Events of Interest to Grantmakers

Conference: Pan African Grantmakers Network Assembly (Nairobi)
Hosted by the African Grantmakers Network
November 3rd to 5th
More at http://www.africangrantmakers.org
The first Pan African Grantmakers Assembly will witness the official launch of the African Grantmakers Network, a network association of African grantmaking organizations and other organizations interested in supporting the realization of transformed, relevant, vibrant and sustainable African philanthropy. The theme of the Assembly is 'Setting an African Agenda for Philanthropy in the Continent'. More than 200 participants from Africa and the around the world are expected to attend the assembly.

Funder conference: Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health and Rights Annual Meeting (Albuquerque)
November 3rd to 5th
At the Hyatt Regency Tamaya
More at www.fundersnet.org
This year's annual meeting of the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health and Rights Annual Meeting will include discussions on population in the 21st century, maternal mortality, the intersection of abortion and race, and more.

Conference: Microfinance Innovation and Impact (New York)
Sponsored by Innovations for Poverty Action et al
October 21st to 23rd
More at http://2010microfinanceimpact.eventbrite.com/
Microfinance reaches over 200 million clients globally, many of them impoverished and financially excluded. While the breadth and depth of outreach is impressive, there is comparatively little knowledge of which products and services work best for the poor and why. The first two days of this conference will touch on topics including microcredit, interest rates, microsavings and business training, among others, framed by questions of product design, marketing, usage and impact. The third day will host a matchmaking symposium between researchers and practitioners to create and support the next generation of microfinance product innovation and rigorous research.

Conference: Global Youth Enterprise and Livelihoods Development Conference (Washington, DC)
Convened by Making Sense International
September 15th to 16th
More at http://www.youthenterpriseconference.org/
The 2009 Global Youth Enterprise Conference will convene practitioners, donors, educators, youth, members of the private sector, representatives of governments and other partners to network and learn about building and strengthening the youth enterprise and livelihoods development field.

Funder telebriefing: The Implications of US Counter-Terrorism Measures for Conflict Resolution and Human Rights Work
Sponsored by International Human Rights Funders Group and the Peace and Security Funders Group
September 15th, 11 to 12:00 pm PT/2:00 to 3:00 pm ET
RSVP to kmagraw@peaceandsecurity.org
In Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the US Supreme court established that the US government has the authority to criminalize "material support" to terrorist organizations. "Material support" is defined broadly to include any service, training, expert advice, assistance, and personnel. The Humanitarian Law Project had challenged the material support provisions because they wanted to provide assistance to the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey, a designated foreign terrorist organization, in filing human rights complaints with the United Nations and conducting peace negotiations with the Turkish government. Kay Guinane of the Charity and Security Network will discuss the impact of this ruling, as well as a host of other so-called national security measures relating to foundation and nonprofit work focusing on international conflict resolution and human rights. She will also discuss what avenues are open for challenging these laws and measures and supporting proposed reforms.

Funders' briefing: Floods and Fires: Farmers on the Front Lines of Climate Change (New York)
Sponsored by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
September 28th, 12:30 to 2:00 pm
For more information contact Kate Hoff at khoff@iatp.org
This discussion will focus on the politics and science of agriculture and climate change and how farmers can contribute to solutions locally and globally. With IATP President Jim Harkness and Anna LappŽ, Author of Diet for a Hot Planet, and founder of the Small Planet Fund.

Funder Briefing: Promises, Panaceas, and Problems: A Closer Look At Emerging Technologies (Chicago)
Convened by Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders and co-sponsored by Grantmakers Without Borders
September 30th, 9 am to 2 pm
At the University Club of Chicago, 76 East Monroe Street
RSVP to bridget@safsf.org
Join a critical conversation about new technologies that may sound like science fiction but that are already starting to change our bodies, our communities, our environments, and how we think about life at every scale. Prepare to explore the brave new worlds of nanotechnology, synthetic biology, and geo-engineering. Find out what next generation products and industries could mean for you and your grantees, and how fellow funders are engaging in emerging technology issues. With Amy Shannon, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; Maria Powell, Nanotechnology Citizen Engagement Organization; Jim Thomas and Pat Mooney, ETC Group; Andrew Kimbrell, International Center for Technology Assessment; and Mike Wright, United Steelworkers

Webinar: The Board Building Cycle
Convened by BoardSource
August 10th, 11 am to noon PT/ 2 to 3 pm ET
More at http://www.boardsource.org/Bookstore.asp?Item=1159
Board building should not just happen when it's time to fill a vacancy; it should be an ongoing process with year-round activities. During this webinar, you'll learn about a nine-step board building process that includes identifying, cultivating, and recruiting board members; orienting new board members; encouraging active participation and commitment; educating the board; rotating board members; and engaging in self-assessment.

Funder teleconference: Creative Agendas for More Effective Family Meetings
Sponsored by National Center for Family Philanthropy
August 12th, 12:00 to 1:30 pm ET
More at http://www.ncfp.org/events/august-2010-Teleconference
Armed with the tips and ideas in this teleconference, you'll be able to craft better family meeting agendas that fit the specific needs of your members, keep your meetings on track, ensure you focus on the right things, accomplish your work more effectively and maybe even have some fun. The presenters are two seasoned consultants who have worked with families: Karie Brown, KB Consulting and a trustee of her family's Hidden Leaf Foundation, and Marla Bobowick, Bobowick Consulting and a senior governance consultant with Board Source.

Donor trip: Through the Eyes of Our GranteesÐDonor Trip to Southern Africa
Sponsored by Global Greengrants Fund
August 1st to 14th
More at http://www.greengrants.org
Global Greengrants Fund will take donors on a journey in Southern Africa in August. Highlights of the trip include meetings with prominent South African and Mozambican environmental justice activists, including Goldman Environmental Prize winners, tours of industrial areas, platinum mines and coastal fishing grounds, a visit to Kruger National Park, and other activities in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with an inspiring network of grassroots environmental justice activists.

Webcast conference: Preventing Violent Conflict
Sponsored by the US Institute for Peace
July 1st, all day beginning at 10:15 am ET
Viewable at http://www.usip.org/newsroom/webcasts
Conflict prevention is widely endorsed in principle but too rarely put into serious practice. The consequences of allowing new conflicts to erupt across the globe demand that we translate the concept of prevention into effective policy action. For this all-day conference, USIP will bring together experts and policymakers to discuss challenges and opportunities for conflict prevention around the world. The goals of this conference are to spotlight the importance of conflict prevention, to foster productive discussions between leading scholars and distinguished practitioners regarding what works in prevention, and to identify priority areas for future work on conflict prevention by the Institute and the field at large.

Funder conference call: Managing Relationships with Your Legal, Financial, and Investment Advisors
Sponsored by the National Center for Family Philanthropy
July 8th, 9 to 10:30 am PT/12 to 1:30 pm ET
More at http://www.ncfp.org/events/upcoming_events?dateOfEvent=todayDate
Having the right advisors and working well with them makes it possible to successfully manage your philanthropic assets, comply with the law, and be an effective grantmaker. On this call you'll learn how to choose and evaluate advisors, how to maintain a good working relationship and how to know when it's time for a change.

Teleconference: Understanding the Impact of Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project
Sponsored by the Association for Conflict Resolution
July 12th, 10:30 am PT/1:30 pm ET
Conference call dial-in: (712) 432-3030, code 686219
Georgetown Law Professor David Cole, who represented Humanitarian Law Project and argued the case before the Supreme Court, will talk about the case and its potential impact on conflict resolution work around the world.

Funder conference call: Advancing Nuclear Disarmament in the Age of Obama
Sponsored by the Peace and Security Funders Group
July 13th, 11 am PT/2 pm ET
More at http://www.peaceandsecurity.org/394/32490.html
What short-term and long-term objectives will do the most to advance nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation? What is the best suite of strategies to overcome opposition from nuclear weapon hardliners to changes in US nuclear policy? How should efforts to stem proliferation to other states or non-state actors relate to efforts to change US nuclear weapons policies?

Funder Gathering: Interfaith Funders (Boston)
Sponsored by Interfaith Funders
July 13th and 14th
More at http://www.interfaithfunders.org
This conference will examine how faith community and non-faith organizations are working together in campaigns emerging in the current economic climate and rooted in Massachusetts realities, with potential for national significance. The conversation will include local place-based and national issue-based funders, as well as secular and faith-based funders, to build an understanding of their differing perspectives and approaches.

Funder webinar: 2010 Proxy Voting Season, Success and Lessons Learned
Sponsored by North Star Fund and Confluence Philanthropy
July 14th, noon PT/3 pm ET
More at http://northstarfund.org/events/2010/02/investing-with-a-mission.php
It has been an extraordinary year for shareholder activists concerned about social and environmental issues. Record setting votes were made on sustainability, climate change, coal ash waste and hydraulic fracturing, and a 10-year shareholder campaign has been pivotal in getting 113 companies to adopt sexual orientation non-discrimination policies. We will hear from leading practitioners about shareholder successes and learn how funders and donors can use their existing investments to support their mission and grantees.

Public Forum: Should We Talk to Terrorists? (Washington, DC)
Sponsored by the US Institute of Peace
July 15th, 1:00 to 2:30pm
At the U.S. Institute of Peace, 1200 17th Street NW
RSVP at http://should-we-talk-to-terrorists.eventbrite.com/.
Should governments negotiate with terrorist groups? If so, when is the right time? How can policymakers understand various factors, such as group leadership, public support, and splintering, that have vital impacts on the outcome of negotiating with terrorist groups? These questions are asked more and more often by policymakers and politicians the world over. The conversation will be framed around Dr. Audrey Kurth Cronin's recent USIP Special Report "When Should We Talk to Terrorists?" The findings of this report are drawn from a larger USIP-supported multiyear research project on how terrorist campaigns meet their demise, which culminated in Dr. Cronin's book, "How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns."

Training: International Workshop on Gender Training (Ottawa)
Sponsored by Gender Equality Inc. and Mosaic
July 19th to 23rd
More at http://www.mosaic-net-intl.ca/gender.shtml
The new Gender Training Workshop seeks to provide workshop participants with a solid understanding & skills in core concepts, gender analysis frameworks and gender strategies that can improve the effectiveness of your organization's programs and projects in working with women and men, boys and girls. The workshop will move you beyond the theory to apply in practical and useful ways gender analysis and gender sensitive strategies to your organization and its programs to achieve greater social justice.

Forum: Branches of Peace: International Solidarity with Palestinian Nonviolence (Washington, DC)
Sponsored by the Palestine Center
July 20th, 12:30 to 2 pm
At the Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Avenue NW
RSVP at http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/sp/i/5991/pid/5991
The purpose of this lecture is to discuss solidarity among US citizens, Israelis and the international community with Palestinian nonviolent activism and present the global dialogue taking place concerning the role of these movements in achieving a just peace in the region. With Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies; Omar Baddar, Political Scientist and Human Rights Activist; and Aziz Abu Sarah, Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University

Public event: Gender Stereotyping: Transnational Legal Perspectives (New York)
Sponsored by the Open Society Institute
July 26th, 6 to 8 pm
At the Open Society Institute, 400 W. 58th Street
RSVP at jwood@sorosny.org
The International WomenÕs Program at the Open Society Institute and the University of Pennsylvania Press Human Rights Series will host a reception to celebrate the publication of ÒGender Stereotyping: Transnational Legal PerspectivesÓ by Rebecca J. Cook and Simone Cusack and to honor Members of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Film screening: The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (Brookline, MA)
Sponsored by Physicians for Human Rights
June 7th, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
At the Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard Street
More at http://actnow-phr.org/phr/events/greatest_silence/details.tcl
The Greatest Silence has been heralded as a "poignant and powerful documentary" exposing the "soul-ripping inhumanity" of the systematic kidnappings, rapes, torture and murders of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This documentary illustrates how violence against women is used as a weapon of war. Through interviews with survivors and community members, it sends a clarion call for collective action to combat rape and other forms of violence against women in times of war and peace in the DRC and around the world.

Congressional hearing: Human Rights and Democracy Assistance: Increasing the Effectiveness of U.S. Foreign Aid Committee (Washington, DC)
Convened by the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

June 10th, 9:30 am Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building
Witness will include Jennifer L. Windsor, Executive Director, Freedom House; Thomas Carothers, Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Elisa Massimino, President and Chief Executive Officer, Human Rights First

Donor Event: Global U Double Session (Chicago)
Sponsored by the Chicago Global Donors Network
June 16th, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
More at www.chicagoglobaldonors.org
Global U skills-building sessions help donors become more effective and strategic in their global giving. This event will feature two sessions: "Deciding What to Fund Ð Project Selection for Impact" (with Gw/oB member Brian Hanson, Northwestern University); and "Mission Investing: An Overview" (with Debbie Kobak of ShoreBank and Dan Nielsen of Christian Brothers Investment Services)

Public event: Integrating LGBT human rights issues in US foreign policy (Washington, DC)
June 22nd, 11 am to noon
At the Loy Henderson Auditorium, Harry S Truman Building, 2201 C Street, NW
To attend in person email Bridget Warren at warrenbv@state.gov (be sure to include full name, date of birth, driver's license # and state of issue); if outside the DC area view the event at www.state.gov.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah will speak on integrating LGBT human rights with US foreign policy in a State Department briefing. The Secretary will also highlight her Pride Proclamation, which she issued earlier this month. Following keynote remarks, Assistant Secretary Eric Schwartz, from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, will discuss concerns for LGBT refugees. The event will conclude with a panel discussion by Deputy Assistant Secretary Dan Baer, from the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Mark Bromley, Chair of the Council for Global Equality; and Cary Alan Johnson, Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Later that afternoon, the State Department's Africa Bureau will host a working roundtable with four notable human rights activists from Africa to discuss how the State Department can promote LGBT rights in the face of hostile legal and cultural environments on the African continent.

Public Event: LGBTI Rights in Malawi (Washington, DC)
Sponsored by Open Society Institute
June 23rd, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
At OSI-Washington, DC, 1730 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
RSVP to sflood@osi-dc.org
In recognition of Pride month, the Open Society Institute hosts a reception for Gift Trapence, director of the Centre for the Development of People based in Malawi.

Public event: Making the Food and Climate Connection (New York)
June 30th, 12:00 to 2:000 pm
At the North Star Fund, 520 Eighth Avenue (between 36th and 37th Streets)
RSVP to kate@smallplanet.org by June 23, 2010
Join WhyHunger, Anna Lappe and the North Star Fund for a preview of the new online short, The Food & Climate Connection: From Heating the Planet to Healing It, and for a conversation with Anna Lappe, author of Diet for a Hot Planet, Christina Schiavoni, Director of the Global Movements Program at WhyHunger, and Ana Justo, a leader of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movements (MST).

Funders' Learning Visit to Geneva
Sponsored by the International Human Rights Funders Group
May 4th to 6th
More at http://ihrfg.org/events/register_Geneva2010.php
Coordinated every other year, IHRFG's Funders' Learning Visit to Geneva, Switzerland offers participating grantmakers a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn how the United Nations human rights system can help solve pressing human rights problems at the national level. During the three-day visit, participants will receive an introduction to the UN system and Geneva-based UN human rights instruments; engage with human rights leaders inside and outside the UN system; attend meetings of UN human rights bodies, such as the Human Rights Council and Universal Periodic Review; and more.

Conference Call: Women on the Frontlines: Highlighting Environmental Leaders
Sponsored by Global Greengrants Fund
Tuesday, May 4 at 9:00 am PT/12:00 pm ET
RSVP to Mandy@greengrants.org
Women's rights are an essential and inseparable part of the environmental justice movement. The term "justice" implies equal participation, equity, and fairness. Without the incorporation of women's perspectives, agendas, and leadership, the environmental movement could never achieve real change. What's more, women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation. As resource managers, women walk farther when water runs out, and work harder for less when changing rainfall wreaks havoc on crops. Women tend to suffer more from resource related migration, climate change, and environmental disasters. In short, environmental rights and women's rights are deeply connected.

Public forum: Commitment to Charitable Giving: One Year After Obama's Cairo Speech (Washington, DC)
Sponsored by the Charity and Security Network and Muslim Public Affairs Council
May 4th, 12:00 to 1:30 pm
At 100 Maryland Ave. NE (United Methodist Church Building, near the U.S. Supreme Court)
RSVP to sssazawal@charityandsecurity.org
Members of the Charity and Security Network, of which Gw/oB is a member, have written a letter to President Obama citing the commitment to address problems in the rules for charitable giving from his June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo. The letter asks him "to take concrete steps to remove such barriers to charitable giving and programs. Specifically, we seek a White House directive to all federal agencies mandating revision of the current policies and practices to conform to basic humanitarian principles." Come learn more about the letter and the proposed revisions now on the table.

Funder webinar: Oil Spill Disaster
Sponsored by Environmental Grantmakers Association et al
May 6th, 1:00 pm PT/4:00 pm ET
RSVP to jkb@ega.org
EGA, along with multiple partners, is organizing a webinar that will be the first in a series to begin a conversation on the role and response of philanthropy to what is shaping up to be the worst oil spill disaster in US history.

Funder discussion: Advocacy: A Catalyst for Social Change (Seattle)
Sponsored by Pangea
May 10th, 6:00 to 8:30 pm
At the 2100 Building, 2100 24th Avenue South, Seattle
RSVP to rsvp@pangeagiving.org
How do we move from charitable giving to strategic giving that supports social change? Explore the tools of advocacy and how it can help bring about positive social change. Panel members will talk about frameworks for evaluating change strategies and share examples of how support for advocacy efforts in Mongolia, Nicaragua, El Salvador and locally is catalyzing social change. Issues include support for women's rights, creating economic opportunity for women, and resistance against environmentally damaging mining. With Katrin Wilde, The Channel Foundation; LeAnne Moss, Women's Funding Alliance; and Cameron Herrington, CISPES.

Funder conference: Expanding Philanthropy's Reach (Chicago)
Sponsored by the PRI Makers Network
May 10th to 12th
More at http://www.primakers.net/conference
Don't miss your chance to attend the premiere national conference on program-related investing (PRI). Whether you're an experienced PRI-maker or want to learn more about this cutting-edge practice, this conference offers something for you.

Teleconference: Children, Families and Wealth: How Philanthropy Can Help
Sponsored by the National Center for Family Philanthropy
May 13th, 9:00 to 10:30 am PT/12:00 to 1:30 pm ET
More at http://www.ncfp.org/events/upcoming_events?dateOfEvent=todayDate
While there is often discussion about the role that the younger generation can play in a family's philanthropy, less often discussed is the role of philanthropy in raising children amidst abundance. Many of the challenges of growing up wealthy can be eased through engaging the next generation in philanthropy. Participants will discuss these challenges that wealth poses and how philanthropy might help.

Funder conference: Building and Sustaining Coalitions: Finding Common Ground for Education, Environment and Human Rights Advocacy (Tofino, BC)
Sponsored by International Funders for Indigenous Peoples
May 15th to 17th
At the Best Western Tin-Wis Resort, on territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations
More at http://www.internationalfunders.org/conferences.html#next
IFIP's 9th annual conference will include three main tracks: Transformative Education, examining ways to advance the aspirations and educational rights of Indigenous Peoples; Environment, exploring ways to support Indigenous communities in their long-standing stewardship practices and their efforts to cope with challenges to their sustainable livelihoods, health, spirituality, food security, and sovereignty; and Human Rights Advocacy, examining ways to support Indigenous communities that are mobilizing to protect ancestral territories, defend livelihoods, and safeguard human rights.

Funder discussion: Microfinance (Boston)
Sponsored by New England International Donors and the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University
May 17th, 6:30 to 9:00 pm
For more information contact neid@tpi.org
Microfinance once meant small loans delivered through groups to micro entrepreneurs. Today, microfinance has become robust. It includes loans, savings, insurance and the complex and emergent ways of delivering these services. What are the best uses and meaning of microfinance in this day and age? With Peter Walker, Feinstein International Center at Tufts University; Susan L. Beaudry, Grantmakers Without Borders; and Kim Wilson, Fletcher Graduate School of International Affairs at Tufts University

Public event: Philanthropy For All Seasons (Chicago)
Sponsored by the Loyola School of Social Work Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy Sector Program
May 20th, 6:00 to 9:00 pm
At Loyola University, Corboy Law Center, Kasbeer Hall, 25 E Pearson St, 15th Floor
RSVP at LUC.edu/philanthropy/payment
Philanthropy For All Seasons is a celebration of teaching, research, and service in philanthropy. The event includes a special presentation by Pablo Eisenberg, Senior Fellow Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership, Georgetown Public Policy Institute.
Loyola University will award the 2010 Louis T. Delgado Social Justice in Philanthropy Award to CGDN board member Tariq Cheema, Founder of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists.

Brown bag briefing with Emem Okon, rights advocate from Nigeria (San Francisco)
Sponsored by Justice in Nigeria Now
May 21st, 12:30 to 1:30 pm
At Presidio Building 1014 (Lincoln Blvd. & Torney Ave.), Pacific Room
Emem Okon is a women's rights activist and advocate from the Niger Delta's oil impacted region of Nigeria. Ms. Okon is the founder and the Executive Director of Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre. She is a gender analyst, a trainer, a researcher, and a campaigner against all forms of violence including that directed at women and the environment. Ms. Okon was a leader of the powerful women's protests of Chevron Corporation for its environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria which garnered international media attention when a group of women took over an oil installation and threatened to take off their clothes if the company did not negotiate with them.

Dinner and book discussion: "How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas," by David Bornstein (Boston)
Sponsored by New England National Donors and Federal Street Advisors
May 26th, 6:30 to 9:30 pm
At Federal Street Advisors, 50 Federal Street
RSVP to neid@tpi.org
According to author David Bornstein, "what business entrepreneurs are to the economy, social entrepreneurs are to social change. They are the driven, creative individuals, who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give upÐand remake the world for the better." Join NEID for dinner and a book discussion to talk about what kind of leadership is needed, and important to fund, to address today's most urgent challenges.

Public Event: Exposing Statelessness: Understanding the Plight of Burma's Rohingya (New York)
Sponsored by the Open Society Institute
May 27th, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
At OSI's offices, 400 W. 59th Street
More at http://www.soros.org/initiatives/bpsai
Using Saiful Huq Omi's photographs and a recent report from Physicians for Human Rights as a point of departure, this panel will explore the impact of statelessness on the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in western Burma. With Maureen Aung-Thwin, Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative, Open Society Institute; Maung Tun Khin, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK; Saiful Huq Omi, Photographer; Richard Sollom, Physicians for Human Rights; and Rupert Skilbeck, Open Society Justice Initiative.

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