The Forum’s Peer Communities and listservs offer our members ongoing opportunities to connect and learn with their peers with similar job responsibilities in regional and national philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs). Peer Communities offer opportunities for members to connect through ongoing listserv discussions, regular round-robin calls and an in-person convening each year at the Forum’s Annual Conference.
Our Peer Communities are a benefit of membership for the staff and CEOs of the philanthropy-serving organizations in our network.
Please see the descriptions and staff contacts below and use the sign-up form at the bottom of this page to join a Peer Community (note: you must be a logged in member of the Forum to use this sign-up function).
Join a Peer Community or Listserv
Peer Communities
Communications
Forum Staff Lead: Brandon Iracks-Edelin, (202-991-5217) and Tirrea Billings, (202 243-7021)
Co-Chairs: Gail Fuller, Disability & Philanthropy Forum
The Communications Peer Community is for those with a communications role at a PSO. Topics for discussion may include newsletter, social media strategy, website and other content curation, writing op-eds, etc.
- Communications Listserv (communicationsstaff@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
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Emerging Practitioners
Forum Staff Lead: Brandon Iracks-Edelin (202-991-5217)
Co-Chairs: Cozzie King, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and Brittany Hardgrove, Philanthropy Ohio
The Emerging Practitioners Peer Community is for PSO employees with less than five years of experience in the philanthropy field.
- Emerging Practitioners Listserv - You must be a member of the Forum & this Peer Community to post to this list.
- Three round-robin calls per year
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Finance & Administration
Forum Staff Lead: Ivana Bikombe, (202-869-4327)
Co-Chairs: Harmony Hayes, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees and Bridget Dobrowski, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders
The Finance and Administration Peer Community will discuss issues related to the office operations of a PSO. Topics covered will include human resources, office space, file management, accounting, benefits, and any other area of interest.
- Finance & Administration Listserv (rafinance@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
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Lean, Keen, Producing Machines (PSOs with up to 5 Staff)
Forum Staff Lead: David Biemesderfer, (202-888-7533)
Co-Chairs: TBA
Currently in its pilot phase, the Lean, Keen, Producing Machines Peer Community is for people working for Forum members that have five or less staff members. This is a space for these PSOs to connect, share and learn on how to maximize their strengths for greatest impact: LEAN: While lightly staffed, these PSOs must constantly be innovative, resourceful, and focus on impact in delivering their work; KEEN: These PSOs are strong, profound, powerful, and lively organizations focused on their mission and maximizing impact; PRODUCING MACHINE: These organizations must maximize unique staffing structures to produce results with sometimes less financial and staff resources to perform at the highest levels.
- Lean, Keen Listserv (leankeen@lists.unitedphilforum.org)- You must be a member of the Forum & this Peer Community to post to this list.
- Two virtual learning opportunities per year
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Membership
Forum Staff Lead: Courtney Moore, (202-888-7428)
Co-Chairs: Danielle Crystal, Philanthropy Northwest and Lana Jacobus, Grantmakers In Health
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
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Program
Forum Staff Lead: Traci Slater-Rigaud, (202-457-8784)
Co-Chairs: Chantias Ford, Trust-Based Philanthropy and Mark McCrary, Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington
The Program Peer Community is for those who are responsible for their PSO’s member programming, educations and partnerships.
- Program Listserv (programs@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
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Public Policy
Forum Staff Lead: Matthew L. Evans, (202-759-6920) and Nathaniel Borek, (202 386-6426)
Co-Chair: Holly Davis, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance and Carrie Arblaster, Philanthropy Ohio
The Public Policy Peer Community is for those who work in advocacy, government relations, and public policy efforts for their organizations.
- Public Policy Listserv (publicpolicy@lists.unitedphilforum.org)- You must be a member of the Forum & this Peer Community to post to this list.
- Quarterly Webniars
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
CEOs
Forum Staff Lead: David Biemesderfer, (202-888-7533)
The Forum provides a variety of opportunities for the chief executives of regional and national PSOs to network, share and pull from each other’s expertise and keep updated on work across the network.
- Regional PSO Listserv (raceos@lists.unitedphilforum.org)- You must be a member of the Forum to be a part of this listserv.
- All CEO Listserv for both Regional and National PSOs (allceos@lists.unitedphilforum.org)- You must be a member of the Forum to be a part of this listserv.
- Six round-robin calls per year for CEOs of Regional PSOs
- Six round-robin calls per year for CEOs of Regional and National PSOs
- In-person meeting at Forum’s Annual Conference
Listservs
All Member Staff & CEO Listserv
In addition to the listservs listed above for each Peer Community, the Forum operates this listserv for staff and CEOs of all Forum members, both regional and national PSOs (allstaff@lists.unitedphilforum.org), where members can request and share information about resources and happenings with the entire Forum membership. Staff and CEOs of Forum members are automatically added to this listserv. You must be a member of the Forum to be a part of this listserv.
Racial Equity Listserv
Forum Staff Lead: Traci Slater-Rigaud, (202-457-8784)
This listserv (racialequity@lists.unitedphilforum.org) is to support an open exchange of equity-focused learnings, ideas, practices and tools among Forum members. Conversations about equity are different than other listserv topical areas because of centuries of racialized violence and intersectional inequities. These inequities have resulted in radically different experiences and outcomes for people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities and other dimensions of difference. For these reasons, the Racial Equity Listserv will require a higher level of commitment to equity-focused learning, self-reflection and awareness, and thoughtfulness and rigor than other email exchange forums.
Research & Evaluation Listserv
Forum Staff Lead: Courtney Moore, (202-888-7428)
This listserv (research@lists.unitedphilforum.org) is for Forum members who are engaged in data collection and research projects at your PSO. It is a place for you to ask questions from your peers across the country, share your own new research, share new resources, etc.
How to Join a Peer Community or Listserv
To join a Peer Community or listserv, please use the form below or contact membership@unitedphilforum.org and indicate your Peer Community/listserv(s) of interest. The sign-up form is restricted to members of the Forum - please login to unlock it.
You can only sign up for one community at a time. If you need to subscribe to several communities, please return to this page and repeat the process by selecting your next community. After hitting the "Subscribe" button, you will receive an email from our listserv service (Groups List Manager <sympa@lists.unitedphilforum.org>) to confirm your email address. You will only receive listserv messages once you've followed the instructions in this email. You may need to check your spam/junk folder.
By subscribing to the community you will be added to its respective listserv and will receive notices of peer community calls and shared resources.