New Orleans, Louisiana, with its soulful jazz music and resilient history, was an inspiring backdrop for PEAK Grantmaking’s 2025 annual convening. The conference theme was Onward: Leading with Courage and it was a call to action for grantmakers to lean into discomfort during this tumultuous time in the philanthropic sector. From the keynotes, breakout sessions, and coffee chats with grantmaking professionals, here are my takeaways.
1. Listen to grantees. It’s an age-old adage but has found new significance in light of federal funding freezes. Nonprofit organizations have emerging critical needs that philanthropy must address to maintain civil society. Different communities and organizations are uniquely impacted, and philanthropy should be responsive to these unique challenges. Without this, philanthropy misses the opportunity to engage with constituents and might miss the mark on their true needs.
2. This moment requires a balance of incremental change and addressing urgent needs. Lasting change rarely happens quickly. Systemic change and policy implementation require long-term investment and commitment, with few immediate wins (and maybe immediate losses). This can be frustrating when so many nonprofits are on the brink of shuttering. As the philanthropic sector, we must come together with communities we serve to strategize where resources are most-needed and best-suited to respond.
3. Philanthropy requires courage. As government funding declines, the number of people in need rises, creating large gaps in support. Filling these gaps demands bravery, as it often requires taking on additional risk to drive change. Philanthropy also demands resilience in the face of uncertainty, as the impact of investments may not always be immediately visible. This requires courage to step up, speak up, and put dollars behind grantees and communities — full stop.
4. Unprecedented times call for new practices. To meet continuously evolving needs, philanthropic organizations must remain nimble to support grantees. The MacArthur Foundation has raised their annual payout. The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation is issuing rapid response grants to support existing grantees. Other foundations are shifting from project-specific funding to general operating support. These practices and more are profiled in my recent paper, Practical Grantmaking: How to Achieve More with Less Overhaul, which serves as a guide for how grantmakers can make quick, easy, yet meaningful changes to their processes.
I had a wonderful time at PEAK, connecting with old friends and making new ones. I can’t wait to put these learnings to work for my clients at Geneva Global. I’m looking forward to PEAK2026 in St. Louis!
