Mission

Our mission is to support and strengthen the next generation of grantmakers, in order to advance effective social justice philanthropy.

Programs

We work toward our mission through three areas of programming.

We organize unique Networking opportunities for our constituents through local chapters and national meeting spaces (both virtual and in-person).

We develop the Leadership skills and analysis of our members for successful engagement in the workplace and the broader philanthropic field.

And we build an Advocacy voice for our generation aimed at transforming philanthropy, and strengthening the pipeline for young people into social change careers.

Constituency

EPIP members are professionals at foundations, government and corporate grant-making entities, and philanthropy support organizations (such as regional associations of grantmakers, affinity groups, and financial advisory firms). Some members are foundation trustees, or donors involved in giving circles and other forms of organized giving. Graduate students studying philanthropy are also welcome. EPIP does not discriminate by age, but because we were started by and for young professionals, our constituents are generally under forty years of age. Members range from weeks to years of work in this field, and from program associates to presidents in terms of responsibility.

The network is governed by a national Board of Advisors composed of our constituents and partners. Each chapter is governed by a Steering Committees of local volunteers. As of June 2005, EPIP has a growing membership of 160 individuals and organizations; five recognized chapters, with emerging chapters on the way; and over 700 people in our database.

EPIP exists because the foundation industry is traditionally dominated by mid-career and retired leaders. The 1990s saw the start of an ongoing boom in the number of foundations and the need for professional staff.

Hundreds of young nonprofit and community leaders have been hired into foundation jobs. While there has been much buzz about the inter-generational transfer of wealth, the field has not acknowledged the generational shift in the staff realm. Hence, this emerging cadre of grantmakers has not been nurtured, utilized to the fullest, or networked as a cohort. This situation betrays a larger gap in professional education for grantmakers, which EPIP is now helping to fill.

Thus the founders of EPIP saw the need for a national network with local roots in areas of significant foundation density, and a set of programs that speak directly to the challenges of the philanthropic workplace, and that raise the voice of new generations of foundation leaders. This hunch has been borne out by the amazing response: literally hundreds of young professionals in foundations, regional assocations of grantmakers, affinity groups, corporate and government grantmaking programs, and related organizations have stepped forward as members and leaders of the network. And we know there are more who have joined, or who have not yet found.