RAG Research: Executive Summary

In the autumn of 2001, a Regional Association of Grantmakers (RAG) collaborative led by Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) and including the Southern California Association for Philanthropy (SCAP) and San Diego Grantmakers (SDG) launched a survey effort to develop a profile of California grantmakers and their experiences with and interests in professional development.

Two research and consulting groups-Community Planning & Research LLC (CPR) and LaFrance Associates, LLC (LFA)-partnered with the collaboration to conduct the survey research.

A total of 361 California grantmakers responded to this survey out of the 822 recipient members of one of the three regional associations of grantmakers in the collaborative group for a 44% response rate. The following highlights key survey findings.

Who are California grantmakers and what are their experiences in the field of philanthropy?

• California grantmakers tend to be female, Caucasian, and highly educated. On average, they have worked in the field for nine years, with experiences ranging from three months to 40 years. Entering the field mid- and late-career from the nonprofit sector is most common.
• Grantmakers are motivated to begin and to continue working in the field most commonly to make a difference in their community. In their work, they grapple with levels of need exceeding levels of resources available and competing priorities for their time.

Gender(n=357)	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
Female	249	69.7%
Male	108	30.3%
Race/Ethnicity(n=353)	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
European American/White	270	76.5%
Asian American/ Pacific Islander	31	8.8%
African American/Black	24	6.8%
Latina/o, Chicana/o, Hispanic	23	6.5%
Multiracial	3	0.8%
Native American	2	0.6%
Level of Education(n=357)	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
GED/High School	6	1.7%
Associate's Degree	15	4.2%
Bachelor's Degree	114	31.9%
Master's Degree	164	45.9%
Doctorate	52	14.6%
Other	6	1.7%

• A large majority of respondents choose "grantmaker" as their primary professional identity, and often, though not always, they also consider themselves a professional in the field in which they make grants. In terms of how grantmaking fits into overall career paths, most intend to stay in the field for the long-term. Grantmakers perceive limited mobility within and outside of the field.
• Entering the field mid- to late-career from the nonprofit sector is most common.

Point in Career Began Working in Philanthropy (n=358)	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
Early in professional career	95	26.5%
Mid-career	207	57.8%
Towards end of professional career	56	15.6%
Sectors Worked in Prior to Philanthropy	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
Nonprofit sector (n=361)	190	52.6%
Private sector (n=361)	126	34.9%
Government/Public Sector (n=361)	46	12.7%
Academics (n=361)	17	11.5%
Other (n=360)	27	7.5%

What formal and informal learning and training experiences have shaped the professional development of california grantmakers?

• The professional development activities in which grantmakers have most commonly participated include: annual conferences; participation in an affinity group; participation in a program as a panelist or moderator; participation in a RAG workshop or training; Council on Foundation conferences; and participation in a pooled grantmaking or collaborative grantmaking project.
• Mentorship is very common and generally happens informally among grantmakers. Learning from and being influenced by one's peers through other forms of inter-personal learning is also widespread among grantmakers.
• New staff training and ongoing training for grantmakers is offered at about half of foundations, and grantmakers most often characterize the level of that training as minimal or moderate. A majority of foundations, though not all, institutionally support professional development through policies and budget allocations.
• Grantmakers' most commonly use grantmaking associations as a provider of professional development opportunities, and they seek those opportunities in the form of workshops, conferences, and informal networks.

Entities from which Respondents Typically Seek or Get Learning/Training Opportunities*	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
Grantmaking associations (n=350)	266	76.0%
Other professional associations (n=347)	124	35.7%
Colleges/universities (n=348)	64	18.4%
Other (n=348)	102	29.3%
Types of Formats in Which Respondents Typically Seek or Get Learning/Training Opportunities	Number of Respondents	Proportion of Respondents
Workshops (n=354)	272	76.8%
Conferences (n=354)	268	75.7%
Informal networks (n=353)	249	70.7%
Classes outside of foundation (n=354)	113	31.9%
Internet (n=354)	92	26.0%
Classes within foundation (n=353)	46	13.0%
Other (n=353)	41	11.6%

*Percent totals add up to more than 100 because respondents checked all applicable

What are grantmakers' goals when they seek professional development experiences?

• Four goals for professional development emerge as consistently ranked "very important" for a substantial proportion of respondents: expanding the creativity with which one approaches the work; increasing skill levels in one or more content areas within philanthropy; connecting with others in different foundation and content areas within philanthropy; and developing leadership potential.

What are grantmakers' preferences for types of professional development experiences?

• In terms of preferences for professional development opportunities, the top five "very appealing" formats include:
• Experiential learning (e.g., site visits, hands-on work experience);
• One-on-one consultation with experts;
• Peer support groups;
• Being mentored by others; and,
• Discussion groups and learning circles.

What barriers make it difficult for grantmakers to get the learning and trainging they want?

• Grantmakers most frequently experience three barriers to seeking or getting desired professional development: a lack of time, a lack of quality professional development opportunities, and a general absence of available opportunities.

What are the consistently defined skill sets that grantmakers need to do their jobs?

• The top key skills of the profession defined as "very important" by grantmakers include: interpersonal skills; writing; knowledge of specific grantmaking content area; organizational assessment; communication with grantseekers; program evaluation; financial review; working in diverse communities; and leadership skills.
• While grantmakers rate interpersonal and writing skills as the most important skills for people working in the profession to have, they indicate having high current skill levels in these areas; consequently, they have low levels of interest in training to enhance these skills.

What role in providing professional development opportunities do grantmakers recommend that california's regional associations of grantmakers play?

• Grantmakers want RAGs to be providers of learning and training experiences, to convene peer groups, and to serve as a linkage to other professional development opportunities. They see these as high priority activities for RAGs.
• Grantmakers are divided on the question of whether there should be professional development standards for the field, although of those who do believe there should be standards, a majority believe that setting those standards is an appropriate role for RAGs.

Professional development offering	Proportion who believe RAG should offer	Of those who believe RAG should offer, proportion who rank a High Priority
Directly providing professional development experiences (n=328)	94.5%	64.6%
Convening peer groups for professional development (n=327)	94.8%	55.3%
Serving as a linkage to other professional development opportunities (n=327)	96.3%	50.8%

Summary and conclusion

The Survey of California Grantmakers and Professional Development set out to answer a number of key questions regarding grantmaking as a field, grantmakers as professionals, and their learning and training interests and experiences. With the perspectives of over 350 grantmakers represented, the survey findings respond clearly to research inquiries.

Grantmaking is viewed by grantmakers a profession in its own right, as evidenced by: 1) the significant proportion of people working in the field who choose "grantmaker" as their primary professional identity; 2) the long-term career commitment made to the field by a significant proportion of those working in it; and 3) the definition of a skill set required to do the job.

To be an effective grantmaker, one must master numerous "soft" and "hard" skills, usually in addition to acquiring content knowledge of the area in which one is making grants. Grantmakers must work well with people, having strong inter-personal and communication skills-both verbal and written-to interact effectively with others, from grantseekers to foundation board members. They should be able to assess organizational functioning-including reviews of financial health-when considering investments, and the need to understand the value and impact of that investment through evaluation processes. Effective grantmakers are strategic with firm ethics and value systems to balance funding power with compassion and understanding to best address the needs of the nonprofit organizations.

As a group of professionals, grantmakers clearly seek to grow continually throughout their careers in the field. Their response to this survey, and the story they reveal through its findings, indicate the value they place on learning and development. While grantmakers often learn from each other and through direct hands-on experience, for training that is needed from an external entity they suggest that regional associations of grantmakers can and should have a prominent role.