What We Do

Philanthropy New York champions effective grant making by building a vibrant philanthropic ecosystem that strives to advance meaningful social change. Through our work, members:

  • Convene and collaborate as a community - We bring together philanthropic professionals to share across issues and across professional roles. Practitioners have a place to build collaborative efforts, share practices and learn from peers.
  • Share knowledge, skills and transformative practices - We design robust programming and professional and leadership development that equips our members to understand and adapt to shifting norms and emerging trends in the field. Our programs help members cultivate key skills and implement practice models that fit their unique needs.
  • Amplify the voice of the philanthropic field - We amplify our members’ knowledge, experience and perspective about the social sector to inform, influence and strengthen public policy.
What We Believe

PNY fosters an interdependent community that respects diverse voices, contributions and participation. We are a community that learns from each other and actively contributes to one another's learning. We believe that our missions are best achieved by leveraging our collective strengths.

PNY believes philanthropic leadership is nurtured through community and in relationship with others. We break down barriers and provide pathways for individual members, member institutions, and PNY to exercise influence and become agents of change.

PNY embraces learning as an exploration of different perspectives, inclusive of a full range of expertise and experience. We test assumptions and challenge the sector's conventional wisdom in order to adapt and evolve practice over time.

PNY embeds equity in all of our work. We acknowledge that institutional philanthropy stems from systems rooted in inequity. We have both the opportunity and responsibility to engage the sector's power and privilege to dismantle these systems.

What We Don’t Do
  • We don’t tell foundations how to make their grants. Although our members actively collaborate with each other, each of them makes their own policies and decisions.
  • We don’t connect grantseekers and foundations.
  • We don’t offer advice on how to ask foundations for funding.
Get Involved

Our members are the heart of the organization. If you are interested in joining this vibrant learning community, contact us for more information at 212-714-0699 or info@philanthropynewyork.org.

How Many Ways Do You Take Advantage of Your PNY Membership?

Programming

  • Regularly attend programs that will increase knowledge and skills
  • Lead program panels as a speaker or moderator
  • Be a program developer or initiator
  • Encourage program officers and directors new to philanthropy to attend the intensive Essential Skills and Strategies 3-day training
  • Encourage all staff new to philanthropy to attend Philanthropy 101
  • Refresh your financial analysis skills with our extensive annual Financial Series
  • Stay abreast of key legal and regulatory issues with our annual Legal Series
  • Learn how to amplify your work through our Policy Core programming
  • Attend PNY’s Annual Meeting — the region’s largest policy and networking event for funders
  • Watch live-feed broadcasts of our more high-profile public programs

Peer Interactions

Policy Development

  • Participate in PNY’s meetings with key government officials
  • Suggest issues that PNY’s Public Policy Committee should explore, which might lead to the creation of an issue guide and/or PNY eventually taking an official position
  • Submit commentary on pending policy positions being considered by PNY
  • Join PNY staff in meetings with New York’s congressional delegation during Foundations on the Hill
  • Get involved in special policy projects (grant-funded) that aim to increase public dialogue on issues of particular concern to the philanthropic community
  • Suggest new policy working groups for issues that significant numbers of members are interested in and would benefit from more philanthropic coordination

Information Sharing

Services