I found EPIP about a month before I started my 1st foundation job. I was doing web searches to find out as much as I could about the foundation world before I started my job as a program officer. The web is a large place but there is very, very little when it comes to how to do the work of grantmaking. I stumbled across the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) website and was so excited because it was a great centralized resource. It was there that I found out about GrantCraft, the Council on Foundations Affinity groups, and the Grantmaking School, which have all been fantastic resources in my 1st year and a half of grantmaking. We didn't have a local EPIP chapter in Minnesota so we started a local affiliate. This has been a great professional network of people that are new to philanthropy as well but are an amazing resource on almost anything that I need to know about philanthropy, from how to handle the politics of grantmaking, to technical assistance on foundation tools, to how to get the most out of professional development opportunities. If you have an EPIP chapter in your community, join and see the benefits right away. If there isn't a local chapter in your community, start one and you'll be amazed at how EPIP will impact your career.