AFN Programming

AFN will offer the following programs in the coming year. 

Review this page for upcoming offerings and registration information!

Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are ongoing, practice-based peer learning circles that meet quarterly. They’re designed to be low-lift but high-impact, providing space for members to share insights, exchange strategies, and learn together without imposed timelines.

Want to join a Community of Practice?

Please use the button below to express interest in an upcoming, or ongoing Community of Practice. We will add you to an associated email list and add you to any upcoming meetings or announcements. Participation in any CoP is always free and included as a benefit of membership.

Note: if you filled out this information in the Membership Survey, we have tracked your responses and will be in touch very soon! 

Join a Community of Practice!

Learning Journeys

Learning Journeys (LJs) are structured, cohort-based learning experiences centered on a specific topic, designed with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Learning Journeys are open to all members, **with some offering optional at-cost participation. Non-members may join for an additional fee.**

Want to join a Learning Journey?

While we have two LJs ongoing and one of those about to wrap, you can express interest for the upcoming The Art of Everyday Civics LJ by clicking here. Information for other slated LJs is forthcoming. 

Please note: Learning Journeys are open to all members, **with some offering optional at-cost participation. Non-members may join for an additional fee.** Members may sponsor Learning Journeys to make them more widely accessible to the network.

Submit an Idea for a Learning Journey!

Action Teams

Action Teams are collaborative, action and solution oriented, and nimble teams focused on producing concrete outcomes, like a playbook, new fund, or solutions to regional challenges. When we think back to the successful work and initiatives born out of AFN (such as the Downtown Revitalization Playbook, Stories of the Power of Art, and major initiatives that would go on to become organizations like Invest Appalachia and Just Transition Fund). In essence, we are giving a name, and a designated space, for a structure that already has proof of concept! 

Want to join an Action Team?

Contact Jess to join an ongoing Action Team or to catch up on the work happening within them. Keep in mind that while all Action Teams are free to join, they require regular participation and a shared commitment to the team’s deliverable. To start a new Action Team, a member sponsor is needed (though not all participants must be sponsors). 

Submit an Idea for an Action Team!

AFN is considering hosting or standing up programming on the following subjects in the coming year.

Communities of Practice

  • Housing Funders

  • Democracy Funders

  • Funders of Workforce Enablers

  • Funders of Infrastructure & Civic Support

  • Disaster Response & Preparedness Funders

Learning Journeys

  • Foundation Corpus Investment Strategy series

  • Reproductive Health series

  • Blended Capital for Program Staff

  • Leadership Development & Fellowship Models

  • Opioid Funding Models

  • Place-based Funders of Hyper Rural Communities (>1,000 residents)

  • AI Implications on Philanthropy and Funding in Appalachia

  • Cooperative Development of Shared Ownership Models

Do YOU have ideas for programming? Click here to share them with us!