INNOVATION & LEGACY:
The Place of the Next Generation in Philanthropy
The EPIP Next-Generation Pre-Conference to the Council on Foundations Annual Conference
A Training and Retreat
For Young Foundation Professionals
& Other Philanthropic Leaders
Saturday, May 2 - Sunday, May 3, 2009
Atlanta, GA
Brought to you by Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP)
In collaboration with the Council on Foundations, Resource Generation, and 21/64
"Any Baby Boomer foundation executive in that room would have no doubt that the next
generation is just as committed to the field and study of philanthropy as their older
counterparts. It’s so inspiring just to be here with all of these folks!" -- Rosetta Thurman, Perspectives from the Pipeline,
Philanthropy is Love Made Visible
"I felt, re-energized, inspired, reflective, and connected after the EPIP Pre-Conference
"Innovation and Legacy" on May 2-3, in Atlanta, GA. Over the last year, my membership
with EPIP has provided me with great resources and networks to support my work in the
philanthropic community. The pre-conference demonstrated that EPIP offers more that
supportive materials and great contacts; it is the progressive movement of the next
generation leaders in philanthropy." -- Rebecca Feiler, Epiphanies, Pre-Conference Review
Over 75 diverse emerging leaders attended EPIP's first-ever Next Generation Pre-Conference -
a significant number, given the drop in travels budgets and the resulting low conference
participation in the field this year. For two days, they built their skills, considered career
options, and engaged in deep dialogue with one another and senior foundation leaders.
The Next Generation Retreat was a high-value, low-cost next generation retreat that offered
skills-training, inter-generational learning, career support and community-building for
emerging philanthropy leaders.This event took place prior to the Council on Foundations 60th
Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.
Kathy Merchant, COF Annual Conference Chair, greets the diverse crowd of emerging leaders
In candid comments, COF Annual Conference Committee Chair Kathy Merchant, President and CEO
of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, marvelled at the diversity present in the room,
remarking that one could put a similar number of people of her generation in the room
"and we wouldn't look like you." -- Exerpt from
Capital Epiphanies blog coverage
Ralph Smith, COF Board Chair, offers opening remarks at the EPIP Pre-Conference following Kathy
"We've installed a lot of fences," added Council Board Chair Ralph Smith, Executive Vice
President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Smith noted his admiration for how EPIP has been
able to use generation to unite young people across the barriers erected between different
types of grantmakers and between funders and nonprofits. "It augurs well for our field," he
said. "These barriers are not natural, and they're not inherent [to this work]." Whether
these obstacles remain a part of philanthropy will rest with those with the courage and the
wisdom to break down the walls that keep those in the sector apart from one another. "Not
many in my generation know how to do that," Smith said. -- Exerpt from
Capital Epiphanies blog coverage
Participants honed their skills in grantmaking and philanthropy; gained deeper knowledge of the history and complexities of the foundation field; learned from esteemed foundations CEOs and senior leaders; and connected with diverse peers from across the country.
Specifically, the Pre-Conference included the following innovative program components:
:: Training on Soft Skills of Philanthropy -- A slate of custom-designed workshops offered intimate, intellectually-challenging training in grantmaking. Presenters included Jan Jaffe (GrantCraft), James Allen Smith (Rockefeller Archives Center), Allison Sole (21/64), Chet Tchozewski (Global GreenGrants), Mark Constantine (Jesse Ball DuPont Fund), Kalpana Krishnamurthy, and more! Topics included ethics in grantmaking; wit and wisdom: diverse voices of executive leadership in foundations; the history of private philanthropy, race and the American South; and social justice philanthropy.
:: Intergenerational Learning -- Plenary discussions and Emerging Leader Salons provided emerging grantmakers with a unique national opportunity for intergenerational learning amongst foundation professionals. Salon speakers included Ralph Smith, Board Chair, Council on Foundations, and Vice President, Annie E. Casey Foundation;
Kathryn Merchant, Annual Conference Chair, and CEO, Greater Cincinatti Community Foundation; Lynn Huntley, CEO, Southern Education Foundation; and Janine Lee, CEO, Southern Partners Fund
:: Career Development -- Registration to the Pre-Conference included the opportunity for customized, one-on-one career counciling sessions with a staff member from either Idealist.org or Commongood Careers, two of the top
career support organizations for emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector. More than 40 registrants took advantage of this great opportunity.
:: Scholarships and Affordability -- Given the economic crisis and its impact
on emerging leaders' travel and learning budgets, EPIP Was intentional about lowering economic
barriers to learning and participation by providing scholarships and by ensuring affordability.
Through its Professional Development Fund and Next Generation Scholarship Fund, EPIP offered
members nearly $20,000 in scholarships during spring 2009 to attend the Pre-Conference, COF
Annual Conference, and other meetings. An affordable registration fee was required for the
Pre-Conference, seperate from registration for the Annual Conference. Participants were
strongly encouraged to register for and attend both. However, attending the Annual Conference
was not mandatory to register for this pre-conference. Registration was $200 per person.
EPIP members got a 25% member discount.
:: Peer Networking -- The Pre-Conference created a place for peer networking amongst emerging leaders who cut across the false boundaries of our field: they were highly diverse with regard to ethnicity and gender; geographic locale; types of organization; program area; and role in the field.
:: Orientation to COF Annual Conference -- Special opening remarks from Ralph Smith, Board Chair of Council on Foundations; Steve Gunderson, CEO, Council on Foundations; and Kathryn Merchant, Annual Conference Chair, made participants feel at one of the largest, high-level conferences in the field.
Like what you read here about EPIP's programming to strengthen the next generation? We invite you to become a member or make a donation. Thanks for your consideration!
Questions? Feel free to call us at (212) 584-8249.
