Breakout Sessions Round A

1. What’s the Carrot? Converting Ideas to Action. Each year, thousands of organizations wage social change efforts that require active support to prevail. Some of these efforts are wildly successful, but many others fall surprisingly flat. Why is it so difficult to move concerned Americans from passive support to supportive action? In this session, speakers will present highlights and key findings from Discovering the Activation Point^TM, a new report that focuses on strategies for mobilizing concerned people to take supportive action. The Activation Point is the first-ever look at the tried and true work of leading thinkers on persuasion through a nonprofit lens. The result is a comprehensive guide of best practices that nonprofits, and the grantmakers that fund them, can draw on as they plan to persuade.
   Session Designer: Kristen Grimm, Spitfire Strategies
   Speakers: Kristen Grimm; Diane Tompkins, The Curious Company; Edith Asibey, Asibey Consulting
   
   
2. Inclusiveness: An Imperative for Effectiveness. Does inclusiveness belong among the core competencies we ascribe to effective philanthropy? If effective grantmaking is informed by broad, deep, specific knowledge of the communities it serves, the answer is yes. If sound problem solving and capacity building requires design and delivery that considers context and multiple perspectives, then yes again. This imperative for inclusiveness and diversity means taking a firm look -- internally and externally -- at who is at the table, what work matters and how it is carried out. Join our conversation with leaders who speak with experience on the mehtods, challenges and impact of this work.
   Session Designer: Renee Branch, Council on Foundations
   Speakers: Kristin Lindsey, Council on Foundations; Mary Mountcastle, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
   
   
3. Lessons From the Field: Grantees’ Experiences with Leadership Development Investments. In recent years, grantmakers’ knowledge and understanding of supporting nonprofit leadership development has evolved, and their investments in leadership development have become more intentional. In this session, grantees will share the surprises and challenges they experience on the receiving end of such intentional approaches in leadership development. Panelists will provide a variety of perspectives -- ranging from the evaluator to various roles in grantee leadership. They will discuss the "takeoff turbulence" of engaging in this new approach, what they gained, and how they think about building leadership in their organizations and their broader fields.
   Session Designer: Linda Wood, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
   Speakers: Bill Ryan, Hauser Center for Nonprofits; Mary Rogier, Northern California Community Loan Fund; Shannon Minter, National Center for Lesbian Rights; Galen Leung, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
   
   
4. Back to the Future: The "New" New Philanthropy. As philanthropy -- ranging from new individual philanthropists to established, staffed foundations -- grapples with today's problems, many are seeking innovative approaches to change. Yet we often focus narrowly on individual methods or projects, and remain isolated from each other, the field's history and our collective capacity for change. To What are the opportunities and challenges associated with the whole spectrum of historical and current models, and what can we learn from each other? In other words, where is phialnthropy today, and where might it be going? This panel will cover a number of issues, including the meaning of "strategic philanthropy" and how one practices it, measuring the social return on grants and investments, and the core question of whether philanthropists should even try to achieve large-scale social change.
   Session Designer: Dara Major, GEO board of directors
   Speakers: Paul Brest, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; William A. Schambra, Hudson Institute's Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal; Edward Skloot, Duke University's Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society
   
   
5. Using Networks to Increase Social Impact. There are a number of innovative experiments underway in philanthropy to tap the power of networks. In this session, foundation leaders will describe their experiments with networked approaches; presenters will share thoughts on how the current buzz around social networks could play out in the future; and participants will reflect on lessons being learned and the potential implications for philanthropy. How can the organizing principles of networks — openness, decentralization, bottom-up approach — be applied to grantmaking? How can grantmakers help build and strengthen networks? Is all of this resulting in greater social impact?
   Session Designer: Diana Scearce, Monitor Institute
   Speakers: Chris DeCardy, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Michael Smith, The Case Foundation; Katherine Fulton, The Monitor Institute
   
   
6. Challenging Conventional Wisdom: A Practical Examination of Nonprofit Finance. While many of the trends in the evolution of nonprofit financial practices are encouraging, Nonprofit Finance Fund has found from 25 years of experience that there are a range of widely accepted funding practices that often lead to unintended consequences. NFF has dedicated significant resources to looking at these practices. Using this store of financial data and expertise, Clara Miller will engage participants in a conversation around strategies such as property ownership, endowments and revenue diversification.
   Session Designer: Clara Miller, Nonprofit Finance Fund
   Speaker: Clara Miller
   
   
7. Effectively Tapping Into the Experience and Ideas of Nonprofits and Other Stakeholders for Improved Results. More often than not, the solutions we seek lie within the community. Engaging nonprofit and community stakeholders in grantmaking strategy promotes a shared approach to solving community-wide problems and can strengthen the relationship between grantmaker and grantee. This session will demonstrate the importance of inclusion of grantees, stakeholders, staff and board members in the development of grantmaking strategies and the critical role they must all play in determining organizational success both at the funder and grantee level. Three foundations will share their stories of how they engaged constituents and stakeholders for improved results.
   Session Designer: Shawn Mooring, The Philadelphia Foundation
   Speakers: Shawn Mooring, The Philadelphia Foundation; Sidney Hargro, The Columbus Foundation; Alexa Culwell, The Stupski Foundation
   
   

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