2012 Conference Agenda
Time
11:00am
Agenda Item
Registration Opens
11:30am
Buffet Lunch
12:00pm
Welcome & Introductions
12:15pm
Keynote Speech
12:45pm
1:00pm
Laura Arriallga-Andreesen
Q&A
Workshops
Getting Real About Collaboration between Donors, Partners and Grantees
We will share what we have learned about building new partnerships and finding new
forms of collaboration in international development and philanthropy. We will do this
through the sharing of some of the models of partnership, strategic program design and
collaboration that we have employed in our work at iLEAP, International Development
Exchange (IDEX) and the Disability Rights Fund (DRF). While almost all donors consider
collaboration important, there are different approaches and models to how
collaboration is done. Are some approaches and models better all of the time, some of
the time, or does it depend on context, objectives or other factors? iLEAP and IDEX focus
on how to support professional development and training new leaders in an effective
manner. DRF focuses on supporting organizations’ efforts to advance a rights agenda. To
what extent are our models of collaboration similar and to what extent are they
different? What are the factors that we believe have led to those similarities and
differences, and how can our own learning processes and questions be applied to your
own organizations’ strategies with respect to collaboration.
Vini Bhansali, Executive Director, IDEX
Britt Yamamoto, Executive Director, iLEAP
Michael Szporluk, Senior Program Officer, Disability Rights Fund
Evaluating Social Change Philanthropy: Women’s Rights
and Central America as a Case Study
The road to policy change or improvements in society are often not linear, yet many
foundations still evaluate their investments using methods that do not account for the
complexity and inter-dependency of factors. Grantmakers often rely solely on process
accountability (how many trainings, how many direct beneficiaries served, etc.) to
measure the impact of their investment. Seeking to expand human rights, or helping to
bring about a change in public policy, requires that we as grantmakers embrace
measures of success that are blurred, difficult to define and based on indicators of
broader social change. Capitalizing on the wealth of knowledge of each of the panelists,
this session will explore both concrete and conceptual tools for evaluating and
measuring the impact of philanthropy in supporting social change. Participants will be
invited into an open dialogue to share their ideas and experiences funding social change
movements, and explore practical ways to implement these innovative evaluation tools
into their own grantmaking.
Mauricio Vivero, Executive Director, Seattle International Foundation
Patricia Ardon, Sinergia Noj
What is Environmental Justice? Environmental Justice in Global Context
Environmental justice considers the needs of the planet as well as the people who live
there. The definition varies widely depending one’s frame of reference, ethnicity,
gender, geography, and relative power within society. This session will address how
funding to the grassroots, legal strategies, and grants at the policy level are all necessary
to achieve lasting and effective progress on the most pressing environmental challenges
of today and the future. Participants will learn how mobilizing resources to support
environmental justice initiatives can advance social justice agendas. Outcomes will
include strategies for creating integrated environmental justice networks that act as
bridges by connecting local, regional, and global advocacy movements.
Bill Mitchell, Board of Trustees, Mize Family Foundation
Bern Johnson, Executive Director, Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide
Baohua Yan, Program Coordinator, Global Greengrants Fund
Africa by Northwest: Towards a 21st Model of Giving
African-Americans continue their centuries-long traditions of African giving through a
variety of voluntary associations, including women’s organizations, churches and
sororities. The Pacific Northwest is part of a transnational trend diversifying American
giving to Africa. The region’s African immigrant population, especially from Ethiopia,
Somalia, Kenya and Eritrea, has almost doubled over the past decade with Seattle having
among the US cities with the largest number of African residents of any city in the US.
There is a vibrant East African philanthropy/nonprofit sector in the region and extended
family giving is a fundamental part of the region’s African diaspora culture. However, as
is the case with America’s African giving more generally, Pacific Northwest giving to
Africa is largely fragmented with little mutual understanding or collaboration among the
diverse foundations, individual donor, alternative, and diaspora models that today
comprise the region’s new African philanthropy sector. Building on a series of AWDF
USA-sponsored convenings throughout the US, “Africa by Northwest” explores the
opportunities, challenges, innovations and lessons learned of the region’s dynamic
African giving sector.
Dr. Jackie Copeland-Carson, Executive Director, AWDF USA
Marcia Arunga, Founding Director, AAKWEO
Anne Mize, President, Mize Family Foundation
Allan Paulson, President, Pangea Giving
Anita Koyier-Mwamba, Philanthropist, Koyiera & Associates
2:30pm
Coffee Break
3:00pm
Workshops
Theory of Change: A Time Sucking Bureaucratic Burden or
Essential Strategic Tool?
As donors, we often talk about the importance of a theory of change and often ask our
grantees to express their work using this framework. We encourage grantees to develop
and implement a theory of change because we understand what a useful tool this can be
in establishing goals, assessing available resources and evaluating impact. However, how
many of us can claim that we too have created a theory of change which guides our
philanthropy? This session will allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of the
role that theories of change can have in helping chart a philanthropic path that is
thoughtful, responsive and collaborative. Through direct experience examples, panelists
will share the various ways that different types of donors can use theories of change to
help them strengthen relations with grantees and promote transparency. Participants in
this session will get a taste of the process by working as a group on mapping out a theory
of change (either prepared in advance or suggested by participants, if possible).
Hilda Vega, Libra Foundation/Strategic Philanthropies, LLC
Rajasvini Bhansali, Executive Director, IDEX
Media and Communications Strategies to Create Change
Funders who support media and communications feel strongly that it offers tremendous
impact for sometimes relatively small grants and has the potential to extend their
grantees’ capabilities and reach. This session showcases cutting edge social media
practitioners who will provide vivid case studies of instances in which media and
communications were used to support a global change initiative. Presenters will share
what they have learned are indicators or elements of a successful strategy and what are
potential pitfalls. Despite our newfound access to new digital media tools of creation and
distribution, effective communication still requires the timeless basics of effective,
credible storytelling – perhaps even more so given the exponential increase in new
content competing for attention. How can we assist our grantees to get connected to
the tools and training they might need? Each speaker will present questions they think
donors should ask when they consider supporting communications and media. The
moderator will discuss why the Mize Family Foundation has made grants in this area and
what they have learned by doing so.
Anne Mize, President, Mize Family Foundation
Anita Verna Crofts, Associate Director, MCDM
Chip Giller, Founder, Grist
Rachael Maddock-Hughes, Program Manager, World Pulse
Future of Small Farming
Small holder agriculture is central to the economy and social organization of many
developing countries. Recently, in the struggle to achieve food security, small farmers
have been under siege by initiatives to “modernize” farming in the Western model, by
pressures to adapt to climate change, and by aggressive efforts to amass large tracks of
land for industrial agriculture. In this session we hope to articulate the key issues
affecting the future of small holder farming in the developing world, and identify what
donors can do at the community level to support a constructive role for small farmers.
We hope to highlight in particular the issues related to land ownership and aggregation,
so called land grabbing, that is becoming increasingly controversial. 1. Are small farmers
part of the solution to food security and escape from poverty? 2. How can the resources
of small farmers be developed to aid broader development goals. 3. What is the reality of
land grabbing, and what problems does it create? 4. What should be done to assure the
rights of small holders and traditional communities, or are these anachronisms that
stand in the way of progress?
Dr. Calestous Juma, Innovation in African Agriculture Project funded by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government
Borys Chinchilla, ADRI Guatemala
“How the Next-Gen is Changing Philanthropy”
Philanthropy is often thought of as the realm of older generations, something wealthy
people devote time to once they are well-established or even retired. Increasingly,
however, young people are taking the initiative to get involved in giving away money,
aligning their personal and political values with the transfer of resources. Some young
people have pushed for a family to start a foundation or take bolder steps in relation to
their giving, while others are showing increased interest and involvement in social
entrepreneurship, adding new ideas and energy to the mix and creating possibilities for
learning and collaboration amongst their extended community. This session will explore
the exciting possibilities of intergenerational, international philanthropy.
Burke Stansbury, The Stansbury Family Foundation/Resource Generation
Nadia Khawaja, Jolkona
Soya Jung, ChangeLab, Grassroots International
Sammie Rayner, Lumana
Kushal Chakrabarti. Vittana
4:30pm
Closing Keynote Speech
TBD
5:00pm
Q&A
5:15pm
Adjorn
5:30pm
Reception at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
7:30pm
Reception Ends