2019 PWI Agenda

Liaison Hotel, The Metropolitan Room Lobby (Main Level)

Come pick up your name badge and other materials at the registration desk.

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

Welcome by David Biemesderfer, President & CEO, United Philanthropy Forum

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

In policy work, progress is often incremental and credit is widely shared – making it challenging to claim and communicate victories to key audiences with a stake in your success. This workshop will explore tips and techniques for identifying, framing, and delivering success stories to the audiences most crucial to your organization’s continued impact.

Speaker: Carly Rothman Siditsky, Communications Consultant

The Building Blocks of Policy Work: How Your PSO or Foundation Can Engage

Metropolitan East (Main Level)

The universe of ways for PSOs and foundations to influence public policy is expansive. Importantly, there are also limitations on these activities based on each organization’s IRS categorization. This conversation will present the various ways that the philanthropy sector affects policy and tools they utilize to do so. We will unpack what “policy” means, dispel myths about how the philanthropy sector can support advocacy, clarify the rules for advocacy and lobbying, and examine how to choose the right approach to most effectively achieve your policy goals.

Speakers: Nikhil Pillai, Counsel, Bolder Advocacy Initiative, Alliance for Justice and Maggie Gunther Osborn, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, United Philanthropy Forum

Designing and Building Policy: How the Sausage Gets Made!

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

This session will explore various ways PSOs have influenced policy, from creating new legislation, attempts at blocking proposed legislative changes, and preserving current programs. The session will also present the Forum’s Policy Decision Filter.

Speakers: Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness; Kari McCann Boutell, President, Iowa Council of Foundations; Rob Collier, Consultant and Senior Advisor to the President, Council of Michigan Foundations; and Dan Petegorsky, Senior Fellow and Director of Public Policy, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

Enjoy a relaxing dinner with your PolicyWorks friends or retreat to your room for recuperation. Sign-up at the registration desk for dine arounds.

Liaison Hotel, The Metropolitan Room Lobby (Main Level)

Come pick up your name badge and other materials at the registration desk.

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

Join us for breakfast and a policy discussion with a research presentation from Nicolas Duquette of the Sol Price School of Public Policy on a universal charitable tax credit.

Speaker: Nicolas Duquette, Assistant Professor, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

The work that philanthropy is leading to prepare for Census 2020 serves as an excellent case study on how the philanthropy sector can influence and partner on policy and advocacy work to improve key outcomes. This session will share the lessons learned, so far, from this process in order to apply them to future advocacy on other issues that philanthropy invests in.

Facilitator: Maggie Gunther Osborn, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, United Philanthropy Forum

Speakers: Jocelyn Bissonnette, Director of the Funders Census Initiative, Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation; Debbie McKeon, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Council of Michigan Foundations; Dawn Melchiorre, Chief Operating Officer, Forefront; and Huong Nguyen-Yap, Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

Micro Talks invites expert speakers to each present on a topic of interest for five minutes. Participants then discuss these topics further. The session will end with time for an all-group discussion.

Speakers: Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness; Cecilia Chen, Public Policy Director, Northern California Grantmakers; Matthew Evans, Director of Public Policy & Special Projects, Southeastern Council of Foundations; Lyle Matthew Kan, Vice President of Research and Communications, Funders for LGBTQ Issues; Aryah Somers Landsberger, Vice President of Programs, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees; and Bob Tracy, Director of Public Policy, Minnesota Council on Foundations

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)

This session promotes group exchange and discussion on the various challenges that PSO’s and foundations face when working to influence public policy. The session utilizes human centered design to guide the conversation and ideation.

Policy Champions: How Philanthropy Can Activate and Influence Policymakers

Metropolitan East (Main Level)

It is a critical time for philanthropy to regroup and reassess how we educate and activate policymakers on both sides of the aisle. This session will discuss strategies to more effectively influence policymakers to view the philanthropy sector as a key ally in their work. The goal is to better understand how to harness the voice and resources of philanthropy to ensure policies are put into place that both support the sector as a whole and support the issues and populations philanthropy invests in.

Speakers: Nick Johnson, Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Ruth Madrigal, Principal, Washington National Tax Exempt Organizations, KPMG LLP and Jamila Thompson, Legislative Director, Office of Rep. John Lewis (GA-05)

Orientation for New Foundations on the Hill Participants

Metropolitan West (Main Level)

What to Expect on the Hill

Hear from seasoned Hill staff about what they are thinking when they meet with constituents and what they want to hear from you. This session will discuss how to utilize the time you have with Congressional staff to convey your message and gain their understanding and support.

Facilitator: Kyle Caldwell, President and CEO, Council of Michigan Foundations

Speaker: Mark Ratner, Legislative Director/Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)

How to Run Effective Hill Meetings

What is the secret sauce for having a successful Hill meeting? This conversation will provide tips and advice from seasoned FOTH participants on how to get the most out of your meetings with members of Congress.

Facilitator: Matt Hennessy, Senior Manager of Public Policy, United Philanthropy Forum

Speakers: Karla Mercado, Senior Manager, Public Policy and Philanthropy California, Southern California Grantmakers; Cynthia Pritchard, President & CEO, Philanthropy Delaware; and Anthony Richardson, Executive Director, The Nord Family Foundation

Metropolitan East (Main Level)

Metropolitan Center (Main Level)