Program areas at Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia
Educational programs-last year saw Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia continue its mission, to strengthen Philanthropy in order to create a more resilient, vibrant and equitable region, as the organization and surrounding community began to emerge from the covid pandemic. While still relying mainly on virtual programming, pn engaged its membership in almost 40 online sessions. With topics ranging from "celebrating black abundance, and "implementation of a participatory grantmaking process," to "centering equity in financial due diligence, " we received over 300 unique organizational registrations for these events.
Communication and member services-we continue to find new ways to stay engaged with our members and in 2022 we launched our second annual full membership outreach, which we call the pulse survey, to learn more about how regional funders are continuing to adapt and evolve their grantmaking practices and priorities as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, the economic downturn and the ongoing impact of systemic racism. New in the 2022 survey were questions relating to members' internal operations, including policies, benefits and compensation. Through this comprehensive questionnaire we were able to better understand our members priorities and emerging trends in the funder community. We incorporated these learnings into our programing and overall engagement strategy. Staff also developed a more continuous connection with our membership via the "feedback loop," a biweekly one to two question survey focused on the most currently relevant issue for our community. From may 2022 when this initiative launched, through the end of the year, staff was able to react to our member's most pressing concerns with just-in-time data around such issues as: the impact of inflation on funders, staff turnover and burn-out, funder engagement in advocacy work and policies around the return to in-person work.
Made to measure- after receiving a 2-year grant from the bill & melinda gates foundation, Philanthropy Network successfully developed a pilot platform designed to test and explore the question of whether and how digital tools might engage and influence high-capacity giving, including both the quantity and the quality of that giving. Staff worked with platform development partner capshift, and the online tool was launched in september 2022. By the end of year, it was being tested by a group of 10 pn member organizations. These early adopters supplied over 200 grantee opportunities for the platform, while also participating in guided user experience modules and providing feedback on both the functionality and underlying concept of the platform via surveys and one-on-one interviews. A full launch to the entire Philanthropy Network membership is planned for 2023.
Community outreach and recruitment-philanthropy Network staff and leadership worked to raise the organization's profile and enhance awareness about the philanthropic sector through speaking engagements and other outreach and interaction with regional nonprofit and community organizations and civic leaders and by representing Philanthropy in the media. There were also opportunities for staff to share their knowledge and experience with partner groups, with staff members invited to speak at both the annual candid convene (that organization's yearly all-staff gathering) and the leading Philanthropy conference.covid-19 prevention & response fund-in the midst of the pandemic, we had the privilege of supporting emergency funding through our covid-19 prevention & response fund, a responsibility we held in high esteem. Although the grantmaking phase concluded in 2021, our dedication persisted throughout the subsequent year as we celebrated the exceptional endeavors of the nonprofits. Philanthropy Network's covid prevention & relief fund storytelling project became a year-long undertaking, showcasing the voices of these nonprofits, enabling them to share their firsthand experiences of navigating covid and its impact on their communities. Moreover, it emphasized the significance of the funding they received and underscored the criticality of nurturing these partnerships for the future.trust based Philanthropy cohort-in addition, we piloted our first trust based Philanthropy cohort, which brought together trust-based Philanthropy principles with racial equity practices. The cohort was a partnership between Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, Philanthropy new york, the trust-based Philanthropy project, and was advised by change Philanthropy. This pilot cohort included 38 total individual participants, including representatives from eleven different Philanthropy Network member organizations, who met over the course of six sessions. 35th annual members meeting-philanthropy Network hosted its two annual signature events. In march 2023, Philanthropy Network held a fully virtual annual members meeting, a key event for both organizational business and membership engagement. With 102 of our members participating, we shared updates on the organization's strategic direction, held breakout sessions to elicit member feedback on our north star statement and took the opportunity to thank and recognize the many individual members and organizations that have partnered with Philanthropy Network over the past year. 2022 sparx conference-by october, when pn held its yearly sparx conference, the organization was thrilled to be able to host an event with both virtual and in-person components. The result was participation on day 1 (virtual sessions) of 187 registrants representing 64% of our membership as day 2 (in-person) registration at 146 representing 58% of our membership. Non-members are also invited to attend the sparx conference and we were excited to welcome them to this convening of leaders to learn from and reflect on organizational experiences and practices that have been effective in promoting enduring culture change. Members and guests alike came together to participate and discuss topics from building equity-informed cultures to centering the inherent assets of people at the heart of our work. A survey of attendees showed that the majority of individuals "strongly agreed"that the event prompted thoughtfulness around how to define and build an equitable region.