Important learning is also occurring beyond a foundation’s own grantmaking, nonprofit partners, and target communities. Many funders seek to share what they have learned through their efforts with others in the field. The California Wellness Foundation, for example, produces regular reports as part of its Reflections series to share information learned and lessons gleaned from their grantmaking practices and strategies with others.
However, many of the greatest gains in philanthropic learning have come from the growing number of vehicles designed to help funders to learn together. Grantmakers have long sought out nearby peers to learn from and with; the earliest regional associations of grantmakers were formed in the mid-twentieth century as a way for funders to share their experiences and knowledge. And the array of networks that donors can join today extends far beyond geographic associations to include affinity groups centered on racial or ethnic identity (Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Native Americans in Philanthropy), issues and causes (Funders Concerned about AIDS, Environmental Grantmakers Association, and organizational structures (Association of Small Foundations, Community Foundations of America).
A full compilation of all of the regional associations of grantmakers is maintained by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, while the Council on Foundations keeps an  active list of Council-supported affinity groups of other types.
The range of funder networks that bring together grantmakers to learn and act together was also documented in a 2003 project by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, in partnership with the Council on Foundations, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. The research surveyed 325 funder networks—including affinity groups, regional associations, collaborative funds, and less formal networks—and documented its findings in several reports and a searchable online database of funder networks.
Many of the associations, such as the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, are doing more than simply connecting members to learn from one another informally. They organize events, from specific briefings to stand-alone conferences, and develop research papers to help interested donors learn about issues, practices, and related developments.
In a few circumstances—such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s recent partnership with the East Bay Community Foundation to look at monetary flows in the eastern San Francisco Bay region—funders have begun to map the disparate flows of resources to better understand the patterns of funding and how support might be organized more strategically to achieve common goals in particular communities or issue areas.
A few funders are also exploring other ways in which they might learn from one another about their performance, using peer review systems that allow colleagues to evaluate fellow funders. The Donors Forum of Wisconsin, for example, has begun a certification process that involves evaluation and review of each community foundation’s practices by outside leaders in the field.
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