leader, you first need to develop a relationship with yourself that is rooted in self-care.

Cocreate the PEAK2024 Experience With Us

Our call for proposals has been extended to November 2. We are looking for sessions that will inform, excite, empower, and engage participants to reimagine the future of philanthropy. Read the PEAK2024 Call for Proposals guide to learn about our convening theme, content focus, and proposal process—then submit yours!

SOCIAL MEDIA

PEAK Is Departing X

In light of our escalating concerns about Twitter, now known as X––from the alarming spread of misinformation and dangerous rhetoric to serious security breaches and uninformed practices––we decided to expedite PEAK's departure from the platform, effective today.

To engage with PEAK on social media, find us on LinkedIn, where our community of nearly 11,000 followers continues to grow and thrive. Please follow us if you don’t already, and engage with our team and your PEAK colleagues there!

Peer Network Spotlight

PEAK offers members diverse peer spaces for learning, sharing, and evolving in our thriving chapters and peer groups. Each month, we showcase the meaningful programming and networking taking place in these volunteer-led spaces and how the PEAK team is supporting their work. 

This month, three chapters hosted hybrid meetings with people participating both in-person and remotely. Many PEAK members are excited to have the additional flexibility and opportunity for interpersonal connection that hybrid meetings offer. The Meyer Memorial Trust hosted PEAK Pacific Northwest (shown above) for their session in Portland, Oregon, which featured riveting conversations about utilizing emerging tech to quickly mobilize resources and streamline grantmaking practices. In addition, Partnerships Director Davis Parchment and consultant Kyle Renninger led a presentation to share tips and tools to better leverage technology to drive equity and efficiency.

The Kresge Foundation hosted PEAK Midwest in Troy, Michigan, for a multiday meeting that included fun dine-arounds and sessions featuring both in-person and virtual speakers. Programs and Knowledge Director Lita Ugarte Pardi presented on data visualization and Chapter Specialist Dionne Thompson attended to connect with members and present updates from PEAK. Chapter members also spent discussing grassroots grantmaking and advocacy. 

PEAK New England hosted lively conversations about demographic data collection, year-end data gathering, and information on common applications.

While in-person programming expands for our chapters, PEAK’s peer groups are committed to hosting virtual opportunities that are engaging, accessible, and flexible. The Black Caucus featured a conversation about the complexities of navigating professional development experienced by Black philanthropic practitioners. The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) Caucus hosted a unique opportunity for their members to learn and engage in practices that support their well-being and productivity. This session even included customizable guided meditations.

PEAK in Community 

Here’s the latest on how PEAK is engaging with member organizations, partners, nonprofits, and allies in advocating for transformative change and leading the way in advancing equitable and effective grantmaking practices.

President and CEO Satonya Fair, Programs and Knowledge Director Lita Ugarte Pardi, and Senior Communications Director Betsy Reid are participating in the FutureGood Studio Fall Cohort, a series of virtual lessons and group discussions facilitated by Trista Harris that delves into how to apply a futurist mindset to envision and plan a path to achieving change.

Satonya participated as a panelist for a session hosted by PEAK member Independent Sector focused on their Trust in Civil Society 2023 report. In its fourth year, the report revealed falling trust in both philanthropy and nonprofits as reported by 3,000 respondents to the survey, who cut across demographic, geographic, and political lines.

Satonya also served on the panel “Evolving Trends in Philanthropic Funding” during the National Human Services Assembly (NHSA) Centennial Summit. Although many human-service-focused nonprofits continue to have both high-trust and consistent donor support, the discussion focused on using trend data to game plan for the future we want in 20 years.

Lita and Senior Programs and Knowledge Manager Vanessa Elkan are serving as faculty for Philanthropy Northwest’s Philanthropy 101 program. They recently copresented a webinar providing a deep dive into ways for funders to embed equity throughout the grantmaking cycle, the variety of grant types and grantmaking approaches, and ways to manage relationships with nonprofits.  

Peer Group Specialist Rafael Torres was selected to participate on the planning committee for the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy 2024 conference.

CAREER SUPPORT

The Latest on PEAK’s Job Board

Explore career opportunities from across our member community. Searching for a new team member? PEAK members are invited to add job postings at no cost. Simply log in, complete a brief form, and your post will be added shortly.

Here are a few current opportunities:

• Community Partner | Maine Community Foundation, Ellsworth, ME | Portland, ME 
• Program Operations Associate | Bush Foundation, Saint Paul, MN 
• Chief of Staff and Culture | Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Quincy, MA 
• Grants Associate | Baszucki Group, San Mateo, CA 
• Client Success Manager | JustFund, Remote 
• Grants Administrator | Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Remote 
• Database Assistant, Development Team | Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Remote 
• Senior Program Officer, Healthy Communities | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ 
• Managing Director of Finance | The Build Up Companies, Remote 
• Grants Officer | St. David’s Foundation, Austin, TX