Global Policy, Grassroots Change
Grantmakers Without Borders' Fourth Annual Conference

Post Conference Report

Grantmakers Without Borders convened its fourth annual conference in Miami last month, with approximately 200 participants and over 50 countries represented. "Global Policy, Grassroots Change" explored what has been the on-the-ground experience of poor grassroots communities in the developing world directly affected by the policies of powerful international players such as the World Bank and IMF. Foundation representatives and individual donors joined grassroots leaders to share stories from the field and discussed strategies grantmakers have used to stimulate global social change-from supporting advocacy on US policy, to funding the development of alternatives, to working in solidarity with broad-based social movements who believe that another world is possible.

The conference opened with a spirited discussion led by Kumi Naidoo of CIVICUS, Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies, Regan Ralph of the Fund for Global Human Rights, and Antonia Juhasz of the International Forum on Globalization. The panelists discussed United States policy in Iraq, Africa, and Latin America and how the World Bank, the IMF, and other global players are doing when it comes to positive change at the grassroots.

All session received positive feedback, but among those receiving the highest praise were an International Grantmaking Seminar, designed especially for newcomers to international grantmaking, which offered nuts and bolts learning on effective social change funding. Tools for working with intermediaries and for direct cross-border grantmaking were discussed, as well as best practices in due diligence and evaluation. John Harvey of Grantmakers Without Borders and Rob Buchanan of the Council on Foundations discussed what grantmakers need to know about the Post 9/11 regulations, including the Patriot Act, the Treasury Guidelines, and Executive Order 13224.

Other popular sessions include: Funding in Societies Coping With Conflict and Oppression; the US "War on Terrorism"; The Circumpolar Arctic and Climate Change; Solutions to the Global Freshwater Crisis; and Reproductive and Sexual Rights Held Ransom.

Grantmakers Without Borders’ conference provided the framework for funders to learn new strategies to promote global pluralism, democracy, prosperity, and participation from the grassroots up. Stay tuned for news of Gw/oB’s 2005 conference. You really won’t want to miss it! For more information, please contact Katie Sternfels, Grantmakers Without Borders at Katie@gwob.net or 415.618.0275.

Global Policy, Grassroots Change: About the Conference - Conference Program
Pre-Conference Event: Funder Delegation to Haiti
Post-conference event: Democracy Bound - Annual Conference of the National Network of Grantmakers
Post Conference Report

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