The pandemic reminded us of something we already knew; there’s no substitute for being in the same room. But the hunger to connect runs deeper than COVID. The U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic in 2023, and noted that approximately half of American adults were already experiencing loneliness before the pandemic even began. Nearly three quarters of Americans point to technology as a contributing factor; a reminder that more screens haven’t meant more connection. For the nonprofit sector, which runs on relationships, trust, and shared purpose, that backdrop matters.
For funders, it’s also an opportunity. Convening is one of philanthropy’s most powerful tools, and one of its most underused. Leanly staffed foundations are especially well-positioned to lead here. With the independence, credibility, and flexibility that larger institutions often lack, lean funders can move quickly to unite grantees, community leaders, fellow donors, and policymakers around a shared purpose, and spark the kind of collaboration that no grant check alone can create.
If you’ve ever organized a board meeting or a community dinner, you already have the foundational skills. Here’s how to put them to work.
Why It Works: The Case for Convening
In a sector hungry for connection, convening can serve a wide range of strategic goals:
Build Relationships and Expand Networks
- Connect with donors, funders, and grantees working in your community or issue area
- Exchange insights, best practices, and emerging solutions
- Give grantees a space to recharge, reconnect, and support one another, rebuilding the peer relationships that isolation eroded
Listen, Learn, and Stay Informed
- Surface pressing challenges and deepen your knowledge of a topic area or emerging sector
- Step in when no one else is filling the convening role — your community may be waiting for exactly that
Solve Problems Collaboratively
- Help nonprofits, funders, and partners identify common challenges, opening doors to joint capacity building, shared staffing, or pooled services
- Create space for stakeholders to brainstorm, build consensus, and move toward solutions
Spark Meaningful Action
- Launch or strengthen a network, coalition, or task force for collective impact
- Identify emerging trends, priority issues, and critical funding gaps
- Mobilize resources for underfunded causes or urgent community needs
Convening doesn’t have to be elaborate or resource intensive. Start small, stay focused, and you may be surprised by the outsized value a single well-designed gathering can create.
6 Steps to Plan Your First Convening
If you’ve ever gotten a group of people to show up somewhere at the same time, you already have more convening experience than you think. Here’s a practical roadmap to get started.
Step 1: Decide If the Timing Is Right
Convening is an act of leadership and knowing when to convene (or when not to) is just as important as knowing how. That timing question applies to you and your grantees. Before moving forward, ask yourself:
- Does convening align with our current priorities and strategic goals?
- Is this the best use of our time and resources right now?
- How will our foundation’s reputation and relationships shape who shows up and how?
- Are we responding to something urgent, or is this a longer-term conversation that grantees need time to prepare for?
If the timing feels right on all sides, move forward with intention.
Step 2: Get Clear on Your Goals
Start with a simple question: Why do we want to bring these people together? Your answer will drive every decision that follows — from format to guest list to facilitation style. Be realistic about what one convening can accomplish; think of it as an opening move that plants seeds for future collaboration, even if the outcomes aren’t fully visible right away.
Step 3: Choose the Right Format and Venue
Convenings come in many shapes and sizes. Common formats include:
- Workshops and facilitated roundtables
- Listening sessions and open forums
- Networking events or social gatherings
- Focus groups and panel discussions
- In-service trainings or professional development sessions
- Volunteer workdays or community service events
- Retreats or multi-day immersive experiences
Let your goals guide your format. For venue, consider what atmosphere will best serve your participants — in-person gathering does something video calls simply can’t. Some funders host at their own offices; others prefer a neutral community space. Options include grantee offices, conference rooms, community centers, libraries, retreat centers, or parks. If you’re using a grantee’s space, offering an honorarium is a thoughtful and customary gesture.
Step 4: Determine Who Will Lead the Room
Think carefully about your own role. Do you want to facilitate the conversation yourself, or would you be better positioned as a participant, or even an observer? There’s no wrong answer, but clarity here matters. A skilled, neutral facilitator can significantly elevate the quality of your convening, balancing perspectives and creating an environment where participants feel safe to speak openly. This is especially important when grantees may feel hesitant to be candid in front of a funder.
Step 5: Be Intentional About Who You Invite
Your guest list is one of your most important strategic decisions. Revisit your goals and ask: Who needs to be in the room for this to work? Aim for a size that allows genuine dialogue — inclusive enough to represent diverse perspectives, focused enough to stay productive.
Be thoughtful about how you extend invitations. Share your goals upfront, explain why each person’s perspective matters, and make clear that attendance is optional. Grantees may feel pressure to say yes to a funder’s invitation, so communicate explicitly that their participation is genuinely voluntary.
Step 6: Host with Care — and Follow Through
Stay organized, stay flexible, and have a point person handling logistics so you can stay focused on the people in the room. After the event, follow up promptly — send a thank-you, share next steps, and include a brief survey asking what worked and what could be improved. Then actually use that feedback.
The best convenings don’t end when people walk out the door. They spark conversations that continue, relationships that deepen, and collaborations that take root. In a world that’s increasingly fragmented and screen-saturated, that kind of sustained human connection is something worth investing in.