At Philanthropy Northwest, we're at the pinnacle of our service to you when we're creating space for our members and partners to learn together and from each other.

We’re beginning to build the program for our 2017 conference, Now is the Time to Lead Though Change, and we need your help! What will YOU be talking about, October 3-5 in Vancouver, Washington? The YOU is in caps because you are our crystal ball, our gut instinct, our look into the future. Tell us your hunches about big issues through our Request for Proposals that closes on Monday, May 8.

We’re excited to work with you to design exciting, relevant and memorable breakout sessions for the largest annual gathering of foundation leaders and corporate giving programs in the Northwest.

Creating Shared Learning Experiences

Through my 11 years of planning and attending Philanthropy Northwest convenings, working closely with our members on creating these shared learning experiences, I wanted to share three thoughts about what makes our annual conference so unique:

1. Tapping Into the Northwest Brain Trust. Our conference is an opportunity to ask some of the Northwest's great philanthropy thought leaders about what they’re seeing and experiencing at this moment in time. How do we continue to have civil discourse and bring people together across differences in rural and urban communities? How do we rebuild trust in democracy? In turn, trustees and CEOs come to our conference to ponder the bigger 40,000-foot-level questions together. At the pinnacle of the 2009 recession, our conference in Skamania, Washington included a session called “Lessons Learned in a Turbulent Year: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” It featured foundation CEOs identifying short and long term responses to the recession and most importantly, what they learned going forward. We still hear from members about how that session influences their practice today.
2. Indulge Your Hunch. Are you seeing opportunities for philanthropy to be more effective, be a better partner or move in a different way? How do we better support and learn alongside our nonprofit partners to inform policy and practice? One of the biggest risks we took years ago was admitting that the philanthropic sector needed to do a better job in listening to our Native communities. At our 2008 conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a three-hour deep-dive session called “Everything I Wanted to Know About Native Communities But Was Afraid to Ask” was filled to capacity. In small groups led by 12 Native leaders, the session invited grantmakers and grantseekers to speak honestly about the barriers separating philanthropy and Indian Country. This put us on a learning journey that we’ve proudly been on for the last decade.
3. Finding “Your People.” Our conference is a powerful way to find others engaged the same crucial conversations you’re having at your organization. For years, one of the highest-rated sessions has been our Trustee-Only Salon with Ted Lord from The Giving Practice, Philanthropy Northwest’s national consulting team. This confidential conversation serves as a sounding board and peer learning opportunity for some of the tough decisions trustees face. How do you function as a foundation or grantmaking board when opposing and sometimes deep personal perspectives might be at play? What happens in the room stays in the room. This year, in addition to our robust family foundation content, we will offer more opportunities for corporate giving programs and community foundations, too.

Philanthropy Northwest conference participants return year after year to replenish, renew and reconnect with peers from across our six-state region for a special, unforgettable program. Just ask a few long-time Philanthropy Northwest members about our time together in Juneau, Alaska or Walla Walla, Washington or Sunriver, Oregon, or the Ranch in Missoula, Montana. They’ll cite an intriguing idea that still lingers, a new partnership forged there or a nonprofit investment they learned about for the first time.

Pitch Your Big Ideas

You don’t need to be an expert facilitator to pitch a conference session; this is your chance to be the big idea generator! Session designers can lean on Philanthropy Northwest’s deep expertise. How do you measure diversity, equity and inclusion? Adult learning strategies? Check. Program design? Check. Expert facilitation? Check. Network of six states and beyond? Check. We're here to help you make your session idea come alive. Trust me. Our team can support you. You look good; we look good.

Of course, there’s no way we can predict what the future holds. Vague ideas that are on the back burner today might be crucial discussion topics tomorrow. As we have for the last several years, you’ll be able to propose breakout sessions just-in-time at the conference, too.

Philanthropy Northwest's Request for Proposals for breakout sessions closes on Monday, May 8. Tell us, what will YOU be talking about in October? We’re seeking new ideas — they don’t have to be perfectly polished or even fully baked yet — that reflect the rapid changes we’re seeing in our sector and communities. For guidance, check out this fantastic summary about writing winning breakout session proposals — and reach out to me, too. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Lyn Hunter is senior program manager at Philanthropy Northwest. She can be reached at lhunter@philanthropynw.org.