Upswell’s final day began with a Main Stage moment that might have seemed implausible a few years ago. Stephen Heintz – who as the head of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund represents one of the most influential philanthropic organizations in the country, resourced by the accumulated wealth of one of the richest men in history –…
read moreAs this year has reminded us so frequently, there’s no substitute for being together in person. Yet there is a silver lining to Upswell 2020 being entirely virtual: we can record things. Day 2 of Upswell felt like an experience of hardwiring oneself directly into the collective mind of the social sector. It was a…
read moreHow do you begin an experience like Upswell 2020 – one that is designed to both wrestle with the painful truths our society faces and embrace the optimism required to heal our communities and nation? It turns out the answer is straightforward: by getting comfortable with that deeply uncomfortable dichotomy. The very first moments of…
read more2020 has been an unexpected year. It shouldn’t have been, of course, because the writing has been on the wall. The fatal flaws in our systems – lack of trust, lack of empathy, lack of leadership, lack of preparedness -- are not new. The racial injustice that has consistently and brutally oppressed so many human…
read more/ By Debra Rainey / If you were among the 500 changemakers who joined us “in the Zoom where it happened” for our first Upswell Pop-Up, you know it was a bit different from other Zoom gatherings you may have experienced. Pop-Up #1 fed our souls with uplifting kernels of thought from national and community…
read more2020 is not the year we expected it be. For any of us. The pandemic has severely disrupted our routines and rhythms, put enormous strain on our resources, and devastated our communities – especially those already disproportionately suffering from systemic inequities. That’s the bad news. And it’s news to none of us. As for routines…
read moreEverything feels uncertain at the moment. That’s the reality. And with widespread cancellations and postponements happening at an unprecedented scale, you’re probably wondering what’s going on with Upswell. So, we want to share a few important updates. Most importantly, we’re still putting every ounce of energy we have into designing a powerful experience for this…
read moreFirst things first: The get started here. Keep in mind that Upswell isn’t like other events in the social good space. We’re looking for deep content, audacious ideas, creative formats – and not your standard “conference fare.” When thousands of changemakers – each one with unique perspectives, experiences, and skills – gather this fall, we’re…
read moreUpswell is going to look a little different this year. Actually, scratch that. It’s going to look (and feel) a lot different. With two years now under our belts, we’ve been brainstorming and blueprinting a year three that will launch Upswell so much higher than to the next level. Year one was about re-engineering the…
read more/ by Debra Rainey / Upswell is about reimagining -- how we think, collaborate, and develop solutions to community challenges. It’s also about reimagining where we do those things. Pittsburgh’s Nova Place is the site of Upswell 2020, October 14-16. But don’t think of it as our meeting place. Instead, it’s where we’ll start and go…
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