My birthday, Christmas morning and Mother's Day all came early this year, in the form of three beautiful new Philanthropy Northwest publications arriving in stacks of boxes at my desk:

• Philanthropy Northwest's 2015 Report to the Community
• Daniel Kemmis' Philanthropy and the Renewal of Democracy (second edition featuring updated summaries, graphics and a new foreword by Remy Trupin)
• Under One Sky: 2016 Conference Program

Our conference program is especially exciting from a communications perspective because instead of relying on stock photography this year, we've featured photos contributed from four Philanthropy Northwest members: Montana Community Foundation, First Interstate BancSystem Foundation, Sealaska and the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation. In a nod to our Under One Sky theme, this includes landscapes from across our region, in addition to this year's conference site of Missoula, Montana. (Don't blink or you'll miss my kids in the distance, enjoying the early evening summer light on Orcas Island, Washington!)

Another new feature, brainstormed by my colleague Lyn Hunter, includes setting aside space for personal reflections alongside four Salish words, introducing us to the language and culture of Missoula's first peoples.

Which Sessions Appeal to You?

You can preview the program online — although it looks even better in person! — and start thinking about which sessions you want to attend. Here's a sample of a dozen session titles, linked to relevant Philanthropy Northwest blog posts from the past few months, in their order of appearance on our conference agenda:

• What Can Philanthropy Contribute to the Future of Democracy?
• Working Alongside Our Nonprofit Partners
• Waking the Sleeping Giant in Education Policy
• Finding Our Voice & Getting Into Policy Change
• Equity Matters in Philanthropy
• Leading From the Margins: Lessons From a Statewide Leadership Scan
• What's Current in Impact Investing
• Rural Funders Working Group
• Employee Engagement: Defining the Value of Your Work
• Native American Youth & Generation Indigenous Conversation
• Tackling Large-Scale Community Health Issues
• Homelessness State of Emergency

We hope to see you soon! If you can't make it, be sure to follow along on Twitter: #PNW40. But as with our conference program, it's sure to be even better in person.

Nicole Neroulias Gupte is Philanthropy Northwest's senior communications manager. She can be reached at ngupte@philanthropynw.org.