Foundation Work & Learning Initiative

We help foundations provide diverse young people with meaningful work, service and learning opportunities in the field of organized philanthropy. We know that young leaders can gain and contribute quite from staff and board roles, internships, fellowships and mentoring programs. This Initiative includes: educating young activists about the role of foundations in the nonprofit sector; promoting best practices for engaging young people in the life of foundations; and linking EPIP members to the professional development opportunities they need to succeed. The Initiative is composed of the following four programs. Expanding Opportunities will increase the number of foundation work and learning positions available to young people, Advice & Referrals helps them find the appropriate inroads and opportunities. The Professional Development Fund and Mentoring programs help young foundation professionals to access the learning resources and support they need to succeed. Taken together and taken to scale, we believe these programs offer a comprehensive and much-needed approach to professional development in the foundation sector.

Professional Development Fund: The EPIP Professional Development Fund (PDF) is a competetive scholarship programs that enables young grantmakers of color to attend philanthropy conferences and trainings, and provides opportunities for accessing career and workplace support from a network of both peers and senior colleagues.

For more information, and for application details, visit our PDF Page.

Grantmaking Skills Training: In addition to its own education and training programs, EPIP connects emerging grantmakers with other skills-building opportunities in the field. In August 2006, we were pleased to announce a partnership with The Grantmaking School. The Grantmaking School offers the first university-based program for teaching the techniques and ethics of grantmaking specifically to foundation grantmaking professionals.

Through this partnership, EPIP members are eligible for a special discount of $250 for The Grantmaking School's Advanced Proposal Analysis course! This discount applies to dues-paying EPIP members in good standing. EPIP members are also eligible to apply for another scholarship opportunity offered by The Grantmaking School. However only one offer applies; the scholarship and discount savings cannot be combined. Visit The Grantmaking School for more information and to apply for their course!

Mentoring: Because the work of grantmaking is an craft, not a science, most skills are learned through trial and error, and through informal apprentice relationships. To expand opportunities for this type of learning, the New York City and Bay Area chapters of EPIP have established mentoring programs, where the chapter identifies and matches emerging and seasoned grantmakers who are looking for semi-structured mentoring relationships outside of their own institutions. The local programs have been a success to date. NYC EPIP, which got started first, has provided over 30 matches! We seek to both deepen and expand these efforts. The New York Community Trust has provided funds to support the NYC EPIP mentoring program.

Advice and Referrals: Young adults who seek to transition from nonprofit, activist, or corporate jobs/careers into foundatio jobs, or who just want to learn what foundation work is all about, are free to contact the EPIP office and schedule a phone appointment. This is an opportunity to explore your motivations, applicable skills and experiences, and what type of foundation or grantmaking job might be for you.

Expanding Opportunities: We look to work with our members, as well as seasoned philanthropic leaders who can be key allies to our constituents, to expand the quantity and quality of foundation internships, fellowships, apprenticeships, and jobs available to young professionals and nonprofit activists. Our initial work in this area has been to disseminate a great new resource from the Packard and San Francisco foundations, a report called Fellowships in Philanthropy: Policy and Curriculum Brief. This report is useful for fellowship programs, as well as for enriching the professional development of any and all foundation staff. Many thanks to author Melange Matthews, Packard Foundation and San Francisco Foundation for providing this resource! To download the brief as a pdf file, simply go to Fellowships in Philanthropy.