Join Philanthropy Northwest and Horizon Forum for a program tailored to empower community foundations in effectively communicating their values-aligned funding initiatives. This session will delve into strategic communication techniques to engage donors in meaningful conversations about values-aligned funding and anti-hate policies.

On this call, participants will discuss:

• Powerful Communication Strategies: Learn how to articulate your values-aligned policies clearly. Horizon Forum will share key messaging techniques and practical recommendations to inform your communication with donors.
• ⁠Real-World Insights: Discover how the Pittsburgh Foundation has navigated donor communications and media relations while implementing their current policy.
• Practical Protocols and Frameworks: Learn about Pittsburgh Foundation's communications framework to implement their values-aligned policy effectively.

This call is open to all staff and board members at community foundations, especially those who engage with donors and those in communications roles.

Speakers

Abbas Barzegar, Horizon Forum

Abbas Barzegar, Ph.D., serves as the director of the Horizon Forum, where he stewards its
collaborative and stakeholder-centred research programming. Currently, the Horizon Forum
works with over 55 community foundations across the US to address the problem of hate
funding in philanthropy. Abbas’ work has been supported by The European Union, The British
Council, The US Institute of Peace (USIP), the Mellon Foundation, The National Endowment for
the Humanities (NEH) and The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

 

Mohammed Jassem, Horizon Forum

Mohammed Jassem serves as the programmes & research manager at the Horizon Forum.
He also operates Lamassus Consulting, a boutique strategic consultancy based in London,
UK. Prior to Horizon Forum and Lamassus, Mohammed was the manager of the Concordia
Forum and has experience at research centres and communications firms in both the US and
the UK.

 

Doug Root, The Pittsburgh Foundation

Doug joined The Pittsburgh Foundation in 2014, and is responsible for all internal and external communications, marketing and branding of key programs. He oversees all the foundation’s communications channels and publications. He also serves as the primary contact for media and chief spokesperson for the foundation. Doug comes to the position with an extensive background in local philanthropy, daily newspaper journalism, magazine and book writing, as well as some government service. Before joining The Pittsburgh Foundation, he directed communications and public affairs for The Heinz Endowments, one of the largest regionally focused foundations in the country. Before that, he served for three years as communications director for then Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy.

 

Kelly Uranker, Center for Philanthropy, The Pittsburgh Foundation

As vice president of The Center for Philanthropy at The Pittsburgh Foundation, Kelly works closely with the program and development staff to develop and implement tailored educational programs for the foundation’s donor community. She is certified as a facilitator of human-centered design through the LUMA Institute, which provides training in meeting facilitation to foster empathy, problem solving and innovation. She is a certified 21/64 philanthropic consultant. On staff at the foundation since 1998, Kelly has worked closely with donor families for nearly 20 years. Because she also oversees the planning and implementation of all online giving initiatives, including Day of Giving and the Critical Needs Alert, she understands deeply what motivates successful giving campaigns.

 

 

Please contact Mares Asfaha with any questions.