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Monday, July 16, 2018

8:00 am - 12:00 pm
CEO Summit: Part I
Details

Nantucket (3rd Floor)

The CEO Summit is a rare opportunity for the chief executives of regional and national PSOs to come together with your peers for in-depth learning, sharing and reflection. The Summit will feature a number of engaging and interactive elements, including Micro-Talks on critical issues, Hot Topics Discussions and Peer Consults on leadership dilemmas.

Facilitators: Dawn Chirwa, Senior Advisor, The Giving Practice; and Sindhu Knotz, Partner, The Giving Practice

Session Materials:

2:30 - 5:00 pm
Peer Community Sessions
 
Details

Join your colleagues in peer community sessions to take a deep dive into your work and to connect with those who share your job responsibilities—the only people in the country who understand exactly what you do! Discuss collaboration, partnerships, trends and ideas of how to strengthen your work. You can also take advantage of open space for thinking, meeting and connections.

Communications Peer Community

Martha's Vineyard B (3rd Floor)

Communications plays a critical and wide-reaching role at every philanthropy-serving organization. PSOs inform and engage diverse audiences—members, non-members, policymakers, and the community at large—that each have unique points of reference. In efforts to reach all segments of your audience, PSO staff may struggle with crafting and communicating a clear, consistent voice. The assortment of communication vehicles that we have at our fingertips often cause more confusion, and you can face additional challenges of ensuring that you’re being as inclusive as possible with your messaging and voicing unique viewpoints without alienating audience segments. Join your communications peers with Janet Firshein and Janet Loranger of Burness for tools to refine your organization’s voice and determine the most effective language for sharing your PSO’s messaging.

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Finance and Administration Peer Community

Plymouth (4th Floor)

Creating diverse work environments starts with inclusive hiring and other human resource management practices. Learn from Nadia Brigham of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation during an in-depth look at how the Kellogg Foundation codified racial equity practices in their human resource and operations work. You will receive samples of their policies and discuss the opportunities and challenges of implementing these practices within organizations. This session is open to all who are interested in learning how to keep bias out of the hiring process and integrate inclusive practices into organizational operations.

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Membership Peer Community

Cape Cod (3rd Floor)

The role of membership professionals extends beyond routine operational practices, as they are often the eyes and ears of PSOs. They keep the pulse on current and potential members’ needs by constantly assessing, adjusting and articulating service offerings and staying abreast of the latest trends and interests. Join your fellow membership peers to explore how to optimize your position in your organization and learn how other membership professionals articulate the value of membership; develop valued member services; and adapt to incorporate alternative audiences such as affiliate and associate members.

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Program Peer Community

Martha's Vineyard A (3rd Floor)

Program staff are often at the forefront of advancing an organization’s strategic goals while delivering valuable programs to members. Join your fellow program staff from across the Forum network for a deep dive into the heart of member programming for PSOs. During facilitated, world-café table discussions, we will exchange best practices on member engagement and share tips on developing your networks. Topics of discussion will include: creating meaningful connections; understanding the different segments of your audience; and engaging corporate foundations or giving programs effectively in your programming.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018

10:00 - 11:15 am

Concurrent Sessions:
Deep Dive Conversations

  • A Conversation With Dr. Elizabeth Hinton (Nantucket, 3rd Floor)
Details
After hearing initial comments from our three stellar breakfast plenary speakers, you’ll have a unique opportunity to engage in a deeper conversation with one of the three speakers of your choice. Each speaker will share some additional thoughts as a follow-up to their breakfast presentation, and then engage in Q&A and conversation with participants.
 
Session Materials:
11:45 am - 1:30 pm
United Philanthropy Forum Annual Meeting: What Does Courageous Philanthropy Look Like?
Keynote Speaker: Grant Oliphant, President & CEO, The Heinz Endowments (@go_grant)
Details

Grand Ballroom (4th Floor)

The Forum’s 2018 Annual Meeting will be an opportunity to elect new Forum Directors, celebrate our volunteer leaders and their contributions, look back on Forum highlights of the past year and look ahead to the Forum's promising future. A highlight of the annual meeting will be a keynote presentation by Grant Oliphant, who has been a vocal and outspoken philanthropy leader in stressing the importance of foundations speaking out against government policies and decisions that are at odds with their work, denouncing racist language and policies of government leaders, and separating fact from fiction in the public discourse. In his address, Oliphant will share his perspectives on courageous philanthropy, which is a key element of the Forum’s new vision. What does courageous philanthropy look like? What is the role of PSOs to lead and encourage a courageous philanthropic sector that, as the Forum’s vision states, “catalyzes a just and equitable society where all can participate and prosper”?

 

Session Materials:

1:45 - 3:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

  • Session 1: Initiating and Supporting Conversations on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - Part 1
  • Session 2: Leading from the Inside Out: Using Inscaping to Power-Up Your Organization’s Impact
  • Session 4: PSOs and Philanthropy 101
Details
Initiating and Supporting Conversations on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - Part 1

Nantucket (3rd Floor)

Join your colleagues for the first part of this two-part workshop on building skills to manage and support challenging conversations—especially around racial equity, diversity and inclusion work.

Part I Topics

  • Fundamentals of diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • Requirements for initiating and supporting conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • Addressing the key challenges to engaging in conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion.

This session is limited to 40 attendees and open only to pre-registrants.

Speaker: Inca A. Mohamed, internationally recognized facilitator and consultant

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Session 2: Leading from the Inside Out: Using Inscaping to Power-Up Your Organization’s Impact

Cape Cod (3rd Floor)

Our organizations strive to make positive change in the world, articulated through our vision, mission and values. The way that organization members experience these aspirations themselves has a direct impact on our work in the world.

This workshop will focus on ways to enhance the vibrancy of organization culture and more fully express the change we want to see in the world. In particular, we will explore the practice of Inscaping: small and regular daily acts of connection, conversation, support, and witnessing that support an organization’s flourishing.

Join us to practice the art of Inscaping and learn how it can be incorporated in your organization’s systems. You will leave with concrete activities you can immediately implement back home.

Facilitator: Chris Murchison, Center for Positive Organizations, University of Michigan Ross School of Business (@MurchisonChris)

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Session 4: PSOs and Philanthropy 101

Martha's Vineyard B (3rd Floor)

Are you new to the field of PSOs or just want to get some context and grounding in the philanthropy sector? Join us for a conversation about the history, movements and current trends in the field of philanthropy and the reach and role of philanthropy serving organizations. You are a vital part of the philanthropic ecosystem as a member of the PSO network

Speakers: Elisabeth Hyleck, Director of Learning & Engagement, Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers and Michael Pratt, Project Coordinator, Institute for Foundation and Donor Learning, Dorothy Johnson School of Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University

Session Materials:

3:45 - 5:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

  • Session 2: Overcoming Resistance to Advocacy & Public Policy Work

Concurrent Conversations

  • Foundation Openness Conversation
  • PSO Data & Research Practice
  • Social Justice Philanthropy
Details
Session 2: Overcoming Resistance to Advocacy & Public Policy Work

Plymouth (4th Floor)

Are you not the policy person in your organization and in fact you don’t know much about advocacy and policy but want to know the basics? Do you want to learn how to overcome your member’s and board’s resistance to this critical part of our work? Do you want to develop a deeper understanding of why policy and advocacy work is so integral to philanthropy’s impact? If so, please join us for this session for “non-wonks” and people who are just curious about the value and diversity of policy and advocacy work for regional and national PSOs.

  • Learn how to convince resistors of the importance of policy work.
  • Understand what is happening in the PSO field around policy work and how you can tap into knowledge and resources to meet your needs.
  • Develop the messaging you need to build the case for return on investment for policy work.

Speakers: Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness (@AmandaAndere); Claudia YW Herrold, Senior Vice President for Communications & Public Policy, Philanthropy Ohio; and Seyron Foo, Director, Public Policy & Government Relations, Philanthropy California(@foofie87)

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Concurrent Conversations
Foundation Openness Conversation

Chatham (3rd Floor)

Come listen to the learnings from foundations and nonprofit conversations about foundation openness that have been hosted throughout the Forum network over the past two years, through the Forum’s partnership with the Fund for Shared Insight, to shift the culture of grantmaking towards greater openness. Also learn what PSOs have learned about their own ways of working with their members on this issue.

Speaker: Sophia Lee, MSW, Senior Research Consultant, Harder+Company Community Research and Kari McCann Boutell, President, Iowa Council of Foundations

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PSO Data & Research Practice

Cape Cod (3rd Floor)

Many PSOs are engaged in data collection and research projects. What are they learning about methodologies, systems, dissemination, collaboration and partnership around this growing part of our work? Join an informal conversation of PSO staff working in this space to build knowledge and relationships with one another.

Conversation Facilitators: Grace Nicolette, Vice President - Programming and External Relations, The Center for Effective Philanthropy (@GraceNicoletteand Stephen Sherman, Research & Data Manager, Southeastern Council of Foundations

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Social Justice Philanthropy

Martha's Vineyard A (3rd Floor)

Join a discussion around what the Sillerman Center is doing to support PSOs in engaging funders and their advisors to increase and enhance grantmaking to social justice causes. Learn about what they have found as the opportunities and challenges in getting to work around social justice issues—especially when trying to move investments in the root cause of issues like segregation. Dr. Susan Eaton will share lessons learned and weave in case studies about the process of working with foundations and highlight places where they have had success, such as in the area of youth engagement.

The Sillerman Center’s mission is to inform and advance social justice philanthropy. The center runs a fellowship program, sponsors courses in Practicing Philanthropy, sponsors events and currently implements three active projects around school diversity/racial equity, youth philanthropy and immigrant integration and refugee integration in Northern New England.

Speaker: Dr. Susan Eaton, Professor of the Practice and Director, Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy at Brandeis University

Session Materials:

5:45 - 7:00 pm
Clips, Conversation & Cocktails
Details

Grand Ballroom (4th Floor)

Before heading out to dine in Boston, join us for some light refreshments and a conversation and clips from two powerful documentaries on the impact of climate change on New England’s waters, longtime fishing industry and renowned fishing communities, hosted in partnership with Forum member Media Impact Funders.

For many New England families, cod fishing has been a way of life for generations. But in recent decades, scientists have reported a collapse in the cod population in the Gulf of Maine, which they attribute to overfishing, climate change and government policies. Cod stocks have fallen to as low as 3 percent of what would sustain a healthy population. As a result, the federal government has imposed severe quotas on cod, which have led many fishermen to sell their boats and caused deep pain in a community that has long relied on the fish.

This tale is told in compelling detail in the 2017 documentary Sacred Cod. Join us to hear about the film from one of the filmmakers, David Abel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covers fisheries and environmental issues for The Boston Globe. Abel will be interviewed by Vince Stehle, Executive Director of Media Impact Funders. In addition, we’ll share some clips of the film. Abel will also share some clips from his latest, not-yet-released documentary Lobster War, which tells the story of growing tensions between the United States and Canada over lobster fishing in the disputed “Gray Zone” in the Gulf of Maine—tensions being exacerbated by dramatic drops in the lobster population due to rapidly warming waters.

Speakers: David Abel, reporter for The Boston Globe and filmmaker (@davabel); Vince Stehle, Executive Director, Media Impact Funders (@VinceDaily)

Session Materials:

 

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

 
 
10:00 - 11:15 am

Concurrent Sessions:

  • Session 1: Enlarging the Space for Philanthropy in Europe– Developing an Advocacy Roadmap
  • Session 3: Equitable Evaluation Practice
Details
Session 1: Enlarging the Space for Philanthropy in Europe– Developing an Advocacy Roadmap

Martha's Vineyard B (3rd Floor)

Although the work of many PSOs is focused on the United States, it’s important to remind ourselves that we are part of an increasingly global society and sector. The philanthropy sector is a key pillar of European civil society, but the operating environment for institutional philanthropy in parts of Europe is under threat—i.e., foreign funding restrictions, inconsistent cross-border philanthropy taxation schemes, harmful impacts of too rigid anti-terrorism/money laundering measures—and these are jeopardizing the essential work of more than 140,000 European donors and foundations. In response, the Forum’s colleague organization in Europe, Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE), along with the European Foundation Centre, have kicked off joint advocacy work for Europe’s philanthropic sector, with the aim to maintain and develop the space for philanthropy across Europe. Come learn about DAFNE’s advocacy plans in Europe and discuss how we can work with our European colleagues to strengthen philanthropy beyond our borders, and learn from each other.

Speaker: Max von Abendroth, Executive Director, Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE) (@bxlmax)

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Session 3: Equitable Evaluation Practice

Cape Cod (3rd Floor)

The road to equity requires us to continuously check ourselves, our assumptions, our privileges, our practices and our power. Otherwise, we maintain faulty beliefs and processes that reinforce, and even exacerbate, the inequality we seek to root out. The evaluative process, however, is rarely assessed through a racial equity lens. Evaluation is widely considered an objective practice but conventional evaluation is inherently biased. The melding of history, context, and culture embed inherent biases into conventional evaluation processes, which is a blind spot for PSOs engaged in racial equity work.

Jara Dean-Coffey, a member of the Equitable Evaluation Project Team, will lead an interactive exploration of the inequities reinforced by conventional evaluation and introduce the emerging set of principles that challenge us all to rethink how evaluation can be a tool for equity. In this workshop-style session, Jara will invite us all to identify a collective approach to re-imagining evaluation and garner feedback from session participants on advancing the equitable evaluation practice in the field.

This session caters to PSOs that are new and further along in racial equity work.

Speaker: Jara Dean-Coffey, Founder and Principal, Luminaire Group (@jdeancoffey)

Session Materials:

 
 
11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Concurrent Sessions:

  • Session 1: DEI – Intersectional Gender/Race Norms
  • Session 2: PSOs’ Role in Advancing Racial Equity: What’s Happening & What’s Next
  • Session 3: Effective Member Engagement Scoring and Data Use
  • Session 4: Furthering Philanthropy's Mission Using Media & Journalism
Details
Session 1: DEI – Intersectional Gender/Race Norms

Nantucket (3rd Floor)

How we define diversity and the various ways we see equity or non-equity are complicated. You might say it goes beyond black and white into complicated social norms, expectation and false narratives. Join this conversation to begin to explore these complexities and gain understanding of the questions you should be asking yourself and within your organization.

Speakers: Riki Wilchins, Executive Director, TrueChild and Deborah Aubert Thomas, Vice President for Programs and Learning, Philanthropy Ohio (@aubertthomas8)

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Session 2: PSOs’ Role in Advancing Racial Equity: What’s Happening & What’s Next

Martha's Vineyard A (3rd Floor)

Join us to learn more about the results of the Forum’s recent racial equity scan and how our network can move forward to continue strengthening and advancing our racial equity work. Hear about the highlights of how PSOs are currently engaging in racial equity, and the challenges and opportunities they’ve identified for this work, and discuss how we can use the scan findings to continue our journey in providing leadership for the field on these critical issues.

Speakers: David Maurrasse, Ph.D., Founder & President, Marga Incorporated; and Tamara Copeland, President & CEO, Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (@WRAGPrez)

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Session 3: Effective Member Engagement Scoring and Data Use

Martha's Vineyard B (3rd Floor)

You have gone through all the work to develop a member engagement score. Now, what do you do with it? Regional and national PSOs are utilizing a member engagement score to inform their retention efforts. But, how do you use an engagement score to shape your member services and interactions? Join a conversation to hear from the Council of Michigan Foundations and Exponent Philanthropy about why they decided to start calculating an engagement score, what changes they’ve made to their member interactions as a result, and key lessons learned.

Speakers: Debbie McKeon, Senior Vice President Member Services, Council of Michigan Foundations; Serenity Greenfield, Director of Marketing & Membership, Exponent Philanthropy and Paul Kim, Research and Knowledge Manager, Philanthropy Northwest

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Session 4: Furthering Philanthropy's Mission Using Media & Journalism

Cape Cod (3rd Floor)

Media is one of the most powerful tools for social change. Philanthropy's support for media and journalism to serve as a bulwark of democracy can help build consensus on critical social issues. In this session, join Vince Stehle, Raney Aronson-Rath, producer of Frontline and colleagues from the Forum Network to learn how PSOs can develop partnerships and programming using media as a tool for effective storytelling and advocacy.

Speaker: Vince Stehle, Executive Director, Media Impact Funders (@VinceDaily); Ronna Brown, President, Philanthropy New York; Raney Aronson-Rath, Producer, Frontline (@raneyaronson) and Grace Nicolette, Vice President, Programming and External Relations, The Center for Effective Philanthropy (@GraceNicolette)

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