Your Blueprint for an Engaged, High-Impact Year

Parent, family, and caregiver ERGs are no longer “nice to have.”
In 2025, we spoke with 25+ ERG leaders across industries, and one theme kept surfacing:

These communities are becoming one of the most powerful culture-shaping forces inside organizations.

They support working parents, yes – but they also influence manager readiness, retention, belonging, and the day-to-day experience of nearly every employee. More executive teams are paying attention, increasing funding, and asking ERG leaders: “What’s the plan for next year?”

So we built a guide that helps you answer that question with confidence, creativity, and joy.

Below is your blueprint for 2026…complete with themes, event ideas, and best practices from the hundreds of working parents we support each year.

Your 2026 Programming Calendar

Below is a starting point structure your Family & Caregiver ERGs might consider – we pulled this together after working with dozens of ERGs this past year and listening to what events, topics, and initiatives were most successful. Enjoy!!

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JANUARY + FEBRUARY: “New Year, Realistic You”

• Workshop: Intentional Visiont-Setting for Working Parents
• Quick Win: Parent/Caregiver Slack channel refresh
• Resource drop: Printer-friendly visioning template (Josie can provide!)

MARCH: Women’s History Month

• Event: Co-sponsor an event with your Women’s ERG
• Giveaway: Copies of Fair Play, by Eve Rodsky

APRIL: “Bring Your Family to Work Day” (not a typo!)

• Fun idea we heard from one ERG: bring your kids, and your parents! Sandwich gen folks: stop having your parents wonder “what is it again you do??”
• Resource drop: Josie’s “Bring Your Work to Kid Day” guide with tips from top leaders on how to talk to kids about work

MAY + JUNE: Mother’s Day & Father’s Day

• Activation: Care package giveaway or mini-wellbeing challenge
• Speaker: Josie’s “Parent + Professional: From Struggle to Strategic Advantage” is the PERFECT fun, funny, webinar for employees
• Pride ERG collaboration: Host a speaker panel on the LGBTQ+ parenting journey

AUGUST + SEPTEMBER: “Back-to-School…NOT Back to Burnout”

• Workshop: Josie’s “Setting Boundaries in an Overwhelming World”
• Tip sheet: Supporting neurodiverse kiddos during school transitions
• Organize a fun member or volunteering event on National Working Parents Day (9/16)

OCTOBER: “Manager Month”

• Training: Josie’s “5 Myths Every Manager Should Know About Working Parents“
• Resource: Josie’s Manager Toolkit for Supporting Caregivers
• Slack Thread: “Show us your kids Halloween costumes!”
• Slack Thread: Host a costume exchange

NOVEMBER: National Family Caregivers Month

• This is your signature month
• Host 1–2 cornerstone events / keynotes
• Communication: Share what your ERG accomplished this year + what’s next

DECEMBER: “Gratitude & Grace Season”

• Closeout celebration idea: Josie’s “Sleighing Self-Care” Webinar
• Resource drop: Josie’s holiday burnout survival kit
• Share your 2026 programming calendar publicly with members

How Josie Can Support Your ERG in 2026

We partner with ERGs of all sizes- from Fortune 100s to scrappy startup communities – to deliver:

• 🎤 Keynote sessions
• 🧠 Leadership trainings for managers
• 💛 Support circles + group coaching
• 📚 On-demand tip sheets + content libraries
• 🤝 ERG strategy + quarterly programming packages

If you want to give your working parents the structure, community, and support they deserve, we’d love to collaborate!!