Member Benefits
Membership in San Diego Grantmakers entitles your organization's staff and board members to exclusive services and opportunities that will enhance your grantmaking activities. We are committed to helping members achieve their goals by providing the following assistance:
Educational Programs & Networking Events
Monthly Programs
SDG offers numerous opportunities throughout the year for members to hear from expert speakers, share best practices with one another, and network with grantmaking peers. Please visit our Event Calendar to see what's coming up.
SDG Annual Conference
The SDG Annual Conference, held each fall, is the premier gathering of grantmakers from throughout San Diego County and beyond. Funding professionals from foundations, corporate giving programs, giving circles, donor-advised funds, public charities, and government funders convene at the Annual Conference to learn about the latest philanthropic trends, topics and best practices, share information about their own grantmaking, and network with other grantmakers who share similar funding interests.
Corporate Philanthropy Learning Community
This group of SDG corporate philanthropy members meets periodically to network and discuss common professional issues like measuring the impact of their community investments and engaging employees in company giving. To become part of this group or learn more, email nancy@sdgrantmakers.org.
Collaborations and Working Groups
SDG facilitates collaboration among its members around specific issues so that they may work together and leverage their resources. Current member collaborations include Coming Home to Stay (prisoner reentry), Education Funders, Homelessness Working Group, Military Funders Support Working Group, San Diego Workforce Funders Collaborative, and Transition Age Youth Funders.
Online Resources
SDG Website
Our site is updated regularly to serve as a one-stop-shop for the latest grantmaking information and materials. The Member Resources section contains information about support organizations and online tools, as well as links to research, reports and articles -- all organized according to best practices, type of grantmaker, and giving areas. Other resources on the website include materials from all SDG programs, a calendar of relevant events for grantmakers, news about philanthropy and our members' work, and much more!
SDG Member Directory
Access a directory of other grantmakers through the SDG website and view their profiles, including contact information. Use it to identify like-minded funders, potential partners or grantees, or just to set up lunch.
And maintaining your organization's profile is easy. By simply logging in to the SDG website, members can keep mission, giving areas and giving levels up to date, add or remove trustees and staff, and change email addresses and phone numbers to ensure that the correct people are receiving all SDG communications and have access to all membership benefits.
SDG Member Listservs
SDG members are subscribed to our various listservs – group email lists based on membership in SDG, type of grantmaking organization, and giving areas. You can tap the collective knowledge of your grantmaking peers by submitting questions, giving feedback or sharing your grantmaking highlights.
SDG Update, Public Policy Bulletin, Corporate Link and Family Ties e-Newsletters
SDG's e-newsletters provide members with the latest resources, articles, and legislative information about philanthropy as well as SDG program details and updates about the work of SDG members. SDG Update is our general member newsletter sent to all grantmakers. Public Policy Bulletin is written in partnership with Northern California Grantmakers and Southern California Grantmakers, and features philanthropy-related policy and government news of national, state and local interest. Corporate Link and Family Ties (also written in partnership with the other two California grantmaker associations) are tailored to our corporate and family foundation members. Past issues are archived on our website for members only.
Discounted Products & Services
SDG membership includes discounted rates on some very valuable products and services, including:
Directors & Officers Liability Insurance
With the increased governmental scrutiny on the philanthropic and nonprofit sector, many experts strongly recommend that foundations carry Directors & Officers Insurance to protect both trustees and the foundation. Through an arrangement with the Council on Foundations (
www.cof.org), San Diego Grantmakers is pleased to offer its members access to a discounted Directors & Officers Liability Insurance Coverage program.
If you are an SDG member and would like more information about this, you may review
this information or contact
Maya Harris, staff attorney, Council on Foundations at (703) 879-0714.
Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR)
This publication by the Stanford Graduate School of Business provides grantmakers with informative research, best practices, and provocative opinions. A special 25 percent discounted rate for SDG members is $39.95 for 1 year (4 issues) plus a digital subscription for U.S. subscribers who sign up online with credit card. Contact us for the special promotion code then subscribe online at www.ssireview.com/subscribe. To contact SSIR directly, please call (650) 725-5399 or email info@ssireview.com.
BoardSource Nonprofit Resources and Services
SDG members receive a 30 percent discount off annual membership with BoardSource. BoardSource provides knowledge, resources and consulting services to help build the effectiveness of nonprofit board leadership. For details on how to sign up and receive the discount, email Director of Member Services Phyllis Levine at phyllis@sdgrantmakers.org.
ReadyTalk Audio and Web Conferencing
SDG is pleased to partner with ReadyTalk audio and web conferencing to bring members easy-to-use audio and web conferencing at great, low rates. ReadyTalk is dedicated to the nonprofit community and specializes in the unique challenges facing organizations of all sizes and causes.
Regional Association Guest Membership
This service extends member rates on programs to board members of grantmaking institutions that are members of other regional grantmaking associations. For example, a trustee of a family foundation that belongs to San Diego Grantmakers lives in Connecticut (a state in which the family foundation makes no grants). That board member would be eligible to participate in programs at the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP). In return, a trustee of a CCP member who lives in San Diego would receive similar benefits.
The benefit of this program lies in the peer network that is created by the participating board members. The attending board member learns about another region's philanthropic experience while sharing (and comparing) his or her own perspective with a wider audience. Contact us for more information about this benefit.