Leading Locally 2025 - All Programming
Conference Sessions
Leading Locally 2025 presents a diverse lineup of sessions and speakers, delivered by community and place-based funders and their partners from around the country. The concurrent, peer learning, and breakfast roundtable sessions on our schedule were selected through a call for sessions that received over 250 proposals.
Monday, June 09
Hosted by Council on Foundations
Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and regulations.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Hosted by CEONet
The CEONet Annual Retreat offers a unique experience to connect with peers. Day one will be a site tour led by our local community foundation hosts, R.T. Rybak and Dr. Eric Jolly. The Twin Cities provide an interesting backdrop for the ongoing work to heal, restore, and reimagine the areas around George Floyd Square and the Indigenous lands near the Mississippi River. On day two we meet as a group to discuss executive leadership. Our agenda will focus on sharing of information from colleagues in conventional formats with an emphasis on small group discussions. Anticipate an interactive event. Transportation to and from the Minneapolis Hilton will be provided. The tours will begin at the American Indian Center before re-boarding the buses for tours of Minneapolis or St. Paul. Both groups will reconvene at the conclusion of the tours for an evening Riverboat Cocktail Cruise on the Mississippi River.
NOTE: This pre-conference event is open to Community Foundation CEOs and Executive Directors only.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Hosted by Career Pathways
Over the past 10 years, the Career Pathways (CP) alumni network has grown to over 200. We are excited to announce our first in-person homecoming, gathering participants from across all cohorts! This pre-conference is an opportunity to explore future philanthropic leadership, share challenges and insights, reconnect with peers, and build new relationships across the CP network. We will also co-create a shared vision of how we can build avenues for participation in alumni programming.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Tuesday, June 10
Hosted by Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON)
Join us for an opportunity to examine and gain a deeper understanding of the internal systems change needed for community foundations (and other grantmaking organizations) to authentically engage in external systems change and equity work. We'll introduce our Racial Equity Systems Self-Assessment (RESSA) tool and provide time to work through a "mini-assessment" as well as create a plan to incorporate the RESSA into your foundation's work.
Ideally 2+ colleagues from the same foundation attend together.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Hosted by Council on Foundations
Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and regulations.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Hosted by Council on Foundations
Participants in this half-day workshop will be introduced to Resetting the Table’s celebrated approach to developing the tools to build a culture of productive dialogue on charged issues even in the face of strong differences. Participants exchange views and experiences, learn two core skills for difficult conversations across diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, and leave with increased capacity and confidence to discuss charged issues. The methodology is practice-based and experiential, walking through road-tested exercises participants can replicate in their own philanthropic institutions.
This pre-conference session is sold out.
Hosted by Career Pathways
Over the past 10 years, the Career Pathways (CP) alumni network has grown to over 200. We are excited to announce our first in-person homecoming, gathering participants from across all cohorts! This pre-conference is an opportunity to explore future philanthropic leadership, share challenges and insights, reconnect with peers, and build new relationships across the CP network. We will also co-create a shared vision of how we can build avenues for participation in alumni programming.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Hosted by CEONet
The CEONet Annual Retreat offers a unique experience to connect with peers. Day one will be a site tour led by our local community foundation hosts, R.T. Rybak and Dr. Eric Jolly. The Twin Cities provide an interesting backdrop for the ongoing work to heal, restore, and reimagine the areas around George Floyd Square and the Indigenous lands near the Mississippi River. On day two we meet as a group to discuss executive leadership. Our agenda will focus on sharing of information from colleagues in conventional formats with an emphasis on small group discussions. Anticipate an interactive event. Transportation to and from the Minneapolis Hilton will be provided. The tours will begin at the American Indian Center before re-boarding the buses for tours of Minneapolis or St. Paul. Both groups will reconvene at the conclusion of the tours for an evening Riverboat Cocktail Cruise on the Mississippi River.
NOTE: This pre-conference event is open to Community Foundation CEOs and Executive Directors only.
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
Hosted by Sustained Collaboration Network (SCN)
Funders have been coming together in communities across the country to collectively fund nonprofit collaboration in order to help nonprofits meet increased demand for services, achieve economies of scale, or navigate high-stakes executive transitions. Join participating funders from the 10 member funds within the national Sustained Collaboration Network (SCN) for a pre-conference on Tuesday, June 10.
Hear from peer funders about: what they have learned from being involved in a funder collaborative; how this approach to investing in nonprofit collaboration is strengthening the nonprofit sector and benefiting communities; and how to apply some of SCN’s key lessons in your own grantmaking. The morning will include a short presentation and panel discussion, followed by breakout conversations. Attendees will receive a copy of SCN’s 2024 report “Nurturing Nonprofit Collaborations: Insights for Philanthropic Funders.”
Separate registration is required for this pre-conference session and can be added when registering for the full conference.
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.
Hosted in partnership by the Council on Foundations and Minnesota Council on Foundations
Join the Council's CEO and Board for this invite-only event. Location and details will be provided in the invitation.
Wednesday, June 11
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.
Community-centered economic development frameworks drive more accessible economic growth across communities. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to community development, addresses social determinants of health and coordinates between stakeholders to create grassroots-inspired change. Learn about a strategy developed by the Brookings Institution in collaboration with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) which has been successfully implemented in 20 regions nationwide. Additionally, explore a LISC Twin Cities framework that advances community-centered investments by strengthening capacity within the city’s cultural districts. Gain insights into how place-based funders and foundations can partner as an intermediary with CDFIs to advance health and wealth through economic development.
Philanthropic institutions are facing mounting challenges in their pursuit of a just world for all. Foundation leaders must confront these legal, communication, and reputational risks head-on support the communities they serve. In this session, tailored for CEOs, participants will learn about frameworks to defend and advance progress, the importance of connecting with like-minded leaders who are dedicated to collaboration, and how to stay committed to achieving equitable outcomes for all in an evolving policy and legal environment.
Across the nation, communities are facing a crisis of connection, with a 2023 survey revealing that 74% of Americans feel a sense of non-belonging in their local communities. In 2022-23, the Walmart Foundation funded the Belonging Innovation Lab, a program providing subgrants, training, and technical assistance to a cohort of 12 place-based organizations working to foster trust and build belonging. Designed for leaders interested in social cohesion, this session will share insights from the program and explore how national and local philanthropy can collaborate to foster local belonging.
This session is for place-based funders seeking innovative ways to deepen engagement and ignite generosity in their communities. Foundation leaders will discuss the tangible benefits and outcomes of Community Heart & Soul, a proven, resident-driven engagement process. Panelists will highlight how foundations are successfully utilizing this process to create connections, increase community philanthropy, and build lasting change in small cities and towns. This session will also provide useful tools based on this community engagement approach that attendees can put to use in their own communities.
In this interactive workshop, education funders will actively explore how to improve funder-grantee relationships to strengthen public education as a training ground for democracy and as a space for building more resilient and informed students and communities. Participants will also learn how funder and community groups are collaborating to protect public education from the censorship of educators, book bans, and the siphoning of public funds into private programs like vouchers.
While most foundations focus on defined issues or demographics, others find success maximizing impact with intergenerational solutions. Intended for all foundation professionals, this session shows how The Eisner Foundation, RRF Foundation for Aging, and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund have integrated intergenerational efforts as a program area critical to their missions and explore how they think about impact, evaluation, and the benefit of intergenerational connection in our society. Attendees will also explore how intergenerational solutions can advance their own institutional missions.
Participants in this session will gain insight into their role in supporting place-based, community-driven stories. This session is relevant for communications and program staff, executive leaders, and board members. Because narrative work spans all sectors, both place-based and issue-based funders will benefit. Attendees will leave with tools to implement authentic, ground-up strategies that align with their current funding priorities and challenge harmful stereotypes undermining community wellbeing.
Fund for Shared Insight, a national funder collaborative, invited funders to a participatory climate initiative in Hawai’i. The Kellogg Foundation, which funds in Hawai’i, and is committed to equity, was a core partner. The effort was designed to involve people most impacted by climate change in decision making, and to facilitate learning. Speakers will share what went well and what didn’t, and offer actionable, practical steps and tools that funders can use to listen to shift power. Speakers will highlight a range of participatory practices that advance equity and are featured in our funder toolkit.
On December 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire burned over 1,000 homes in Boulder County, CO. As Boulder County’s trusted philanthropic partner for over 30 years, The Community Foundation Boulder County (CFBC) quickly opened a disaster fund, raising over $43 million. CFBC’s trauma-informed, people-first approach to fund distribution balanced individual and community needs, and was crucial for effective and equitable support for fire survivors. This session will highlight the importance of key partnerships with local, regional, and state governments to achieve disaster recovery at scale.
The National Center for Family Philanthropy, Ideas42, and Arabella Advisors recently released a report that explores top psychological barriers to giving in family philanthropy. Reasons included too many choices, fear of uncomfortable family dynamics, and lack of urgency. The research draws on behavioral science, interviews with donors and advisors, and decades of experience guiding philanthropic families. This session will highlight report findings and offer practical advice and hands-on tools that philanthropic advising staff at community foundations can use with their donors to unlock more assets to meet urgent issues.
The goal of the philanthropic sector is to mobilize the funds that allow us to create change in the world. Layered underneath that sweeping vision are the staff and frontline fundraisers who dedicate their lives to this work. Whether they are in the trenches in conflict zones or regularly engaging in conversations about atrocities, the emotional and physical toll on nonprofit staff can be profound. In this session, we will shine a light on those making change happen, and ask - how can we mobilize philanthropy to better support the mental and physical wellbeing of our dedicated nonprofit staff?
Local foundations play a critical role in fostering welcoming environments for immigrants. This session explores how philanthropy can support immigrant inclusion through investments, partnerships, and programming. Leaders from the Walder Foundation and Welcoming America will share examples, lessons learned, and strategies for advancing immigrant inclusion--providing actionable insights for attendees to implement in their communities.
When someone is harmed by those meant to support them, an organizations’ inability to prevent abuse receives intense public scrutiny, as seen with cases such as U.S. Gymnastics and the Boy Scouts. But what is the role of foundations in ensuring that their grantees are preventing harm? How do you initiate these conversations in your foundation? How do you engage grantees in this process and what resources can you use to do this? This interactive session will share examples of foundations addressing these questions and will provide practical guidance, tools and resources.
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.
For undercapitalized economic corridors, small businesses face many hurdles. By combining the expertise of three national partners, Truist Foundation’s multi-year initiative "Where It Starts," aims to strengthen small businesses and create career pathways for underserved communities. In this conversation, the collaborative partners will share the challenges they face across the five cities in the program, offer insights for both funders and nonprofits on how to work better together, and ensure community needs are centered.
This session will explore how national place-based funders play a pivotal role in fostering a sense of community through collaboration. Participants will learn from case studies from local service partners that illustrate successful strategies for community engagement and practical tools for sustaining these efforts. The session will address the challenges of overcoming community polarization and demonstrate how philanthropy can cultivate shared identity and belonging within diverse populations.
Community and place-based foundations are building common ground in the communities they serve. The intended audience for this session is leaders of community and place-based foundations who are curious about what they can do to help bridge divides constructively. Participants will leave understanding how institutions like theirs can more effectively help people come together across their differences to improve their communities and build a brighter future.
Something new is happening in Detroit. The local donor community recently launched the Michigan Central Station Children’s Endowment Initiative (MCSCEI) to ensure that the most critical youth-serving institutions are set up to support the community for the long haul. Ten nonprofit agencies will each receive $1M in endowment funding, technical assistance, and additional funding to enhance their organizational health and financial sustainability. Those who launched the MCSCEI will share what led them to take this approach and what they’ve learned about how to galvanize this community effort.
In this session, development professionals will share a key idea through a short visual presentation meant to inspire (20 slides in six minutes). This session aims to change the traditional 'pedestrian' panel discussion and make it energetic and fast-paced, with a bit of networking and sharing mixed in. This session is for development professionals at mid to large foundations. Participants will gain one idea to implement at their foundation, as well as new connections.
How do community foundations engage people across expansive geographies to support local communities and yet achieve economies of scale to maximize the impact their work? This session will explore various models of community foundations attempting to do this work-- from the traditional affiliate model, to new and emerging models of collaboration across communities. The intended audience of this session is community foundations with affiliates or other place-based foundations covering large geographic territories. Participants will leave with a greater understanding different models of engagement.
Many funders rely on feedback from grantees to improve their grantmaking, but hesitate to go right to the source and listen to the people at the heart of their work. It can be daunting to listen directly to communities, but it’s an essential part of responsible stewardship and equitable strategies. In this participatory session, attendees will hear how place-based funders are listening directly to those most affected by their grantmaking while maintaining trust with grantees. Attendees will explore practical tools and workshop how listening directly to communities can support their own work.
In Washington, D.C. there’s a new Congress, a Republican trifecta, and a slew of expiring tax provisions. A budget reconciliation package is coming soon — and issues that impact philanthropy may be on the table. Join this session to hear about the current congressional environment and learn how to make sure Congress understands your foundation’s work. Then, breakout groups will discuss their policy efforts and what tools and resources they still need to be effective advocates.
Do you wonder how to stay engaged and keep moving forward while navigating the current moment? Do you worry about caring for yourself and your team while also getting the work done and rising to this moment? You aren’t alone!
Let’s explore research-based practices and methods we can implement to be our best and do our best to meet the challenges of today. Resiliency requires both strength and flexibility. Leadership is empowering others. We can rise to the challenge, together.
This session will discuss the role philanthropies can take in funding local solar energy projects and the benefits these projects can bring to communities. Hear from philanthropies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and a developer--highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration. This session is for program leaders looking for solar development resources and executives looking to expand into the renewable energy/community development space. Participants will leave feeling energized and ready to take meaningful action for their communities!
Heirs’ property is inherited property that has been passed down without a will or other legal instruments and affects a family's ability to maintain stable housing and build intergenerational wealth. Present in all ethnic groups and geographies, it is concentrated in those with lower incomes or educational attainment. In this session, participants will discuss a variety of impactful place-based and national investments, and will work together to explore co-funding and investment opportunities, education and advocacy on shared priorities, elevating best practices, and assessing impact.
In this session, attendees will learn why and how one funder decided to address generational poverty at the ZIP code level to reduce human suffering and improve health outcomes. Presenters will cover how to identify the right lead organization and the right leaders in the community and how to engage the people who live in the community. This session will also cover lessons learned, how to measure success, the need for different approaches in different communities, and the risks associated with addressing the multifaceted and difficult-to-overcome barrier that generational poverty presents.
How can we inspire traditional DAF holders to move money faster to the communities that need it? Donor-in-Movement Funds (DMFs) are an alternative to traditional DAFs. This session is for those interested in aligning DAF grantmaking with social justice values and those seeking to leverage technology for more effective, transparent, and equitable grantmaking. We will explain the origins and structure of the DMF program, and offer insights for others interested in launching similar initiatives.
This session will highlight place-based philanthropy’s role in shaping state-level public policy by convening diverse stakeholders for collaborative problem-solving. Panelists will discuss an innovative partnership between Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation, the Kentucky Chamber Foundation, and Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, which brought together advocates, service providers, business leaders, and policy experts to address Kentucky’s childcare crisis. Attendees will learn approaches to drive public impact and social cohesion through cross-sector collaboration.
Nonprofit leaders and funders alike say storytelling is simultaneously one of their greatest needs and greatest challenges. Attention is increasingly fragmented and audiences are fatigued by marketing campaigns and clever pitches. In this session, you will learn how increasing the dimensionality of your storytelling can reinvigorate connection with your audiences and illuminate new dimensions of your authentic "why."
This session highlights the power of partnerships through learning cohorts. Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund donated $100 million to support small business owners who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami. A national learning cohort helped grantees share insights across markets to build healthier, stronger communities. Corporate foundation leaders and those focused on economic development and/or grantee convenings will leave inspired to design or improve learning cohorts and weave partnership strategies.
Supporting the economic security and growth of creative professionals can build their individual resilience. This can have a positive impact on family and community, and contribute to core local economic development goals. Learn from Springboard for the Arts’ experience in expanding economic opportunities for artists beyond traditional arts grants. Examples include growth capital for small businesses, guaranteed basic income, and creative projects that address community issues like climate, social connection, and local economies.
Join us for an engaging workshop that takes you on a journey through a community foundation’s efforts to build community power and foster widespread public support for equitable policies and practices. In this interactive session, we’ll explore how Fairfield County's Community Foundation leverages its financial, political, and social capital to build more just and equitable social systems. This session is for foundation staff in program, grantmaking, community engagement, communication, and advocacy; foundation trustees exploring questions about advocacy; and for those looking to leverage intermediaries to advance change.
Healthy Communities Delaware (HCD), a public private initiative of the Delaware Community Foundation, and ReThink Health, an initiative of the Rippel Foundation are partnering to catalyze and foster thriving communities. Learn how HCD leverages the Vital Conditions for Health and Wellbeing Framework, flexible and trust-based grantmaking practices, and field building strategies to strengthen community cohesion across Delaware. Join us for an interactive activity to apply the framework to your own grantmaking. All funders are welcome!
Solutions to challenges in our communities often require expertise and insight from many stakeholders, yet we struggle to engage with those who may be different from us, specifically intergenerationally. This session will describe a case study pairing youth with grantees to amplify voices and co-create solutions. We will split into groups to discuss how we might bring this practice back to our communities. This session is for grants and program staff. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how they might implement intergenerational collaboration in their organizations.
The speed and complexity of change are increasing exponentially. While top-down leadership may have been effective in the past, today we need to co-create our future by unlocking the collective power of our teams and communities. In this interactive workshop, foundation executives will unpack the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s evolution into becoming a learning organization. You will learn practices to create inclusive culture change, align through transparent data-driven practices, and establish learning rhythms that reduce burnout and help you stay relevant to your community.
Workforce development isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Community foundations are in a unique position to strengthen an ever-evolving diverse workforce and to promote economic growth through proactive, transformative grants and comprehensive programs that tangibly connect to the needs of local employers and employees. This session is for rural foundations/funders. Participants will learn about innovative ways to utilize their grant funding to reduce barriers to good-paying jobs and to support apprenticeships, with a unique focus on adult scholarships for nontraditional students.
This session will introduce “Exchange” powered by the Philanthropy Data Commons (PDC), a novel application that connects proposal data submitted to individual funders and stored in siloed grant management systems and allows grantees to reuse and update their proposal data. Designed for foundation leaders, program officers, and grants managers, this session will walk participants through how Exchange works, its benefits for both funders and grant applicants, and how they can engage with PDC to connect and integrate their data. Attendees will leave with practical knowledge to streamline proposals.
The Community Foundation of Louisville will discuss the evolution, challenges, and learnings from its 10-year impact investing practice. Foundation staff, donors, and investees will discuss how the newest iteration of the impact investing program, Invest Louisville, is using innovative strategies to unlock millions in catalytic, philanthropic capital to help equip Black and other marginalized communities with resources to practice self-determination.
Thursday, June 12
Join CFLeads to learn about community foundations that are leading economic mobility work in their communities. Hear about how these community foundations have navigated the complex social, economic, and political issues that have affected economic mobility in their cities and neighborhoods. We'll discuss multi-faceted, cross-sector approaches that have helped families achieve economic prosperity. Participants can apply what they have learned to their own community leadership efforts, and will leave with approaches and tools to start or strengthen their economic mobility work.
Many philanthropic organizations struggle to build and maintain authentic community relationships, stifling the work they hope to support. Conventional practices and transactional interactions can hinder genuine connection and lasting impact. This session invites you to learn how Indigenous philanthropy challenges these norms and enriches the field with traditional knowledge of relational caretaking. Explore how Tiwahe Foundation unites giver and receiver in a circle of generosity that honors interdependence, empowers community leadership, and sustains reciprocal relationships.
This session will provide attendees a basic understanding of how community foundations can lead locally on climate. Community Foundation Climate Collaborative members will share opportunities for joint action and shared learning such as incorporating climate justice into local work, donor engagement in climate philanthropy, lessons learned and opportunities for maximizing impact. Attendees will hear from, and engage with, other community foundations who are taking a place-based approach to climate change mitigation and community resilience building.
A few years ago, U.S. Bank started working on place-based investment programs. To help build out the strategy of the programs, USB partnered with the community to create design sessions that were community-led and community-focused. U.S. Bank learned a lot through this process about how to center community when creating community programming and we want to share this with our corporate giving and foundation peers. Participants will leave the room with understanding of the strategy, process, and impact of centering community in decision making.
Facing a so-called DEI backlash, some institutions have become fearful and risk averse. But many Association of Black Fundraising Executives (ABFE) members are instead doubling down on their commitment to racial equity during a critical moment in the movement’s history. This session will separate myths and facts, offer concrete examples of legal and programmatic strategies, and build movement solidarity and strength along the way. Staff, trustees, and donors committed to racial equity are encouraged to attend--experts and newbies alike.
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation, designed for organizational leaders and foundation investment professionals, that challenges the conventional philanthropic dialogue on grantmaking. Rather than focusing solely on the 5% spending debate, we will discuss the often overlooked 95% of funds within our endowments that enable our mission. Hear the story of how Marguerite Casey Foundation fully aligned its almost $1 billion endowment with its mission. Learn about the robust, values-aligned screening for the foundation’s investments and requirements for the companies overseeing them.
Hosted by: Marguerite Casey Foundation
In this moment of complexity, as foundations and their missions are under attack, CEOs are facing new and emerging challenges. Join this roundtable to connect with fellow leaders about how we can work together to build a stronger sector, and how we can show up purposefully for our partners in this moment, while not turning our backs on the future. In conversation with peers, discover strategies for stepping up and stepping together across divides—in line with your values and in support of the communities you serve.
Hosted by: McKnight Foundation
The latest research reveals a gap in philanthropic funding to rural communities. Why does this gap exist and how can we help address it? Informed by its many years of experience as a rural operator in the Mountain West, the LOR Foundation will unpack the why and share practical solutions for how to overcome obstacles to funding in rural communities. After all, 97 percent of the U.S. is considered rural — and 20 percent of Americans live in these special places. It’s time for funders to take more interest in rural communities — and LOR wants to help.
Hosted by: The LOR Foundation
Last year, the Chronicle of Philanthropy launched a new project, called the Commons, that examines how the charitable sector can bring Americans together in a time of hyperpolarization. The Commons explores efforts to bridge divides through reporting, opinion, essays, resources, tools, and more. In this breakfast roundtable, we'll share what we've learned so far and hear from others in the room about their challenges with polarization, as well as strategies they've used to find common ground.
Hosted by: Chronicle of Philanthropy
Rural America is diverse, and understanding the needs and assets of communities at a granular level is important. Bring your lived and learned experience, share your personal passion for rural funding, and discuss with other funders how philanthropy can better support rural communities. This session is designed for foundation staff with lived rural experience, funding rural initiatives, and/or interested in learning from peers about funding rural areas. Participants will leave the session with an understanding of how peers are working with rural communities and ideas that they might incorporate into their work.
Companies can lead locally in their headquarters' market, while at the same time investing in communities where their global employees live and work. 3M achieves this through a strategic partnership with GlobalGiving, leveraging its expertise in international philanthropy to support locally-led nonprofits in over 40 countries last year. Learn from these long standing partners, and share your experience with peers on how to determine a geographic focus and budget for your local giving portfolio, manage relationships with community-led grantees, and ensure compliance while enabling impact.
Hosted by: 3M Foundation
This discussion will explore what funders (including donors to community foundations) need from nonprofits in order to connect them to funding opportunities and philanthropic investors. Join a candid conversation about the ways organizations and funders might inadvertently create barriers to impactful philanthropy--and how funders can help bridge the gap between donors and nonprofits. We'll discuss practical takeaways on how stronger relationships and strategic positioning can lead to greater philanthropic investment and long-term transformation.
Hosted by: Creative Fundraising Advisors
The session would be focused on the centrality of collaborative, braided funding (public, private, philanthropic) and other resources for affordable housing to effectively address our nation's lack of affordable housing supply. This session is for foundation leadership and staff working on systems change and affordable housing strategy. Participants will leave with one clear model for how to dramatically scale the production of affordable housing in your community ($200M commitment to metro Atlanta).
In 2018, the largest fiscal sponsor in Baltimore, serving over 150 independent projects, started showing signs of fiscal mismanagement. Ultimately, the organization pulled out of fiscal sponsorship, causing harm to dozens of mostly Black-led community organizations that were unable to recover these funds. This session will interactively determine how philanthropic organizations can prevent this harm and reimagine a new ecosystem that supports those doing the most proximate and valuable work in our communities.
You’re already doing the work of helping your communities thrive. Now let’s make sure you can talk about it in a way that builds buy-in and trust with a key audience: policymakers. This workshop will help you use stories and data to communicate the value of philanthropy and charitable giving. It builds on research from “Philanthropy’s New Voice,” the largest study of narratives in philanthropy, which examined what types of stories are more likely to build trust, what policymakers want to know from foundations, and how to describe the work foundations do clearly and transparently.
Place-based funders remain committed to serving their communities, including through periods of political and cultural turmoil. For staff to perform at their best, they must also care for themselves. How can executive leaders make sure that happens while practicing their own self-care and supporting a community care approach that enhances staff wellbeing? Join Council President and CEO Kathleen Enright for an open conversation where executive leaders can exchange ideas on modeling effective self-care practices while centering community care as a strategy toward ensuring organizational health.
What does it look like for funders to truly center the expertise and goals of community? The Houston Economic Growth Collaborative is a multi-sector initiative exploring the potential to invest more than $100M over 10 years in resident-defined priorities. Leaders will share early lessons on approaching this work with authenticity, including recognizing and catalyzing previous plans, providing financial resources before strategies are developed, and bolstering local leadership and organizing. Attendees will be invited to share their own learnings on leading with greater humility as funders.
Learn how two foundations in two different geographies are using similar approaches to improve civic health and community engagement, fill vital information gaps and build trust by supporting local, hyperlocal and community-based news providers. Working on the local level, these foundations are leveraging national resources and partner expertise to reinvent local news. This session is for board members and program/strategy officers who want to help solve the local news crisis and create more equitable community engagement.
In 2012 a network of community philanthropies in Washington State came together, committed to making philanthropy more equitable through community-led and driven solutions. Three cohort members will share how learning together fueled innovation in their approaches to fostering belonging across urban and rural populations, leading to greater community-centered impact. Attendees will gain insights from the strategies these organizations are using to address economic prosperity, environmental challenges, and leadership development, with an emphasis on shared learning and interactive engagement.
The first step to greater investment in historically under-resourced communities is making the unknown known -- identifying who is out there and where they live and work. In 2024, two place-based funders, working in partnership with the public sector and an equity-forward researcher, created a unique and comprehensive digital inventory of arts and culture organizations across the diverse mix of urban, suburban, and rural geographies in Contra Costa County. This session will showcase the power of visibility and connectivity to further the goal of equitable funding and how important regional cross-sector partnership is toward establishing long-term stability across a diverse county.
The Minneapolis Foundation, Midwest Environmental Justice Network, NDN Collective, and RE-AMP Network lead one of the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking programs. Over three years, they will distribute $40 million in grants to build the capacity of Tribes and environmental justice communities across a six-state region. These organizations will discuss how they are building trust, developing participatory governance processes, and navigating federal requirements. Panelists will lead small-group discussions for deeper learning and dialogue.
Are you a smaller funder looking to navigate the complexities of impact investing? The path can feel daunting, especially when most resources are tailored to larger foundations. Join this session to discover how smaller foundations can harness the power of collaboration, gain board support, invest locally, and accelerate their journey into impact investing by learning directly from fellow funders.
This discussion will explore sustainable investments in Native communities, Native Nations, and Tribal-led programs. It will highlight transformative initiatives led by Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Bush Foundation. Panelists will discuss their process of grantmaking based on extensive contextual research, listening to and centering grantee voices, and bringing to bear specialized knowledge of colonialism, history, and ongoing settler colonialism to help understand the significance of the proposed project. Participants will gain a greater understanding of how to approach investments in Native communities and ideas for funder collaboration opportunities.
This session will showcase lessons learned in disaster response from the 2020 global pandemic to the 2024 hurricanes that devastated Florida’s Gulf Coast. A collective effort from every department rooted in trust, clarity, and alignment is essential in deploying life sustaining support, as quickly as possible. Thoughtful and intentional collaboration with donors and other local funders can ensure all available dollars are deployed into the community with maximum impact. Foundation leaders and staff from all functional teams will leave this session with a deeper understanding of their role in disaster response.
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.
Discover how pooled funds and collaborative grantmaking foster nonprofit resilience by supporting key capacity-building activities, such as executive transitions and sustained collaboration. This session will highlight how funders can flexibly support nonprofits through intermediary giving and collective impact, while addressing often-overlooked yet vital areas of resiliency-building. This session will feature the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative, an Los Angeles pooled fund involving 24 foundations. Learn how place-based collaborative grantmaking can transform local nonprofit ecosystems.
This session will highlight different communities where local foundations have effectively partnered with their municipal leaders in a specific area, leading to demonstrative outcomes. Community foundations and foundations with a civic focus will leave with learnings and a leadership model that allows for results planning, accountability amongst partners, and the leveraging of private and public resources for community impact.
Learn how a funder, a housing agency and local community builders co-created a housing solution that tangibly impacts people’s lives in rural communities. Pathways To Homeownership helps low- to middle-income residents purchase a home, and invests in small-scale housing developers to create affordable homes. This program was built by listening to local needs, developing relationships over time, and leveraging financial, social and built capital. This session is for foundation leaders developing strategies to impact housing challenges, funders interested in co-designing solutions, and practitioners curious about cultivating deep partnerships directly with community members.
Are foundation boards composed in a just way? Are they equipped to enhance the creativity and innovation needed across the nonprofit sector? Foundation governance mostly occurs out of view and often flies under the radar of discussion and debate in the sector. Two Minnesota foundation CEOs—Tuleah Palmer of the Blandin Foundation and Kevin Walker of the Northwest Area Foundation—will reflect on board composition, board practices, and the governance challenges and opportunities facing foundations in the future. Their conversation will be shaped and enriched by BoardSource CEO Monika Kalra Varma.
For foundations that support economic development in underinvested communities, it can be difficult to know when we’re moving the needle. Through a partnership with Mastercard Data Services, The Chicago Community Trust is combining real-time economic impact data with insights from local residents to pinpoint what’s working. While this approach to evaluation requires resources, it isn't just a nice-to-have but rather an important input to making the highest-impact interventions in local economies. Join us to learn how this approach can refine your foundation’s place-based investment decisions.
Community foundations are increasingly serving as local leaders working toward systems change--vital work that requires a strong business model to sustain it. How have community foundations successfully resourced these efforts, and what challenges have they navigated to make it possible to do so? Community foundation CEOs are invited to join an insightful, candid discussion on how your fee structures, internal practices, and other key aspects of your business model inform your ability to support your leadership work, and what tactical shifts might help keep that work sustainable long-term.
This session focuses on how foundations can responsibly adopt AI while upholding ethical standards like equity, transparency, and explainability. Designed for foundation leaders, CIOs, program officers, and strategy directors, this dynamic session will provide practical guidance on navigating AI - from governance to innovation. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to integrate AI into their work ethically, balancing innovation with fairness and accountability, and with actionable strategies to implement AI tools responsibly, for themselves and their grantees.
What is a community foundation? State revenue programs, tax credits, and scholarship programs increasingly force state regulators to answer this question. In this session, hear how--through civic engagement and self-regulation--community foundation leaders have successfully positioned Community Foundations National Standards as the definitional model for the field.