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Best Practices for Designing Effective Grants Management Workflows
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
This session will cover workflow best practices honed from 20 years of helping grantmakers achieve agile social impact. Review standard and modified workflows from leading grantmakers to understand how optimized workflows can simplify processes and maximize impact.
Participants will learn about:
Identifying pain points in current processes
Streamlining workflow by incorporating dynamic approval, automated processes, concurrent versus sequential reviews, and more
Best practices from leading grantmakers
Rob Livada
Vice President, Solutions Architecture
CyberGrants
Jeff Summers
Chief Marketing Officer
CyberGrants
Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Knowledge Management: Capture and apply knowledge to promote learning and improvement.
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The Roles We Lead: What Next?
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
This roundtable will answer questions and spur discussion about common systems implementation issues.
Participants will learn about:
Best practices for addressing systems implementation pain points
Systems installation war stories and solutions
Leslie Silverman
Partner, The Giving Practice
Philanthropy Northwest
Leslie brings over a decade of experience with private and public grantmakers and in roles touching all areas of grantmaking. She joined The Giving Practice in early 2014. Leslie is thrilled to work with funders in helping them improve and streamline their grantmaking practices and create grantmaking solutions that best advance their strategic interests. As a founding committee member of the national Project Streamline initiative, Leslie also enjoys working with funders interested in strengthening funder-grantee relationships and fostering peer learning among funders and grantees. With years of experience as a program officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service working across five states, and grants manager at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Leslie applies her cross-sector experience to help organizations be more efficient and effective in how they approach their philanthropy.
Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Staff and Volunteer Development: Build the capacity of staff and volunteers to be successful in their grantmaking role.
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Assessing Grantee Financial Health: The Internal Partnership
Contains 7 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
Funders approach the task of assessing grantee financial health in a multitude of ways. Depending on the staffing and structure of a foundation, financial due diligence can be a task undertaken by grants managers, finance staff, program officers, or a team that crosses functional areas. In this session, a panel of funders will discuss different models of assessing grantee financial health.
Participants will learn about:
The benefits and drawbacks of various models for assessing grantee financial health
Strengthening the partnership between grants managers and program officers by working together to understand grantees’ financial health
The impact of different approaches to financial due diligence on relationships with grantees
James Gallagher
Senior Grants Manager, Future of Work
Ford Foundation
Jim Gallagher is the senior grants manager for U.S. Programs at the Ford Foundation and has worked across several grant and program-related investment portfolios to reduce poverty and expand economic opportunity for low-income and marginalized people in the US and developing countries.
Prior to joining Ford, Jim served as grants manager for the John A. Hartford Foundation, the largest US private philanthropy dedicated to aging and health, and before that as a development manager for an international nonprofit organization focused on research, education, and advocacy concerned with aging populations.
Jim holds a master’s degree in public administration from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Fordham University.
Jessica Hickok
Grants Manager
Pisces Foundation
Jessica is grants manager at the Pisces Foundation, overseeing the Foundation’s grantmaking policies, procedures, and systems.
Previously, Jessica served as The James Irvine Foundation’s grants manager, and, prior to that, she was with the Koret Foundation as a program assistant, program associate, and grants manager. Jessica also has been a Princeton-in-Africa Fellow at the Mpala Wildlife Foundation in Kenya.
Jessica is an active member of PEAK Grantmaking’s Northern California chapter, most recently serving as membership chair; she also serves as finance officer for the Flaming Lotus Girls, a collaborative, female-driven metal and fire arts group. Jessica is on the boards of The Brooklyn Quarterly, a nonprofit literary endeavor, and Humanities West, a multidisciplinary history and arts organization.
Jessica graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in comparative literature.Janice Opalski
Director, Program Financial Services
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Janice A. Opalski is the director of program financial services at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She supervises three staff members and oversees all activities of the office. Opalski manages the financial due diligence work with applicants and grantees, and administers the financial aspects of the Foundation’s program-related investments and endowment awards. She also provides financial technical assistance to program staff, performs other internal control reviews, and assists the chief financial officer as needed. Opalski is a member of the Risk Committee and the group focused on the Foundation’s work to promote healthy, more equitable communities.
Opalski began working at the Foundation in October 1976, and was promoted to director of financial monitoring in 1995. Prior to that she worked for the Diocese of Trenton, Religious Education Office.
Opalski is a member of the Foundation Financial Officer Groups and PEAK Grantmaking. She is also on the finance committee of the Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia. She is co-author of a finance paper presented at the Academy of Economics and Finance meeting in 1998.
Opalski received an MBA and a BS, summa cum laude, in business administration-finance from Rider University, where she was named an Andrew J. Rider Scholar and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for business students.
Hilda Polanco
Founder and CEO
Fiscal Management Associates (FMA)
Hilda is the founder and CEO of FMA, a management consulting firm that builds the capacity of nonprofit and foundation leaders nationwide. Skilled at navigating the challenging relationships between nonprofits and their foundation investors, Hilda designs and delivers training to the staff of nonprofit organizations and supports funder grantmaking and investment strategies designed to maximize grantees’ financial resilience.
Hilda has been published widely on a variety of topics in nonprofit fiscal management and leads FMA’s nationwide staff in capacity-building partnerships that leverage place-based strategies and anchor institutions to build community around fiscal management best practices.Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Strategic Management: Promote organizational mission and goals and inspire colleagues to achieve them.
Lifecycle of a Grant Competencies
- Planning and Pre-Grant: Design and implement the review process to support an informed grant decision.
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Beyond Diversity Training: Weaving Equity and Inclusion into All Work
Contains 2 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
How does a large, multi-issue organization address the challenges of race and unequal opportunity underneath many of the social problems we seek to solve? For more than 130 years, United Way has fought for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community. But not every person has the same opportunity in every community. We are learning that creating change starts with sometimes difficult discussions and new ways of working—internally and with the communities we serve. We need an explicit focus on racial equity, with new tools, resources, and partnerships to identify disparities, institutional barriers, and implicit biases that maintain inequities despite good work. Hear how United Way is using courageous conversations and equity trainings—backed by data and new indicators of equity—to ensure funders support new partners and equity is a focus for everyone. Share your experiences with equity work. Brainstorm ideas for engaging new partners and resources.
Participants will learn about:
New practices to focus on racial equity
Identifying and engaging partners beyond those they traditionally work with
Other grants management professionals who are tackling similar issues in their communities
Matt Aliberti
Director, Foundations and Grants
United Way Worldwide
Mary Ambrose
Chief Impact Officer
United Way of Southeast Louisiana
Protip Biswas
Vice President of Homelessness & Place Based Initiatives
United Way of Greater Atlanta
Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in grantmaking practices.
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Deal Makers and Deal Breakers
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
(This session was cancelled, but the speaker provided her slides.)
Grapple with the challenge of becoming more open to grantseekers, grantees, community members, and the people you aim to help. Using tools invented by and for grantmakers, participants will assess the explicit ways we welcome and exclude grantseekers. Then, using a serious game, participants will examine implicit cultural norms that can make our organizations more open to some types of grantseekers than others. These tools, processes, and insights were developed by a cohort of Iowa grantmakers who have been working for a year to improve openness practices. The results of their work led Iowa funders to redesign their grant applications, one-to-one communication strategies, site visits, websites, and grant processes. The session is not designed to make the case for openness or provide a simple case study. Instead, participants will experience tools for helping grantmakers increase their empathy and adapt more effectively to change.
Participants will learn about:
Open grantmaker practices, systems, and communication
Values, culture, and norms that may make organizations more or less welcoming to grantseekers
Grantseeker personas and their potential to change the way organizations design their work
Stacy Van Gorp
Co-founder
See What I Mean
For the past 20 years, Stacy Van Gorp, Ph.D., has provided consulting services in strategy, planning, and organizational design. Her research includes the role of trust in accelerating innovation, dynamics of philanthropy, networks, and organizational life stage. She is a skilled trainer in innovation, effective meeting design, funder openness, and trust building. She is known for her engaging facilitation style, the ability to integrate human centered design and adaptive leadership practices, wide-ranging curiosity, an Iowa work ethic, and a commitment to keeping people at the center of change processes.
From 2007 to 2018, Stacy served as the executive director of the R.J. McElroy Trust, a private foundation focused on inspiring young people. As the Trust’s leader she developed powerful relationships with grantees, signature programs, and catalyzed community change. During her tenure the Trust received recognition for its leadership and streamlined processes.Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Communications: Listen to others and communicate effectively.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in grantmaking practices.
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Lessons in Trust-Based Philanthropy
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
Trust-based philanthropy is being embraced by a growing number of foundations as a way to mitigate power imbalances between funders and nonprofits. Driven by the central philosophy that funders should approach grantee relationships from a place of trust rather than distrust, the trust-based framework encourages multi-year unrestricted funding, streamlined reporting, and transparent communication. At first glance, it may seem that trust-based practices can be instituted only by foundation leadership and/or senior management. However, more and more grantmaking professionals at every level are finding the power and opportunity to apply aspects of this framework. We’ll feature examples from grants management professionals establishing trust-based practices, as well as their challenges and lessons. Experienced practitioners in trust-based philanthropy will offer tools and tips to build upon those lessons.
Participants will learn about:
The six principles of trust-based philanthropy
Incorporating aspects of trust-based philanthropy in their daily work
Peer networking and idea sharing to enhance their work and their relationships with grantees
Angela Carr
Grants Manager
Weingart Foundation
Angela Carr joined Weingart Foundation in 2009 as a program assistant. As Grants Manager, she is responsible for database management and information systems that support the Foundation’s overall grantmaking. Prior to her transition into philanthropy, she worked with Boys & Girls Clubs for seven years. Angela holds a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, Fullerton, and a bachelor’s degree from Hope International University in California.
Marissa Crawford
Associate, Grantmaking and International Partnerships
International Women's Health Coalition
Marissa joined IWHC in March 2017. In her role, she provides administrative support for IWHC’s grantmaking program and helps to enhance relationships with our grantee partners.
Previously, Marissa worked as a consultant on a US federal program to secure funding for technological and educational advancements in low-income schools. She has several years of program management and research experience, focusing on human rights and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict settings.
Marissa holds a BA in Latin American studies and Spanish literary and cultural studies from Rutgers University, and an MA in political science from the CUNY Graduate Center.
Phil Li
President & CEO
Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
Phil Li is president & CEO of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, where he oversees all aspects of the Foundation management, including finance, program development, grantmaking, and relationships with peer organizations. Prior to that, Phil served as COO at The Century Foundation, a public policy think tank, and at the Brooklyn Community Foundation, where he helped the organization convert from a private foundation to a public charity. For four years he led the philanthropic practice at Changing Our World, a nonprofit consultancy, and prior to that he worked with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on two of its leadership development initiatives. He also served four years as ED of the Coro New York Leadership Center. Phil currently serves as the board of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and is the immediate past chair of Philanthropy NY. Phil has a BA in Economics and Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The Wharton School in Finance & Strategic Planning.
Zia Maumenee
Grants Manager
Headwaters Foundation
Zia has spent her career creating and running data management systems, and tracking results and accomplishments. She enjoys implementing efficient and transparent systems that turn data into stories and learning opportunities. She is thrilled to be the Grants Manager at Headwaters Foundation because wellness and helping others is her passion. Zia holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in geography. She grew up in the Appalachian hills of southwestern Pennsylvania and now calls Montana home with her husband and two sons.
Elaine Mui
Grants and Operations Manager
General Service Foundation
Elaine Mui is the grants & operations manager at the General Service Foundation. Prior to GSF, she was the center administrator for the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law & Policy (formerly Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity) and Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at Berkeley Law. She was responsible for the overall administrative operations for the academic research centers and supported law and policy program areas in education, immigration, voting rights, criminal justice, opportunity and inclusion, and reproductive justice. Elaine began her career in social justice at Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach in San Francisco as the outreach coordinator and later as program developer focused on fundraising. In 2014, she received a UC Berkeley Spot Award for her contributions to the Civil Rights Research Roundtable on Education. Elaine earned her B.A. in Anthropology from UC Santa Barbara and holds certificates and training in event and project management.
Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in grantmaking practices.
- Ethics, Integrity, and Accountability: Act with integrity and accountability.
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Measuring Impact in Corporate Grantmaking: Moving from Overhead to Outcomes
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
Current approaches to measure grantmaking effectiveness often fall short of meeting funders’ needs to understand and articulate the impact of their grantmaking. Mission Measurement’s The Impact Genome is a new tool that considers the deepest challenges of the social sector and the global drive for transparency in every level of business and social enterprise. In this session, through the lens of The Impact Genome Project, participants will scrutinize current measurement methods and learn new evaluation techniques that de-risk investments, measure ROI, and build capacity for nonprofit partners. Mission Measurement will also share its plans for the Corporate Social Impact Measurement Initiative (a Conference Board/Mission Measurement project) to create a common language for impact/outcomes, which will allow companies to compare their social impact performance with their peers in various industries and across social issues.
Participants will learn about:
The strength and limitations of current nonprofit measurement techniques
The most common questions asked in funder reports
Connecting corporate responsibility goals directly to the outcomes and measures in a grant portfolio
Grace Piotrowski
Campaign Manager
Mission Measurement
As the campaign manager at Mission Measurement, Grace is part of the Research & Data and Market Development teams. On the Research and Data team, Grace works with The Impact Genome® to review, manage, and deliver impact measurement to governments, foundations, and nonprofits. On the Market Development, team Grace oversees social media management, event planning, and Mission Measurement’s internship and fellowship programs. Grace holds a B.A. in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University. Outside of work you can find her enjoying good meals around the city, visiting obscure museums, and listening to too many political podcasts and musical soundtracks.
Marcy Twete
Managing Director, Corporate Market Development
Mission Measurement
Marcy Twete is a recognized leader corporate responsibility and sustainability for multinational Fortune 500 companies. She joined social sector data and insights leader Mission Measurement in 2018 as managing director for the company’s corporate services division. The company’s patent-pending Impact Genome® Project enables corporations to better measure the impact of community investment programming through an evidence based, data-driven approach to outcomes evaluation.
Prior to joining MM, Marcy led sustainability and corporate responsibility at ArcelorMittal. Her background also includes nearly a decade in the nonprofit sector leading and advising annual and capital campaigns ranging from $3 million to $4 billion. Following her work in women’s organizations, she founded a women’s career development initiative that attracted over 1 million women to its services from 2012-2014 and is the author of the book You Know Everybody! A Career Girl’s Guide to Building a Network That Works.
Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Knowledge Management: Capture and apply knowledge to promote learning and improvement.
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Rapid-Response Grantmaking: Creating Nimble Processes to Support Urgent Movements
Contains 3 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
Given the current political climate, many foundations see the movements they support and their grantees faced with rapidly shifting conditions and emerging threats. These foundations recognize that the times call for less red tape and more flexible ways to move funds to quickly address urgent needs. Hear from foundation representatives who view rapid-response grantmaking as essential to supporting grantees and have mastered the logistics of moving grants expeditiously. Hear, too, about challenges and lessons learned from moving funds quickly, including how to vet new grantees, craft an application process that is thorough but not burdensome, provide technical assistance to emerging grassroots organizations, and mitigate risk.
Participants will learn about:
Why rapid-response grantmaking is a powerful tool for grantmakers to better support grantees
Different processes for moving grants rapidly, while conducting due diligence and managing risk
Countering or avoiding common pitfalls in rapid-response grantmaking
Jenifer Fernandez Ancona
Vice President
Women Donors Network
Jenifer helps to run WDN, a national community of 220 progressive women donors who leverage their wealth, power, and community for a more fair, just, and sustainable world. Jenifer also directs WDN Action, a 501(c)(4) organization advancing justice through advocacy, funding, and civic engagement of underrepresented communities. She has a wide range of experience in communications, donor organizing, strategy development, grassroots organizing, and multi-racial coalition building. Jenifer has worked as Director of Strategic Communications at Citizen Engagement Laboratory, as a consultant to the Democracy Alliance, as a top legislative aide in the California State Assembly, and as a news reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Jenifer holds a BS degree in journalism from Northern Arizona University. She lives in Oakland with her husband, Dan Ancona, and their 8-year-old son.
Kelli Rojas
Grants Manager
Rose Community Foundation
Kelli leads grantmaking operations at Rose Community Foundation, ensuring practices align with organizational values, program strategy, and best practice. Responsible for managing the grants management system, she develops and builds streamlined, integrated processes across the Foundation’s funding programs. She serves as an internal advocate and voice for applicant/grantee needs and a hub for learning and evaluation within the organization.
Kelli previously worked in corporate philanthropy, managing grantmaking processes for the global grant portfolio and operational excellence-related projects at the Western Union Foundation. She has also worked as a trainer and consultant, leading her to work with thousands of nonprofit organizations, professionals, and consultants to build capacity and strengthen the sector.
Kelli is a Colorado native and holds a master’s degree in International Development and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Denver.
Kyrstin Thorson-Rogers
Grants Manager
Proteus Fund
Kyrstin Thorson-Rogers is the grants manager at Proteus Fund and brings over five years’ experience in grantmaking and nonprofit administrative and programmatic roles. She oversees the grantmaking for Proteus’ donor collaboratives, managed family foundation, and group and donor advised funds and partners with program staff and grantees in order to ensure a smooth process for all. Prior to joining Proteus, Kyrstin interned at the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Firelight Foundation while pursuing her master’s degree in international policy studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Kyrstin also holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies and Middle Eastern and African studies from the University of San Francisco.
Shireen Zaman
Program Director, RISE Together Fund
Proteus Fund
Shireen Zaman is the director of the RISE Together Fund (formerly known as the Security & Rights Collaborative) at the Proteus Fund, where she leads efforts to mobilize resources to grow promising, innovative, community-based organizations in America’s Muslim, Arab and South Asian (MASA) communities. The RTF’s support to the MASA field has led to an increase in grassroots leadership, higher levels of civic engagement, diverse coalitions, and coordinated, strategic messaging. Shireen comes to the RTF having led organizational transformation, resource development, and program management at several nationally recognized nonprofits. Most recently, she was Executive Director at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, DC. In 2013, Shireen was recognized as a White House "Champion of Change" for her work as an Asian American woman leader. She currently serves as an advisor to the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Process and Change Management: Plan and monitor processes efficiently and effectively and manage change as needed to contribute to grantmaker's strategic goals and grantee's success.
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Security Essentials for Grants Management
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
Twenty-one percent of foundations have encountered a security breach, according to a 2018 nationwide survey by the Technology Affinity Group (TAG). Join security expert and Dana Foundation CIO Jim Rutt to learn how to protect your organization and become best partners with your information technology peers. The session will be filled with humor and tales from the trenches.
Participants will learn about:
How foundations are vulnerable
Best practices, tools, and training resources for their teams
How to best partner with IT peers to protect their organizations
Jim Rutt
Chief Information Officer
Dana Foundation
Jim Rutt, CISSP, CISM, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC, C|CISO, CCSK, is the chief information officer at the Dana Foundation. His responsibilities include providing strategic planning for information and technology management and overseeing all back office technology operations necessary to support the Foundation. Jim has frequently spoken to peer organizations on corporate cybersecurity strategy and risk management.
Jim is president and chairman of the board of Technology Affinity Group (TAG) and is vice president and board director for the New York Metro Chapter of the Cloud Security Alliance, and is a member of Society for Information Management, SIM Foundation of NJ, CIO4Good, as well as a founding advisory board member of BWG Strategy LLC, a Work-Bench Venture Capital Mentor/Advisor, advisor to Lightspeed Ventures, a Silicon Venture capital company, and board advisor to multiple startups including Baffle, Axonius, Minerva Labs and Pixm.Grants Management Professional Competency Model
Cross-Cutting Competencies
- Strategic Management: Promote organizational mission and goals and inspire colleagues to achieve them.
- Technology Management: Apply technology solutions to grantmaking to support grantmaker applicant, and grantee success.
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Regional Chapter Officers Meeting and Breakfast
Contains 1 Component(s)Session materials from PEAK2019.
Session materials from PEAK2019.
A meetting for all PEAK Grantmaking Regional Chapter Chairs, Vice Chairs, Program Chairs, Membership Chairs, and Communications Chairs.
Sara Sanders
Regional Chapter Manager
PEAK Grantmaking
Sara Sanders is PEAK Grantmaking’s Regional Chapter Manager and focuses on supporting regional chapter officers to lead thriving, successful organizations. Sara plans to learn the needs chapter officers, develop new tools and resources to meet those needs, and help officers share common challenges and great ideas.
Sara has ten years of experience working as a liaison in the non-profit and government sectors with a wide range of audiences. Her non-profit experience includes chapter engagement, membership recruitment and retention, volunteer leadership development, facilitating trainings, and writing handbooks and newsletters for chapter leaders.
Sara earned a bachelor’s degree in history and criminal justice from The George Washington University. She loves spending time with family, rooting for the Washington Nationals, travelling, and volunteering at the National Archives.
