Philanthropy’s Marching Orders: Rethinking the Annual Conference

Several months ago, I received an opportunity not afforded every emerging philanthropist—I attended the Council on Foundations Annual Conference, which gives newer professionals a platform to interact with seasoned persons in the field and newcomers alike. As the Fall Conference for Community Foundations draws closer, I’d like to offer some tips to fellow newbies. In order to maximize your experience, you want to make sure that you talk to all the right people, engage in conversations, and attend as many valuable sessions as possible. That task was easier for me because of the progressive and fluid nature of the Annual Conference.

I gleaned three big takeaways there, summarized succinctly by Mayur Patel from the Knight Foundation. First, philanthropy is a field of resiliency. We work hard to build and rebuild cities locally and globally. Second, it is important to recognize liberating structures and allow a configuration to streamline and arrange itself as philanthropists drive this change. Finally, philanthropists are in the business of making meaning, and that takes several forms. It’s up to us to figure out which form fits which mold.

The conference also produced three constructs for me: what we did in the past, what we’re doing now, and where we’re moving in the future. The opening plenary session was titled “Realization, Rethinking, and Reinvention in the Wake of Crisis.” It focused on three cities that had been in crisis at some point: Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Detroit. The important point was how those cities had been shaped and, to a degree, how they are trying to work now. The session also focused on funders embracing residents’ ideas and collaborating with other foundations, the government, and both the public and private sectors. The panel collectively embraced the idea of long-term impact and getting rid of inequality, polarized tensions, and politics that do not work for the populations affected by them.

On the final day, I attended the morning plenary, “America’s ‘Vanishing’ Middle Class and What Philanthropy Can Do to Help,” and the afternoon session, “What’s the Big Idea? Vignettes about Philanthropy.” The former revealed that most people define themselves as middle-class and this is simply not the case. Actually, those who have higher degrees and earn higher incomes are not exactly middle-class either, at least not by the way it was defined 50 years ago.

Going back even further, we have not dealt with a financial crisis like the current climate since 1929. There is a “new normal” that we are dealing with now. According to Angela Glover Blackwell from PolicyLink, “time is the enemy” and we need to guide folks towards a pathway that allows them to get educated faster to get emerging jobs in emerging. This recession has brought it home for many—low and high-income earners, people of color, and others alike. High unemployment rates and greater debt to earnings ratios have been prevalent among low-income communities and people of color since before this crisis began, therefore philanthropists need to continue to get behind trends to avoid other crises in the future.

The final plenary looked at where I hope we are headed in the future of philanthropy. The powerful ignite format of the session allowed each speaker five minutes to share their passion about the direction of philanthropy. I was moved by Andy Goodman from The Goodman Center, who believes philanthropy is all about storytelling to convey narrative about people and places. He said that it does not matter what our data says in philanthropy—if the people we are trying to reach have the wrong stories in their heads, the data is moot. His point: If you want to change what people hear, you have to change the story that you tell them.

Finally, Emmett Carson from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation made several startling statements that resonate with me, even months later, like the fact that 12.7 million people have been unemployed for nine plus months. He ended each fact with the line “we have work to do.” From the deafening silence and simple nodding of heads, everyone in the room resoundingly agreed that there is much to be done and philanthropy is well-positioned to do it.

Danielle Williams is a public policy fellow with The Skillman Foundation