EPIP News & Events

Hope is a Discipline

To those in our network celebrating Lunar New Year, Happy Year of the Snake!

I’m going to be vulnerable and kick off this newsletter a bit differently than many you probably have gotten this week. Have you taken any deep breaths today yet? If not, I invite you to now. 

Over the last two weeks, nearly every person I’ve talked to across our staff, membership and partners seems to have a similar refrain right now: this month has felt like a year already. Folks are recalibrating their relationship to news and information, figuring out how to stay focused amidst fear and concern, and in some cases, how to rapidly reconfigure funding pathways to support organizations impacted by multiple EOs. And lest the news cycles ask us to forget, our colleagues in L.A. are still in crisis-response mode in the aftermath of the fires. 

Amidst the tumult and attempts to steal my attention, I keep returning to this icebreaker question from my friend and colleague Melissa Nop at Northern California Grantmakers: “What are the resilience practices that you’re leaning on right now?” I also hear the voice of Trista Harris, president of FutureGood and former EPIP board member. At our webinar last week, she reminded us that those best able to weather society’s increasing volatility will be those with a 30- to 50-year vision of what the world would look like if their mission were successful. My wish for all of our members is that you carve out space to be deeply in tune with your daily practices, and that your individual and organizational vision stays expansive, imaginative, and rooted. 

As Mariame Kaba says, “hope is a discipline.” One way I am staying attuned to hope is by paying attention to how my network is materially improving the lives of those around them. I want to lift up EPIP member Claudia Leung (a funder, organizer, and coach!) who quickly mobilized a massive mutual aid effort from the Bay Area to get to L.A. last week. Regardless of your role in philanthropy, we are all resource mobilizers. 

In this season of volatility, EPIP continues to be a home for those of you looking for peers and partners to navigate an ever changing sector and world. In Philanthropology, you’ll learn the foundations of how to approach philanthropy through a social justice lens, and how to leverage your role as a resource mobilizer of time, connections, money, or skills. In our communities of practice, find your people and access space to grow your skills while also building deep networks of care and community. In our workshops, advance the hard and soft skills needed regardless of your role in the sector. And in our chapters, get connected to your peers as your strengthen your network and understand your local philanthropic landscape. Regardless of the spaces we hold, we hope you’ll tap in. We are stronger together, and none of us are in this moment alone.

In solidarity,

Elyse Gordon, Director of Programs

Grab Your Spot in the Winter 2025 Cohort of Philanthropology™

In order to use philanthropy to drive social change, it is crucial that new practitioners in the sector understand its context, history, and challenges. Philanthropology™ is EPIP's signature curriculum that responds to this need with an in-depth critical study of philanthropy through a social justice lens that includes academic and practitioner perspectives. 

The Philanthropology™ curriculum includes 9 hours of synchronous virtual sessions spread over several weeks supplemented by reading materials, videos, and reflection activities. Participants learn the landscape and history of the philanthropic sector and dig into concepts like intersectionality, movement building, grantmaking with an equity lens, and strategies for putting this knowledge into practice. Space is running out and every cohort has sold out to date - secure your spot now! 

Winter 2025 Cohort dates:

Module 1: Philanthropy History, Ecosystem, and Evolution

Wednesday, February 19 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. PST 

Module 2: Racial Equity and Equity Analysis in Grantmaking

Wednesday, March 5 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. PST 

Module 3: Self-Advocacy and Personal Leadership

Wednesday, March 19 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. PST

Member Registration Investment: $375 | Member registration is now open here.

General Registration Investment: $550 | General registration is now open here.

Communities of Practice

EPIP’s Communities of Practice give emerging professionals a space to grow, learn, and connect with their peers. Available Communities of Practice are:

• The People of Color Network: The People of Color Network (PCN) is a professional development and peer support network for EPIP members who identify as people of color. The PCN is designed to address the intersections of challenges and opportunities that are unique to emerging people of color in the sector. The spaces we provide, whether in person or virtual, are places where we hope you can show up in your wholeness to connect, vent, share strategies with peers, and learn key skills. 
  • The first gathering of the PCN will be held virtually on February 25 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST. The gathering will be a chance to envision the year ahead to help fill your cup and continue the work to make the world more just, equitable, and sustainable. Learn more. 

• The Emerging Women of Color Community of Practice: The Emerging Women of Color (EWOC) community of practice was launched in 2022, focused on leadership development and network weaving for early- and mid-career women of color in philanthropy. Created in response to member requests, this community provides leadership development through the lens of race and gender. It also works to connect early-career women of color with a network of peers so that it takes less effort to ‘find your people’ in the field. 
  • The first gathering of the EWOC Community of Practice will be held virtually on March 11 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST. The theme of the gathering will be “Rooted in Community: Planting Seeds for Connection.” Together, we’ll explore the seeds of ideas, aspirations, and possibilities we want to create together in the year ahead. We will also engage in a reflective and relaxing activity designed to center ourselves, align with our intentions, and sow seeds of personal growth. Learn more.

• White Affinity Community of Practice: EPIP launched this space in 2021 to provide a rigorous and supportive environment for members who identify as white to deepen their knowledge of antiracism and develop skills and strategies to advance racial equity and inclusive leadership practices in philanthropy, unpack and process the harmful effects of white privilege and white supremacy culture including how both show up within individuals and institutions, and discuss shared challenges and experiences. The community of practice will be re-launching in 2025 with a quarterly model, with the first meeting in March! Register your interest here. 

Contact [email protected] with any questions or to express interest in getting involved as a facilitator for future sessions.

Congratulations to Gregory Tate!

Longtime EPIP Chicago Chapter leader Gregory Tate will be transitioning into the role of Grants and Data Manager with the Irving Harris Foundation. We send our congratulations to Gregory and the Irving Harris Foundation team on this new venture! 

Read the full announcement here.

Sector News & Events 

Executive Order on DEI: What Nonprofits and Philanthropies Need to Know

On January 21, the Trump administration issued an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” directing federal agencies to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs deemed discriminatory. Large nonprofit organizations and foundations with assets of $500 million or more are among those that could be identified.

Join the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits, and United Philanthropy Forum for a discussion on how this action affects nonprofits and philanthropy. Legal expert Emily Cuneo DeSmedt of Morgan Lewis will provide valuable insights to help nonprofits and philanthropies understand this order.

Register now.

HIP Líderes Fellowship Cohort 10 Applications Close February 1

The Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Lideres Cohort 10 is now open to leaders nationwide! Previously focused on the West Coast, the application has been expanded to reach across the United States.

The Líderes fellowship cultivates a diverse group of mid-career Latines in philanthropy and nonprofits to promote systemic change through racial healing in a safe environment that supports their ability to advance equity in the field while strengthening their professional development and fostering new relationships.

Learn more and apply now!

Register Now for Funding Forward 2025

Funders for LGBTQ Issues is proud to announce that Funding Forward 2025 is coming to Houston, Texas from March 31-April 3, 2025, with March 31 being a pre-session day! Funding Forward is the annual gathering of grantmakers committed to LGBTQ issues organized by the affinity group Funders for LGBTQ Issues.

Register here. 

Registration for ABFE’s Harambee 2025 Annual Conference: Let’s All Pull Together Now Open

Join A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities (ABFE) for Harambee 2025 Annual Conference: Let’s All Pull Together, happening April 6-9, 2025 in Atlanta, GA. 

The largest assembly of Black professionals in organized philanthropy, the conference is an opportunity to come together in a city known for its deep legacy of Black excellence, activism, and culture to connect, celebrate, and work alongside trailblazing leaders and changemakers.

Learn more and register now.

Attend AAPIP’s 35th Anniversary Conference

Celebrating 35 years since its founding, Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) will be hosting its National Network Convening in Chicago, IL May 19-21, 2025!

The Convening will offer space for participants to deepen their understanding of AANHPI community priorities and assets; share impactful funding strategies aimed at increasing the scale and scope of philanthropic resources benefiting AANHPI communities; and connect with one another to build community across AAPIP’s national network.

Learn more and register today.

Register Now: Hispanics in Philanthropy and Native Americans in Philanthropy Joint Conference!

For the first time, Hispanics in Philanthropy and Native Americans in Philanthropy are uniting for a groundbreaking joint conference. This historic collaboration will amplify the voices of Latine and Indigenous communities and cultivate pathways toward collective liberation. 

Early bird registration is now open! Join these CHANGE partners in Albuquerque, New Mexico from June 16-18, 2025 for an empowering space for philanthropy, leadership, and transformative change within our communities.

Neighborhood Funders Group 2025 National Convening: Seeding (and Ceding) Transformational Power

Neighborhood Funders Group is pleased to share that the 2025 National Convening will be held in Nashville, Tennessee the week of July 15-17, 2025! 

This convening will be a space for grantmakers to co-conspire and strategize around seeding transformational power — investing in grassroots powerbuilding, movement organizing and infrastructure, relationships, and supporting BIPOC communities now and for the long term — and ceding power — shifting and ending harmful philanthropic practices, being accountable to movement and communities, and partnering with movements to shift philanthropic portfolios in support of their long-term strategies.

Learn more about the Convening today.

Feminist Funded ‘25: Call for Sessions and Save the Date

Presented by the Women’s Funding Network, Feminist Funded ‘25 is the largest gathering of global leaders in feminist philanthropy, working to co-create a more just, equitable, and safer world for all. 

Feminist Funded ‘25 is happening September 10-11, 2025 (with Pre-Conference Policy Action Day on September 9) in Washington, DC. 

Tickets sold out quickly in 2023, RSVP to be notified when tickets go on sale.

Interested in presenting? A call for sessions is now open, and closes on February 14. Learn more.

What We’re Reading, Watching & Listening To

• Amidst cruelty and chaos, a world that’s on her way - Vu Le, Nonprofit AF
• Tactical Disobedience with Daniel Hunter - How to Survive the End of the World Podcast
• Standing Strong for DEI - Phil Buchanan, The Center for Effective Philanthropy
• The Impacts of the Recent Executive Orders on Nonprofits - National Council of Nonprofits
• A Statement on Our Commitment to Race-Explicit Grantmaking - A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Native Americans in Philanthropy

Job Board 

Looking for a new opportunity?

The positions below are just the beginning. Check our Job Board for more opportunities from around the country! 

• Talent Management Coordinator - The Sobrato Organization, Mountain View, CA
• Senior Grants and Contracts System Associate - Proteus Fund, Remote
• Director of Communications - Grantmakers for Effective Organizations,  Washington, DC
• Co-President - Neighborhood Funders Group, Remote
• Director of Grants Management - Ms. Foundation for Women, Brooklyn, NY

Want to explore the Job Board's filters and special features? Log in to your member account or join EPIP today.

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