Council on Foundations 60th Annual Meeting -- Down, But Not Out

From PhilanTopic (Michael Seltzer is a regular contributor to PhilanTopic. He reported on the Women's Funding Network's 15th Annual Meeting in his previous post.) As a veteran of more than thirty Council on Foundations annual meetings, I must confess that each year I experience some trepidation in advance of another gathering. Flying to Atlanta last Friday, I was concerned that the almost 30 percent drop in the value of foundation endowments would dampen the resolve of funders to tackle many of the seemingly intractable problems on our doorstep -- problems that have been exacerbated by the global economic downturn. Or that many foundations would not seize this moment as an opportunity to break out of old ways of doing business. But in session after session at this year's conference, with speakers ranging from Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to Distinguished Grantmaker of the Year Award winner Robert Hohler, executive director of the Melville Charitable Trust, attendees were urged to think boldly, innovate, and step up to the plate in "audacious" ways. Much to my relief, the foundation and corporate grantmakers in attendance here are not lacking in resolve or appetite for a challenge –- whether it's the need for fundamental change in the nation's healthcare system, accelerating our conversion to a more sustainable economy, addressing surging homelessness, speaking out against the erosion of human rights in other countries, or countering anti-immigrant sentiment at home. Here's a short list of some of the other noteworthy developments at this year's meeting: the strong presence and engagement of "Next Gen" leaders, propelled in part by the work of Emerging Practitioners In Philanthropy the embrace and growing importance of blogs, Twitter, and other Web 2.0 tools new issues on the table, including sex slavery/trafficking and class and inequality the release of a number of valuable reports and tools, including Smarter Grantmaking in Challenging Economic Times (Grantmakers for Effective Organizations), Catalytic Change: Lessons Learned from the Racial Justice Grantmaking Assessment (Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity in partnership with the Applied Research Center), and Foundation Diversity Policies and Practices Toolkit (California Endowment) renewed calls for more flexible, unrestricted, multiyear, and, yes, sustainable support from both grantees and grantmakers more examples of groundbreaking public policy and advocacy work greater evidence of funders working in concert with their peers rather than in isolation When Gayle Williams, executive director of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, announces that her board has decided to keep giving at pre-recession levels for the next three years or the leader of a family foundation and a nonprofit partner huddle on how to effectively support key organizations in Zimbabwe, one can't help but feel admiration and respect for the work of organized philanthropy. I, for one, am thankful to be a member of the choir. -- Michael Seltzer