Leading Locally 2025 - Plenary Sessions

Plenary Sessions

Our Leading Locally 2025 plenary sessions will tell an inspiring story of our places and what makes them thrive: our people, our civic institutions, and our dreams for the future. Through four immersive sessions, tied together with a one-of-kind narrative arc created in partnership with St. Paul-based Theater Mu, we’ll share how place-based giving initiatives, healing efforts, rural-urban collaborations, and innovative partnerships are essential in creating strong, interconnected, and resilient communities.

United in Giving, Then and Now

Tuesday, June 10 | 3:00 p.m.

Approaching its 250th anniversary, our nation has the opportunity—and the obligation—to reflect: How can these United States truly recognize the contributions of all who live here? And how can we work together on the path toward our ultimate goal: a multiracial, multicultural democracy where everyone belongs? Ashleigh Gardere, President of PolicyLink, will guide us through an exploration into the role of charitable giving in our nation’s history, and how place-based philanthropy can catalyze the civic engagement that makes this future possible – for the next 250 years and beyond.

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From Rupture to Repair

Wednesday, June 11 | 9:00 a.m.

The journey beyond toxic polarization and record levels of mistrust begins when we reknit the fabric of our civic lives: our places, our institutions, and, most importantly, our relationships. A critical first step is to take responsibility for harm and actively work to repair the ties that have frayed. Join us for opening remarks by Distinguished Service Award Winner Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, followed by short talks about communities that are healing deep and enduring wounds in courageous, open-hearted, and transformative ways.

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Funding the Rural-Urban Connection

Wednesday, June 11 | 12:15 p.m.

Rural and urban communities need each other. But while their interdependence plays out in their economies, cultures, and environments, prevailing narratives center on differences and divides. Meanwhile, rural communities account for close to 20 percent of the population, but they receive only 7 percent of philanthropic spending. Join us for a special taping of the Funding Rural podcast, as host Erin Borla interviews two rural leaders on how investing in the bonds that already exist between rural and urban communities can create new opportunities for shared prosperity.

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Partnering for Resilience and Justice

Thursday, June 12 | 12:15 p.m.

How are community and place-based funders partnering with communities to build resilience?  With a commitment to righting past wrongs, responding to crises, and preparing for future challenges.  Join us as we celebrate this year’s HUD Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships, recognizing successes across the nation in housing and community development. Then, sit in on a conversation between members of the Groundbreak Coalition, a group of public, private, and philanthropic partners building a new model for community development finance in Minneapolis-St. Paul: one that addresses systemic racism, closes racial gaps in income and wealth, and boldly meets the climate moment.

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