Member recruitment and retention are vital to the success of a philanthropy-serving organization (PSO). Here, you will find sample documents, tips, and tools designed to help your PSO acquire, engage, and renew grantmaker members.
If you have resources to share, please share them online or by emailing Courtney Moore.
Membership Peer Community
The Membership Peer Community is for those who support membership recruitment and retention efforts at their PSO, manage member benefits, onboard new member organizations and staff/trustees, and manage their organization’s membership database.
- Membership Listserv (membership@lists.unitedphilforum.org)- You must be a member of the Forum & this Peer Community to post to this list.
- Three round-robin calls per year
- Forum’s Annual Conference virtual session
Interested in joining this Peer Community? Submit your email address on the form at the bottom of the Our Networks page.
Forum Staff Lead: Courtney Moore, (202-888-7428)
Co-Chairs
Danielle Crystal, Philanthropy Northwest
Danielle relocated to Seattle after living in Boston, where she worked at the Boston Public Schools as deputy chief of staff. While there, she was involved in leveraging community and private partnerships to improve educational outcomes and expand educational opportunities for Boston Public School’s students. Danielle has significant experience in the private and nonprofit sector, and thrives in diverse environments. She enjoys getting to know people, particularly those who are also working to improve communities through thoughtful decision-making and collective impact, and loves getting to know our members and learning more about the Pacific Northwest.
Danielle has a master’s degree in higher education administration with a focus on philanthropy, advancement and development from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Danielle lives in Seattle with her husband, Jeff, and their two children.
Lana Jacobus, Grantmakers In Health
Lana Jacobus is the Communications and Development Specialist at Grantmakers In Health (GIH), responsible for supporting fundraising and communication initiatives. Prior to joining GIH, Ms. Jacobus handled external communications for a state government agency and nonprofit organizations. She previously served as Community Relations Coordinator at the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing where she also managed donor relations and the donor database. Ms. Jacobus holds a bachelor’s degree in general biology from the University of Washington.
Membership Peer Community Benchmarking Tool
A benchmarking tool around membership for PSOs. As a google sheet, we encourage all PSOs to add your organization to the spreadsheet or update your information as needed. Topics captured in the tool include:
- Dues Rates/Levels
- Membership Categories
- Dues Renewal Processes