Focus Groups

Join us for an interactive discussion on how to inspire your team every day! Sharing the tips gained from the Atlas Corps professional Fellowship and our Hosts, we will ways to integrate professional development as a daily habit of your organization. Learn to channel human inspiration into a lifelong learning habit that advances professional skills, strengthens your organization, and increases employee satisfaction. Presented by Atlas Corps

What is “co-creation,” how does it involve community wisdom and experience, and how can it help you achieve community transformation and collective action?  This focus group will introduce Co.act Detroit, a regional hub for nonprofit collaborative action, and showcase its engagement with organizations to co-create its name, focal areas of impact, key values, and brand architecture. Learn how pairing national best practice research with local insights and context has paved the way for a shared concept of community transformation and collective action. Presented by EarlyWorks LLC

There’s a network of nonprofits in waste-based businesses that’s changing the national recycling landscape, while creating jobs for those with barriers. This focus group may inspire you to join the  Cascade Alliance, who contribute to a nonprofit’s resilience while increasing its ability to serve its community and contribute to a healthier environment. Presented by Cascade Alliance

Participants will discuss when separation manifests between their inner and external lives and the reasons, pressures and situations that create this separation. We will explore whether or not participants use, or can use, mindfulness techniques in specific scenarios. After a short discussion of yogic techniques used to combat separation and create wholeness, we will discuss the most viable strategies for living with your inner life fully intact during your work life. Presented by Kashi Atlanta

Few initiatives are more important than advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. Yet far too often, nonprofit marketing and communications efforts haven’t kept pace with our organizations’ progressive work, hurting more than supporting DEI efforts. Join Alyssa Conrardy of Prosper Strategies for insights into DEI imperatives that nonprofit communicators must consider. Presented by Prosper Strategies

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has now been in effect for over a year. After the passage of TCJA, researchers projected the policy could significantly reduce charitable giving, which led to concerns among nonprofit leaders. Recently, there have been proposals in Congress aimed at changing specific pieces of TCJA, many of which could curb or negate the potential negative effects of TCJA on giving, specifically among low- and middle-income donors. Join us for a glimpse into how the policy changes affected charitable giving and what new proposals could curtail the potential negative effects of TCJA on giving.

This brief conversation will offer participants an opportunity to engage in a conversation to lift up concerns and hopes for their community and identify issues they would like to see covered in the media. The conversation will be recorded with Cortico’s digital Hearth and can be shared with participants on our online platform after Upswell. Presented by Cortico

White children in Wisconsin are born healthier than black children, and the state has the nation’s highest rate of incarcerated black males (more than half are parents). What’s required to change statewide policies to advance equitable opportunities for African-American families? Presented by StriveTogether

BoardSource’s signature study, Leading with Intent: 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices, highlights compelling statistics underscoring the need for greater nonprofit leadership diversity. Of those surveyed, 90% of the CEOs and 84% of the board members were white, and 27% of the boards represented did not include a single person of color. Presented by BoardSource

Many practitioners, scholars and regulators agree that the regulatory and enforcement framework for nonprofit oversight in the United States is, in many ways, outdated and under resourced. Join us at the Public Square to discuss your own views of how oversight works– or does not– in our sector, and what concrete adjustments could be made to improve efficiency and consistency, for the good of the sector and the beneficiaries we serve. The open forum will be moderated by Cindy M. Lott, Policy Fellow at Independent Sector and faculty, Columbia University. Presented by School of Professional Studies, Columbia University

Nonprofits leaders typically think about their accountability to a core group of stakeholders: the board, funders, staff, and communities served. But where does the community rank among that list? And do nonprofits have an ethical obligation to think about their impact on the communities most burdened by inequity and disparity in their area of work? We invite participants to discuss how today’s gold standard of nonprofit ethics, Independent Sector’s Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice, could better consider our sector’s role to address inequity, close disparities, and put community in the center of our decision-making.

Homelessness, inequality, poverty, violence, and health disparities impact many Chicago neighborhoods. Many nonprofit and governmental programs — from community health services to leadership development programs – are tackling these problems. A holistic care model from a Brazilian nonprofit, Saúde Criança, takes a community-based hub approach to networking service providers, improving health and socioeconomic outcomes. Join this focus group on community-based holistic care and plan a small-scale program implementation in one Chicago neighborhood that may work in your community, too. Presented by Research-Aid Networks

The data is clear: years of inequitable investment and policy enforcement has stifled community growth along racial and socio-economic lines. Transforming our cities will require a new paradigm about the role of community voices and allocation of resources. Join the conversation as we explore ways to strengthen the voices of residents in policy development and accountability systems. Presented by Ready for 100 Chicago Collective

Hear first-hand from someone who started a D&I working group at a nonprofit think tank in a university setting, and who was selected for the task largely because she spoke up and requested action in her workplace! Learn why support from leadership as diversity advocates is key. And get the scoop behind how the presenter formed her organization’s D&I group, as well as initiatives her group will tackle in their first year. Presented by I Follow the Leader LLC

Are there too many nonprofits? Depends on who you ask. Colorado Nonprofit Association is pursing data-driven answers and the creation of an algorithm to provide context to the driving forces behind the perception or reality of a saturated nonprofit sector. Presented by Colorado Nonprofit Association

Finance is the lifeblood of households, organizations, and the economy. It drives economic opportunity and justice, and the cause of economic hardships and exploitation. Today, a diverse field of philanthropists and investors applies finance to advance the common good. Yet one gap in these markets has profound implications for financial health and impact of this sector: how we attract, grant, and invest equity. In this time of unprecedented wealth inequality—especially for communities of color—how we structure and invest financial equity has enormous implications for how we advance economic equity. Join us to discuss how we make the case, assess the market and scale innovations to expand equitable finance. Presented by Prosperity Now

Across the United States, millions of people are working but still struggling to get ahead. At the same time, employers are trying to fill millions of job openings, but many are struggling to find workers with the right skills. There are opportunities to better address the needs of both workers and employers, and to create sustainable, long-term solutions in the face of the changing nature of work and the workforce. Monitor Institute by Deloitte will share learnings and facilitate a discussion about what it means to be a “Next-Generation Workforce Provider”—a type of workforce organization that seeks to expand job and career opportunities for lower-income individuals while also being responsive to employers’ talent needs. Sponsored by Monitor Institute by Deloitte