GEO's 2022 National Conference Schedule at a Glance

Chicago Conference: Schedule at a Glance

All times listed in Central Time. For more information about each session, check out our online agenda.

Pre-conference: Sunday, May 15, 2022

  • 12:00 p.m. CT: Pre-conference peer hosted events; Registration opens
  • 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. CT: Early Arrivers Social Hour

Day One: Monday, May 16, 2022

  • 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. CT: Pre-conference Workshops - Advanced registration and payment are required. (Optional. Select one of 4 options.)
    • W1. First Repair + Evanston Community Foundation: Municipal and Philanthropic Collaboration toward Local Reparations
    • W2. Active Learning and Unlearning: Leadership Practices to Advance Racial Equity from Self-Systems
    • W3. Investing in Place-Based Systems Change: Tools for Funder Reflection, Action and Community Engagement
    • W4. A Community-Driven and Data-Driven Approach to Funding Racial Justice Grassroots Organizing
  • 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. CT: Opening Plenary Luncheon: Building a Shared Vision for Thriving (program from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. CT)
  • 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. CT: Break
  • 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. CT: Breakout Sessions Round A (Select one of 10 options.)
    • A1. Shifting from “Grantees” to “Partners”: Achieving Greater Impact Through Relationships Centered on Humanness and Trust
    • A2. Experimenting toward Liberated Governance
    • A3. Adapting to the 21st Century: Addressing Legacy, Equity and Social Justice in Philanthropy
    • A4. Leadership and Accountability: Overcoming Foundation Fragility to Advance Justice
    • A5. Power Sharing: Walking the Talk to Address Racial Wealth Gaps in Black and Native American Communities
    • A6. Moving from Talk to Walk: Concrete Approaches to Take Discussions about Engaging BIPOC Evaluators to Action
    • A7. Battling Burnout: How can Philanthropy Promote a Culture of Health and Wellness in the Social Sector?
    • A8. Enough with the F*!$ing Metrics! Let’s Learn about Impact in Ways that Build Trust
    • A9. Moving from Ideas to Action to Advance Racial Equity: Lessons from Community Foundations
    • A10. Sharing Sugar: The Success and Failure of Sharing Resources
  • 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. CT: Active Hour & Peer Events 
  • 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. CT: Welcome Reception

Day Two: Tuesday, May 17, 2022

  • 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. CT: Networking Breakfast with optional Peer-Hosted Roundtables
  • 9:00 – 9:15 a.m. CT: Break  
  • 9:15 – 10:30 a.m. CT: Breakout Sessions Round B (Select one of 10 options.)
    • B1. Integrating Community Voice in Grantmaking
    • B2. Innovative Trends in BIPOC Power Building: What Funders Should Know about Supporting Multi-Entity Work
    • B3. The Honest Struggles of Leading Community-Centered Transformation at a Progressive Foundation
    • B4. Field Catalysts: How Systems Change Happens and How Grantmakers Can Help
    • B5. Grantmaking for Institutional Wealth and Power Building in Communities of Color
    • B6. Five Principles to Advance Equity and Justice in Philanthropic Strategy
    • B7. Untangling Incentives: Using Our Power as Grantmakers to Make Space for Equitable Learning
    • B8. How Philanthropy Must Shift to Support Liberatory Leadership
    • B9. Creating Powerful Partnerships with Tribal Nations and Indigenous Communities
    • B10. Ceding Power to Advance Equity: Are We Ready for the Challenge?
  • 10:30 – 11:00 a.m. CT: Break
  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. CT: Breakout Sessions Round C (Select one of 9 options.)
    • C1. Meeting the Moment: Shifting Power and Practices for Equitable Outcomes
    • C2. Trust-Based Capacity Strengthening: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
    • C3. Beyond Funding: Levers of Disruption to Advance Equity and Center Race
    • C4. Supporting Black-Led Movement for Safety and Liberation
    • C5. Let’s Talk about Power: Making Meaningful Change through Participatory Grantmaking
    • C6. Designing for Justice: Funding and Organizing toward Black Liberation
    • C7. Shifting Power: It’s Time to Act on Lessons Learned to Build Capacity in Historically Underfunded Communities
    • C8. What if We Shut Up and Listen? How Community Storytelling Creates Real Belonging and Power
    • C9. Place-Based Funders Advancing Digital Equity through Local Collaboration and Capacity Building
  • 12:15 – 12:30 p.m. CT: Break
  • 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. CT: Plenary Luncheon: A Pivot to Healing Centered Leadership: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves (program from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. CT)
  • 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. CT: Break  
  • 3:00 – 4:45 p.m. CT: Short Talks (Select one of 3 speakers in each round.)
    • 3:00 - 3:25 p.m. CT: Round 1 Speakers
    • 1A. Nothing is Broken: What Evaluation and Philanthropy Can Learn from Abolitionism - Aisha Rios, Coactive Change
    • 1B. Widening Our Lens, Seeing the Full Opportunity to Win - Kalia Abiade, Pillars Fund
    • 1C. Reparations are Coming: How Philanthropy Must Meet the Moment - Trevor Smith and Aria Florant, Liberation Ventures
    • 3:40 - 4:05 p.m. CT: Round 2 Speakers
    • 2A. What It Takes to Change - Prentis Hemphill, The Embodiment Institute
    • 2B. Unpacking the Laziness Lie in Our Organizations - Devon Price, Author of “Laziness Does Not Exist”
    • 2C. Disability Justice: A Way Forward for Grantmakers - Ryan Easterly, WITH Foundation
    • 4:20 - 4:45 p.m. CT: Round 3 Speakers
    • 3A. Funding for Radical Imagination and Liberation - Tanya Watkins, SOUL Chicago
    • 3B. Equity Through a Rural Lens: Revisiting the Small Towns that Built the Big Cities - Sonja Merrild, Blandin Foundation
  • 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. CT: Social Hour with Short Talk Speakers
  • 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. CT: Peer Hosted Dinners and Events or Dinner on your own 

Day Three: Wednesday, May 18, 2022

  • 6:30 – 7:30 a.m. CT: Active Hour
  • 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. CT: Networking Breakfast
  • 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. CT: Break 
  • 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CT: Salon Conversations
  • 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. CT: Break
  • 10:30 – 11:45 a.m. CT: Breakout Sessions Round D (Select one of 8 options.)  
    • D1. Growing Grassroots and Grasstops: Lessons in Funding Multisector Collaboration
    • D2. “Turning the Titanic:” Tools for Shaping Organizational Culture in Changing Times
    • D3. Radical Readiness: Who Decides Who’s Ready to Solve Complex Social Problems
    • D4. Fostering Healing-Centered Organizational Culture: the Deep Work
    • D5. Closing the Capital Gap: Reserves Grantmaking as an Equity Strategy
    • D6. Sharing Power with Community Members: How Foundations Can Change Their Practices
    • D7. Achieving Equity in Grantmaking: Practicing Equitable Evaluation for Continuous Improvement
    • D8. Real Talk: A Conversation with POC Grantmakers About Leading with Equity
  • 12:00 – 1:45 p.m. CT: Closing Plenary Luncheon: Can Philanthropy Really Advance Transformational Change? (program from 12:30 – 1:45 p.m. CT)
  • 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. CT: Peer Events

2022 Virtual Conference: Schedule at a Glance

All times listed in Eastern time

Livestreams - May 16 - 18, 2022

You will receive access to livestream the Plenary and Short Talk sessions happening live in Chicago.

Monday, May 16, 2022

  • 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET: Opening Plenary: Building a Shared Vision for Thriving

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

  • 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET: Plenary Keynote: A Pivot to Healing Centered Leadership: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves - Shawn Ginwright, Flourish Agenda, Inc.
  • 4:00 – 5:45 p.m. ET: Short Talks (Select one of 3 speakers in each round.)
    • 4:00 - 4:25 p.m. ET: Round 1 Speakers
    • 1A. Nothing is Broken: What Evaluation and Philanthropy Can Learn from Abolitionism - Aisha Rios, Coactive Change
    • 1B. Widening Our Lens, Seeing the Full Opportunity to Win - Kalia Abiade, Pillars Fund
    • 1C. Reparations are Coming: How Philanthropy Must Meet the Moment - Trevor Smith and Aria Florant, Liberation Ventures
    • 4:40 - 5:05 p.m. ET: Round 2 Speakers
    • 2A. What It Takes to Change - Prentis Hemphill, The Embodiment Institute
    • 2B. Unpacking the Laziness Lie in Our Organizations - Devon Price, Author of “Laziness Does Not Exist”
    • 2C. Disability Justice: A Way Forward for Grantmakers - Ryan Easterly, WITH Foundation
    • 5:20 - 5:45 p.m. ET: Round 3 Speakers
    • 3A. Funding for Radical Imagination and Liberation - Tanya Watkins, SOUL Chicago
    • 3B. Equity Through a Rural Lens: Revisiting the Small Towns that Built the Big Cities - Sonja Merrild, Blandin Foundation

Wednesday, May 18 2022

  • 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. ET: Closing Plenary: Can Philanthropy Really Advance Transformational Change?

Virtual Conference

Day One: Tuesday, May 24, 2022

  • 11:30 – 11:45 a.m. ET: Welcome remarks by Marcus Walton
  • 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET: Break
  • 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. ET: Enough with the F*!$ing Metrics! Let’s Learn about Impact in Ways that Build Trust
  • 1:15 – 1:45 p.m. ET: Break
  • 1:45 – 3:00 p.m. ET: Trust-Based Capacity Strengthening: What’s Love Got to Do With It?
  • 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET: Break
  • 3:30 – 4:45 p.m. ET: Creating Powerful Partnerships with Tribal Nations and Indigenous Communities

Day Two: Wednesday, May 25, 2022

  • 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. ET: Field Catalysts: How Systems Change Happens and How Grantmakers Can Help
  • 12:45 – 1:15 p.m. ET: Break
  • 1:15 – 2:30 p.m. ET: “Turning the Titanic:” Tools for Shaping Organizational Culture in Changing Times
  • 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET: Break
  • 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. ET: Grantmaking for Institutional Wealth and Power Building in Communities of Color
  • 4:15 – 5:00 p.m. ET: Closing Reflection Session