Workshops – Friday 9:30am

A diverse group of 40 changemakers from Chicago, Dallas, and Pittsburgh came together through Independent Sector’s Bridging Fellows program, supported by IS member Walmart, to strengthen and advance their collective leadership capacities, deepen and expand their relationships and networks, and amplify and embody bridge building as understood, experienced, and practiced in the real world. Fellows engaged in virtual convenings for in-depth learning and engagement on key bridging components and conditions, best practices, and to connect with each other across sectors, institutions, and geographical boundaries. They also participated in three in-person learning exchanges in the three cities for on-site learning, to apply bridging concepts, and to continue strengthening their relationships. What does bridge building really mean, what does it look like, and how many people actually practice and put it into action? During this 60-minute session, fellows will share their personal bridging experiences, challenges, and lessons learned. They’ll discuss how they bridged in and across their respective cities, including process differences and similarities, what informed these bridges and connections, how they maintain them, and how bridging impacted their professional work. You’ll leave the program with a deeper understanding of the fellows’ two-year bridging process, and creative inspiration and tools to help you practice bridging in your work, networks, and communities.

What is Black Joy? It is an everyday aspect of the Black experience. Furthermore, it is a response to the flawed Strong Black Woman phenomena that promotes hyper-productivity over holistic pause. Black women often prioritize productivity over our personal peace of mind. And, sadly, the efforts we pour into achieving personal and professional success do not directly equate to greater protective factors when it comes to our health outcomes. The Black Joy in Green Spaces workshop was created to educate the community about nature’s influence on the health and healing of Black women. During this interactive workshop, you will learn more about the Black Joy in Green Spaces study and how it served as a proud, arts-based response to Dr. Angela Dunbar’s (2022) suggestion to “conduct research that moves beyond Black pain. Not just simply a matter of studying positive adjustment as an outcome or moderator of adversity but rather to have complete studies on non-oppressive everyday aspects.” Additionally, you will hear the intergenerational stories of four Black women who engaged in a praxis of pause to center their own Black Joy in green spaces. Together, let’s make Black Joy in Green Spaces a national conversation.

Nonprofits are a catalyst for democracy and systems change in the United States. Our organizations bring individuals together to educate leaders — particularly policymakers — about our missions, community challenges, and potential solutions. Unfortunately, findings from recently released research commissioned by Independent Sector determined that a significantly lower proportion of nonprofits report advocating or lobbying today compared to 20 years ago. How can we get nonprofits off the sidelines and onto the playing field? The answer is simple. There is power in numbers. Together, nonprofits can strengthen our collective influence through our collective impact. This discussion will take a deep dive into what we’ve learned about the current state of nonprofit advocacy and civic engagement. This session is designed for all levels of advocacy or civic engagement experience; from no experience to substantial experience. Participants will also explore recommendations of changes to policy and practice to resolve barriers and participation gaps.

Investing in young people is vital to increase economic mobility and build an economy centered on equity, justice, inclusion, and impact. By helping to fund the education of today’s under-resourced students, philanthropic organizations and corporations can champion visibility and increase representation in the workforce, paving the way for a diverse generation of leaders . This discussion will examine the history of how certain populations have been locked out of professional opportunities, comparing employment data for those with and without higher education, illustrating the life-changing impact of helping underserved young people pay for college. We will address how nonprofits, funders, corporations, and allies can dramatically increase the economic well-being and impact of historically disenfranchised communities, including the Native and Indigenous community; reduce the generational economic harm caused by inequitable economic, academic, and social policies; and enhance their ability to break cycles and build new futures.  

Citi Foundation and Urban Institute share Community Progress Makers Cohort 3, Citi Foundation’s flagship initiative across six place-based markets. Learn how a corporate foundation redesigned its practice as a Learning Organization and partner – not just funder, enhanced grantee partners’ experiences, co-created a learning community, and used enterprise capital (multi-year, unrestricted, scalable, and aligned grants) to drive impact and trust.

Giving circles bring groups of people together to pool their money and decide where to make a collective gift. This is people-powered philanthropy—giving that is values-aligned and centers our communities and people. Giving circle members give in more strategic ways, are increasingly diverse, and bring more diverse opinions and information to bear when deciding how to give—all while filling in funding gaps and liberating capital to small, grassroots organizations. Want to learn more about this people-powered model and how you can build power and uplift your community? During this workshop, Philanthropy Together team members will explain why collective giving is important and how it can benefit communities, and then show participants how to put them into practice. We’ll cover the core design and structure for a thriving giving circle and the steps you can take to start your own. You bring the vision to start your giving circle—we have the tips and tools to help you make that vision a reality!

Public investments transcend what philanthropy generates in a lifetime. Our federal government spends trillions of dollars on everything from improving the conditions of roads and subsidizing food for poor families to providing healthcare to the elderly and education for our children. But, over the past 60 years, our government has shifted from investing in the public to helping a limited number of people and corporations amass great wealth and power. This has come at a perilous cost: too many people lack housing, clean water, robust educational options, and good jobs, all things we know keep communities — especially low-income communities of color — safe and healthy. At Marguerite Casey Foundation, we believe philanthropy’s best role is to bring community members together and fight to ensure that our dollars are being used to realize our dreams. In this session, a panel of nonprofit leaders and movement  scholars will discuss opportunities to increase public funding that is spent on goods and services directly beneficial to the well-being of people; shift local dollars toward community-driven priorities for safety and well-being and away from policing and incarceration; and rebuild people’s expectations and demands for public goods and public options.  

Created in partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation and Frito-Lay North America, the Southern Dallas Thrives initiative provides vital investment opportunities to the Southern Dallas community to create lasting change and measurable impact. In this session, you’ll learn about the role of philanthropic investment and community partnerships that advance the lives of those who are often the most marginalized to co-create change.