Join our Community

The Participatory Grantmaking Community communicates via a Google group listserv. This is the primary way our community communicates. We also have a Slack channel for community members who prefer that platform.

The Google group and slack channels provide a way for participatory grantmaking practitioners to connect, learn, and share resources. Topics of conversation range from asking questions about best practices in participatory grantmaking to sharing events, job postings, discussing timely topics in the field, and other PGM adjacent topics.

Please fill out the linked Google Form to sign up for our Google group and slack channels, and to share with us more about who you are and your interest in being a part of our community.

Our Google listserv has grown to over 1,500 people. Like participatory grantmaking, we want this listserv to be a place to lean into difficult conversations, speak truth to power, and, for those doing this difficult work, to find community with others in a philanthropic field that can at times feel lonely. 

One key question we have been asking is: How do we learn from each other without being extractive?

‍Compensation is key: In participatory grantmaking, we always advocate for compensating people for their time as a best practice. This is in part because you are asking for someone’s input, expertise, and lived experience, then adequate payment should be offered. It is also because processes that rely on volunteerism often result in the centering of groups that have the time and privilege to give, without need for compensation.

We have many different types of people in the Community: endowed foundations, consultants, and community-led groups for example, that all come with their own set of power-dynamics and access to resources. Many of us on this list are happy to share knowledge freely in the hopes of expanding the practice of participatory grantmaking. However, many have had experiences where requests have felt extractive, asking for folks to share their hard-earned expertise for free. We encourage this Community to lean into a practice of always naming and being mindful of this issue, a practice which we hope will benefit the field of philanthropy in general.

In Addition:

• We encourage the online conversation to be in alignment with our values.
• As a practice, requests for resources or expertise from the community should be explicit about options for compensation, or lack thereof.
• If you’re starting out, first check our PGM Resource Library and  YouTube video library. This way your early questions can be more specific and respectful of the time and labor that has gone into creating existing resources. 
• Only share your newsletter or self-promotional information with context for why you are sharing this with the participatory grantmaking community.
• Only send messages that contain information directly related to participatory grantmaking, participatory philanthropy, shifting power in philanthropy and related topics. 
• Administrative messages (such as “Remove me from the list”) should be sent to info@participatorygrantmaking.org.
• Check whether your email requires a reply to the sender only, or to the entire list.

Going forward, we will respond to posts or contact you directly if we feel a post is out of alignment. Please let us know if there are any other guidelines you’d like to see on this list, or email info@participatorygrantmaking.org if you feel a post is out of alignment. 

As a global collective of people and organizations working to shift power to communities in philanthropy, we hope this can be a space for us to learn and be accountable together. 

Warmly, 

The PGM Community GSD & Accountability Circles