Bold Conversations on Philanthropy

We invite you to join Bolder Giving and Indie Philanthropy for a conversation around creative approaches to giving as we explore ways to get started, discuss some of the most unique, accessible, successful, and collaborative approaches to creating change and share diverse stories from innovative bold givers in hopes of unraveling your own outside-the-box funding. Traditional funding has sometimes fallen short in addressing our global challenges - helping mobilize only a fraction of our world's creative talent. With planetary challenges escalating, time is of the essence to explore new, bold and creative alternative approaches to giving. From Crowdfunding to Giving Circles to Community-Based Decisions to Funding Start-Ups, the landscape of re-imagined Philanthropy is varied and exciting. --- Hosted by: Indie Philanthropy | Kindle Project

Funders from around the world realize that to ensure a livable future for humanity requires that people have ready access to clean and plentiful water, fresh air, open spaces, a stable climate, and a rich array of biodiversity. There are no environmental matters that do not involve people, and all people rely on a healthy environment. Yet many funders shy away from funding in this area, often due to its complex nature, at a time when our support is so critical! We hope you'll join Kristin Hull, Director of the Nia Community Fund and Joel Solomon, Chairman & Co-Founder of Renewal for a conversation about bold giving and investing toward a just and sustainable environment for all. Whether you give globally or closer to home or are considering stepping up your giving, our speakers will explore some of the issue surrounding this complex and often overwhelming funding area and discuss strategies for funding and investing toward environmental causes from choosing the right groups to measuring impact. --- Hosted by: Babbie Jacobs; Featuring Bold Givers: Joel Solomon, Kristin Hull

In honor of Give OUT Day, we invite you to join us for a conversation with Ben Francisco Maulbeck, Executive Director of Funders for LGBTQ Issues, about the changing landscape of the LGBT community across the country. This is a chance to hear the latest about funding trends in the country and a moment to reflect on how your giving on 5/21 fits into a broader national & international picture or get ideas for where to focus your giving on Give OUT Day and in the months and years to come. --- Featuring Participant: Ben Francisco Maulbeck - Funders for LGBTQ Issues

"How can we make Philanthropy a Family Affair?" is a question many ask when trying to involve and engage family members in charitable activities. Giving with families is one of the things many people aspire to and often finding challenging. Join Helen LaKelly Hunt and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, a mother-daughter duo, on April 23rd for an intimate conversation about family philanthropy. We'll dive into topics ranging from tips for engaging family members to strategies for working as a team and balancing individual interests that arise in a family setting. As Helen says, "Funding together allows all family members to learn about each other at the deeper soul level. It has become an important and joyful part of all our lives." Helen is the co-founder of several public foundations and nonprofit organizations, including Women Moving Millions, a community of individuals who have made gifts and pledges of one million dollars or more to organizations promoting the advancement and empowerment of women and girls. Swanee her sister helped catalyzed this vision. Helen is also passionate about the Safe Conversations Project, whose goal of interrupting the downward cycle of poverty by strengthening relationships at home. Leah, Helen's Daughter, is an active player in the family's philanthropy as an advisor to the Sister Fund and advisor to other initiatives. She helped start the Solidare Network, a community of people with wealth aligning their resources with movements that promote dignity, justice, and equality. Leah has spent the past decade at the intersection of theory and practice, combining a study of moral philosophy and democratic theory with research around the world in grassroots organizing and social movements. --- Hosted by: Jason Franklin; Featuring Bold Giver: Helen LaKelly Hunt; Participant: Leah Hunt-Hendrix

Over the past few years diaspora giving has grown significantly stemming from the global mobility of talent and increasing wealth within diaspora communities globally. Simultaneously, philanthropic groups in developing countries are increasing their efforts to maintain ties with and fundraise from their diasporas as the internet is making it possible for dispersed communities to collaborate, organize and sustain ties across borders. Whether you are an individual donor who is thinking about how you can give to your home country, an NGO leader within a diaspora community, or are working to build a culture of giving within your country or diaspora, join us to explore these issues in more depth. Our presenters will share their reflections on how to overcome barriers to giving internationally, trends in global philanthropy, effective giving strategies for diaspora members, and approaches to engaging new diaspora donors. Burcu Mirza, longtime diaspora philanthropist and the board member of Turkish Philanthropy Funds, which seeks to maximize the impact of giving in Turkey by engaging successful diaspora members around the world. Jenny Hodgson, Executive Director of Global Fund for Community Foundation, a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support community philanthropy globally. --- Hosted by: Bolder Giving & Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support; Featuring Participants: Burcu Mirza - Turkish Philanthropy Funds, Jenny Hodgson - Global Fund for Community Foundation

In the wake of the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others, many people have wondered what they can do to support the growing movement for change. In response, multiple donor networks came together to develop a Racial Justice pledge where donors can commit to fund at least one additional racial justice organization or increase their giving to a racial justice organization they already support. Many of you have taken the pledge, and we've received requests for advice and support on putting your pledge into action. On this joint WDN/Bolder Giving webinar, WDN members Connie Heller and Cathy Raphael will share their reflections and experiences funding racial justice work. --- Hosted by: Women Donors Network & Bolder Giving

As we launch into 2015, have you thought about what you want your giving to look like this year? How could you have a bigger impact? Feel more excited? Give more effectively? As we kick off the new year, we invite you to join our Executive Director, Jason Franklin, PhD, to imagine what your "giving resolution" might look like in 2015 and explore strategies for creating the supports you'll need to make them stick. We hope you'll join us and let us be part of your journey to become the most adventurous, courageous, outrageous, and effective donor you can be in 2015. --- Hosted by: Jason Franklin; Featuring Bold Giver: Jason Franklin

Faith and religious beliefs are one of the biggest factors in our decisions to give. Research shows that a religious person is 23% more likely to give and 26% more likely to volunteer than a nonreligious person. But what specific role does faith or could faith play in your philanthropy? How do you balance certain teachings of your faith and your own values in giving? We invite you to join two of our amazing Bold Givers, Rose Feerick and Anjhula Mya Bais, who come from very different faith backgrounds and hear about their philanthropic journeys and how they've integrated their understanding of faith in meeting the needs of the underserved. Anjhula, a next generation philanthropist and successful Indian model, has embraced the responsibility of being born into wealthy Hindu family and embarked on a personal spiritual journey through teachings of Buddhism to seek spiritual value in money. Through these experiences, she founded the Bais-Selvanathan Foundation, aimed at corrective and supportive action for a host of anti-corruption activities and pro-humanity endeavors in India and around the world. Rose channeled her Catholic faith to engage with money as a spiritual practice and sought something deeper within her faith that could hold in the face of injustice. At Harvest Time, organization she leads, she created a safe space for peers to talk about money and Christian faith. As we draw close to the end of the year, we hope you'll join us to explore important issues at the intersection of faith and philanthropy and explore how faith may be a factor in your own giving. --- Hosted by: Babbie Jacobs; Featuring Bold Givers: Anjhula Mya Bais, Rose Feerick

Ever feel frustrated that you don't have enough money to create the changes you want to see in the world? Join two of our amazing bold givers, Jeff Zinsmeyer and Jessie Spector, who have both leveraged their financial resources to achieve big impacts advancing a social justice agenda. Hear about how to leverage progressive philanthropy to promote equity and human wellbeing and the power of small gifts to make big change. As founder of the Discount Foundation, a small foundation focused on supporting winnable campaigns around economic opportunity for the poor, Jeff leverages his foundation's grants and access to other funders and leaders. Discount's focus is on eliminating economic inequalities by assisting people who lack wealth and power in improving their lives and making the "American Dream" a reality for all. They've played a critical role in building and securing support for the Living Wage movement and continue to focus on workplace organizing as a crucial avenue for low-wage workers to achieve greater economic justice. As Executive Director of Resource Generation, Jessie uses the privilege of a wealthy upbringing to organize a multi-racial constituency of young people with wealth and class privilege who are committed to organizing toward the equitable distribution of land, wealth, and power. She is also moving her own resources through several cross-class models of wealth redistribution including the Criminal Justice Initiative, a circle of donors and activists who use consensus to fund the transformation of the criminal justice system. Get inspired by Jeff & Jessie's experiences and gain insights and inspiration about what you can do to invest in big change, regardless of how much you have to give. As Jeff says, "Don't discount what you can do!" --- Hosted by: Jason Franklin; Featuring Bold Givers: Jeff Zinsmeyer, Jessie Spector

Most giving happens locally as we act on our commitment to our community, work to build a stronger local economy, develop civic pride, and teach the next generation about the importance of giving back. But how we give locally is expanding - we can make gifts, invest in social businesses, serve as community volunteers, mobilize other donors in-person and online, develop new communities and more. We hope you'll join two of our amazing Bold Givers, Bonny Meyer and Mark Reed, for an intimate conversation about what it can mean to be a bold local leader and leverage your giving, investing and leadership to drive social change in your own community. Through the Meyer Family Fund, Bonny supports empowerment programs for underserved teens and vulnerable adults in California's Napa and Anderson Valleys. Recognizing that safe, net-zero energy affordable housing can have a positive impact on the environment, economic and social resilience and health, she is building Thriving Communities urban and suburban ecovillages in Napa. Through the Contact Fund, Mark works at the intersection of philanthropy and investing and uses a "place-based" investing philosophy to concentrate capital in under-served neighborhoods throughout New York City. Hear about these and other experiences they both have to share, and explore possibilities for your own local giving and investing. --- Hosted by: Jason Franklin; Featuring Bold Givers: Bonny Meyer, Mark Reed