About Upswell
A Community.
Not a Conference.
Upswell is a series of convenings for changemakers of all kinds – community organizers, philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, government officials, corporate responsibility professionals and more. If you work to make America a place where all can thrive, then Upswell is for you.
Upswell is a young community, but it has a history stretching back almost 40 years as the Independent Sector Conference. Our gatherings have always been the preeminent meeting ground for grant-seeking and grant-making organizations, but if we’re going to solve our toughest problems, we have to do better than that. We need to convene a broader, more diverse swath of civil society, regardless of affiliation or tax status.
That’s what Upswell is all about – building, equipping, and inspiring a community of changemakers devoted to the common good. We hope you’ll join us.
Independent Sector
Independent Sector is the “vital meeting ground” for America’s changemakers and problem-solvers. We seek to be the place where vision and strategy come together, where dreamers and doers find common ground. This is “The Great Shared Task,” as our founder John W. Gardner put it.
As the only national membership organization that brings together nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs, we aim to advance the common good through community building, leading on policy and accelerating the impact of the sector.
