Concurrent Sessions

Monday, October 11
1:00 – 2:30 P.M.

Using Technology in Grantmaking

Do you miss handwritten letters in our technocentric world? So do we! But we also know that technology can be extremely useful for donors, board members, staff, and grantees—saving everyone time and money. From recordkeeping to grant tracking to keeping your board in-the-know, learn about tools that can support your work. Get helpful guidance on how to assess your needs and evaluate your technology options. And don’t forget your pen!

Strategic Uses of Donor Advised Funds

Foundation or donor advised fund? It’s not an either/or proposition. Even if you’ve chosen a foundation to house your charitable assets, you can still use donor advised funds as part of your grantmaking portfolio. Learn how others are leveraging donor advised funds to streamline grantmaking, engage family members, and support their communities.

Old Rules, New Realities: Rethinking Investment Strategies

Return and risk have new meanings in the aftermath of Madoff and the economic downturn. Learn about the asset classes that compose a portfolio and the interplay between return and risk in this new reality. Against a backdrop of changing financial markets, learn the fundamentals of foundation investment management and the skills necessary to apply them.

Voices of the Next Generation

Young adulthood, from the late teens to the mid-thirties, is a particularly busy time. This stage of life can also be a wonderful time to be involved in family philanthropy. Whether you are a young adult just getting involved or a family member hoping to engage the next generation, this session provides practical tips for introducing and sustaining next generation involvement in family philanthropy.

Hold the Mayo: Philanthropy and the Sandwich Generation

The Sandwich Generation numbers some 20 million Americans ages 35 to 65 who care for both their parents and their children. As a member of this generation, how do you also care for the family’s philanthropy, balancing this work with your career? Explore issues unique to this generation and gain insights into managing this middle ground.

Navigating Nonprofit Financials

Financials tell an important story when reviewing grant applications. They show you where a nonprofit’s money came from, where it is now, and where it is going. Learn to make sense of nonprofit financials, spot signs of financial health, and identify red flags that warrant further conversation. Come away with confidence to read between the lines, compute key ratios, and gather important information to help your decision making.

Swimming Under the Surface: Legislation on the Excise Tax and Deductibility

For years, the idea of flattening the excise tax and capping deductibility have swum beneath the surface in Washington. This year, the issues were more present than ever. Even if the issues don’t come up for a vote this year, they will continue to rise. Come learn about the implications for your foundation.

Artists Spaces + Community Transformation

What is the role of artist spaces in connecting people and revitalizing communities? Hear from a foundation that is investing in artist spaces to spark cultural redevelopment and social change, from a city representative brokering creative public/private partnerships around shared community goals, and from an arts organization that has artists at the center of their public engagement. As the lines between funding initiatives blur, we’ll share examples of how artist spaces bring together environmental, community development, education, youth, social justice, historic preservation, and urban renewal interests to transform communities.

Concurrent Sessions
Monday, October 11
3:00 – 4:30 P.M.

Family Foundation Succession Planning: Who Will Lead the Way?

Succession is consistently among the top concerns of ASF family foundation members, but many find planning for transitions challenging—especially the first steps. Learn about a successful model for succession planning, tips to plan for the transition, and ways to communicate clearly. Find out how you and your family can clarify expectations for future leadership and direction, and prepare for that future.

Getting Ready to Give

Setting up a grantmaking program requires multiple, thoughtful decisions about how you will find and support organizations that advance your mission. Get tips on developing an efficient grantmaking program that meets your goals, from crafting grant guidelines to going on site visits to structuring a decision-making process. Also learn how to communicate clearly and consistently with grantees, and how to streamline your program to gather just the information you need to make decisions.

Heart and Mind: Personal Experiences in Giving

Explore with fellow donors why and how you give, and ways to enhance your impact. Reflect on the opportunities offered by philanthropy—especially how your values, passion, and vision can guide and be fulfilled by your giving. Come away with inspiration, ideas, and a renewed sense of why you give.

Alternative Investments: Unveiling the Mystery and Understanding the Potential

Conventional investment theory divides assets into two classes: equities and fixed income. But a relatively new class has become an increasingly popular way to fill the gaps created by limitations in traditional categories: Alternative assets or alternatives offer a wide range of risk, return, and diversity. The spectacular returns posted by some large endowments are attributable largely to investments in alternatives—as are some catastrophic losses. It’s time for smaller funders to understand and consider an alternative strategy.

Identifying and Supporting Strong Nonprofit Leaders

Nonprofits need different types of leaders at different stages of their development. What are common characteristics of good leaders? How can you assess the leadership capabilities of your grantees, and how do these capabilities shape an organization’s potential? Discuss answers to these questions, and learn how to foster strong leaders among your grantees.

Communicating Your Work

You have a terrific mission, and your grants are accomplishing wonderful things. But who knows that besides you and your grantees? Although you may prefer quiet grantmaking, you might sense the benefits of talking about your work. Perhaps you want to attract like-minded funders, or you need a response to a media inquiry. Maybe you simply think it’s time to craft a good, consistent public message. Let’s navigate the whys and hows of putting your philanthropic passion into words.

Working Together: Cross-Sector Partnerships

Funders, communities, businesses, government. What do they have in common? Sometimes a lot! Solutions to community needs are often most successful when different sectors work together. Unfortunately, even with the best intentions, partnerships can be fraught with miscommunication, mistrust, and different motivations. Learn strategies that work through the stories of other funders, so you can accomplish your mission more effectively.

Champions of Cause and Effect: Advocating for Vulnerable Children and Their Families

With most state’s budgets in crisis—declining tax revenues, growing deficits—children and families are vulnerable. Small foundations have an opportunity through smart and targeted advocacy work to ensure that state and federal funds are used to help children and families as intended. Hear an update about the state of our states and discover why small foundations have chosen advocacy to further their missions.

Concurrent Sessions
Tuesday, October 12
2:00 – 3:30 P.M.

Lessons Learned From the Economic Downturn

Explore ways donors are responding to declines in assets and to the hardship experienced by their grantees and communities. Learn how some are using the downturn to recommit to and clarify their missions and goals. Hear how general operating support, PRIs, streamlining, convening, collaboration, and other techniques are helping donors to make the most impact with their reduced assets.

Behavioral Finance: Realities of Investing

Investment theory often assumes that decisions are made by rational individuals acting predictably in highly efficient markets and with complete and accurate information. That isn’t so. Investing is inherently uncertain, and investors are consistently hampered by bias, emotion, peer pressure, and bad information. The better an investor understands the psychological and social aspects of investing, the more effectively one can steward foundation investments.

Lessons Learned in Transforming Distressed Communities

Although you can’t prevent a disaster in your community—whether an earthquake or flood or unprecedented unemployment, you can change what happens before, during, and after. Five years following the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, funders, nonprofits, and government entities working in the Gulf Coast can share many lessons. Explore what has worked and what hasn’t in the Gulf Coast, bringing home lessons to support the resilient and vibrant communities in which you fund.

The Power of Advocacy

Advocacy, the act of influencing the policies of systems and institutions, can help you get at the root of problems you’re working to solve and bring more resources to the table. Small foundations can legally fund and engage in many types of advocacy, often without limitation, including convening nonprofit groups to address community issues, issuing reports, educating the media, training grantees how to lobby, and much more. Discover how to legally fund and engage in advocacy, and hear how ASF members are advocating for causes important to them.

Boom Times: Foundations, Nonprofits, and Volunteers

Unlike past economic downturns, the Great Recession has led to a dramatic increase in volunteering at nonprofit service organizations. How has the “compassion boom” affected those organizations? How can small foundations help nonprofits support, mobilize, and manage volunteers? Hear what ASF members and others are doing to respond to the “compassion boom,” and learn ways you can support your grantees’ abilities to tap into America’s deep and expanding well of civic engagement.

Start-ups and Seed Projects

Start-ups and seed projects can put new ideas to work, yet supporting these endeavors is not without risk. Is the time right for a new organization or project? How do you assess readiness without operational or financial track records? How can you lend support yet still promote independence? Learn to tackle questions like these and take advantage of resources to mitigate your risk.

Faith and Philanthropy

Faith plays a role for many funders, whether key to mission or simply an undercurrent to giving. Hear from a number of donors for whom faith plays a driving role. Explore how traditions of giving manifest in philanthropy, reflect on how faith can infuse your giving with passion and hope, and come away inspired and with ideas to apply back home.

Concurrent Sessions
Wednesday, October 13
9:00 – 10:30 A.M.

Small Assets, Big Impact: Strategies to Leverage Small Sums

Consider your grantmaking through the lens of leverage. What assets beyond dollars do you bring to the table? What is the range of strategies available to you? Get ideas for expanding your grantmaking toolkit to benefit your mission, program focus, or community. Learn how doing a scan of your program area can reveal opportunities to leverage your assets. Get inspired by the power of small foundations.

Foundation Investing: Where Are Global Markets Headed?

Hear about issues and trends in the financial world that are relevant to foundation investing. Be challenged to move beyond your comfort zone and think differently about your foundation’s portfolio. Specific topics chosen shortly before the conference will ensure the session addresses current trends.

Funding Women and Girls to Change Community

Philanthropic investment in women and girls can be an effective way to change communities domestically and globally. Learn how donors are bringing women and girls to the center of their philanthropic efforts and how support of women-led solutions builds stronger families and stronger communities. This session explores the strategies of individual funders and funder collaborations.

Self-Dealing and Conflicts of Interest

Self-dealing is prohibited; conflicts of interest can be managed. But intricacies of the two can be confusing. In this session, find clear, easy-to-follow steps to help you recognize each, avoid self-dealing, and manage conflicts of interest. Learn the laws from attorneys, get insights from your peers, discuss common situations and ways to respond, and take home policies your board can consider.

Grantmaking for Impact

All donors want their grants to have impact, but are you set up to accomplish it? Join field experts to align your grantmaking practices and strategies with your goals. Delve into ways you and your grantees can work together more effectively for greater impact.

Difficult Conversations

Your work necessitates difficult conversations that involve tricky interpersonal dynamics and strong emotions. How to say no to grant applicants? How to give feedback to your staff? How to talk about the future of the foundation or fund? Learn techniques to make those conversations constructive, focused, and less stressful. Through role plays and peer feedback, you’ll get a chance to gain new perspectives on your own difficult conversations.

Concurrent Sessions
Wednesday, October 13
10:45 A.M. – 12:15 P.M.

People Matter: Hiring, Managing, and Evaluating Investment Advisors

Get practical insight into how to choose and oversee an investment advisor—or even whether to hire one. An investment manager and a panel of ASF members will provide candid, real-world examples to help you with the process.

Evaluating for Impact

Once you know where you’re headed, evaluation can play a key role in telling you whether you’re getting there—and even help you get there faster. Come learn how even the smallest donors engage in evaluation in manageable and meaningful ways using a simple, five-step framework: focusing, asking, tracking, learning, and using.

Multigenerational Conversations

Family dynamics can bring out the best in people, but not always! Explore ways to improve communication among family members of different generations. Join us as we look frankly at the challenges, hear strategies used by other donors, and learn practical techniques to apply to common situations. Leave with skills that will help you hear—and listen—even better.

The Courage to Rebalance

Markets are dynamic. Assets change in value every hour. It is not enough to simply devise and implement an asset allocation strategy. Methodical rebalancing among asset classes and individual assets is a critical element of any investment program. Through the careful sale of overperforming assets and purchase of underperforming ones, volatility can be reduced and the portfolio aligned with investment policy. This advanced session explains how and why risk can be managed through rebalancing, enhancing the probability of greater returns.

High-Impact Giving Opportunities

Giving away money is never easy. Where will your support make the most difference? Whether you’re able to give $500 or $50,000, learn about practical strategies to maximize your impact, leverage your gifts, and address issues you care deeply about. As you think carefully about your giving in 2010 and beyond, consider several highly effective strategies you may not have tried before.