Unleashing Philanthropy’s Potential: Smarter Grantmaking for Better Results

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations 2010 National Conference

April 12-14, 2010

Pittsburgh Hilton

Call for Session Proposals

Troubling economic times and a myriad of complex challenges to overcome have grantmakers asking a
common question: How can philanthropy play the most powerful role in supporting a vibrant nonprofit
sector?

Grantmakers are increasingly realizing that the scale and complexity of the problems we face require a new
approach from philanthropy’s traditional, top-down style. Recognizing that challenging times require bold
leadership, innovative organizations are working in collaborative ways that tap the creativity and expertise of
multiple perspectives.

GEO’s 2010 national conference, held in partnership with Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, will explore
actions grantmakers can take to leverage their resources and achieve the breakthrough results they seek.
Participants will deliberate on philanthropy’s role as a leader and innovator during changing times and will
walk away with strategies and tools they can apply to their work. Session topics will include:

The importance of engaging diverse, on-the-ground perspectives to identify solutions that work;
New leadership models for working in a networked world, and grantmakers’ role in supporting them;
Shifts in organizational culture and process that may need to happen to break down philanthropy’s
traditional barriers; and
The role of flexible, stable funding in sparking innovation in the nonprofit sector.

GEO’s conference planning committee is conducting a curated call for sessions. You are invited to submit a
session proposal. If you are interested, please fill out the questionnaire below and return it to Lori Bartczak at
HYPERLINK "mailto:Bartczak@geofunders.org" Bartczak@geofunders.org by May 11, 2009. Please keep in
mind the attached session design guidelines when preparing your proposal. If you have any questions, please
contact Lori at 540.948.6123. The conference planning committee will make final program decisions by
September 30, 2009.
2010 NATIONAL CONFERENCE SESSION PROPOSAL FORM

Your Contact Information (name, title, organization, address, phone, email)

What’s your big idea?

What is a possible title for your session?

Brief Session Description (1-3 paragraphs)

What would be the optimal format for the session? (Be creative!)

Who could be recruited to participate in the session? (Minimum one speaker, no more than three.
Include names, titles, organizations, email and a brief overview of their credentials.)

Who is the target audience for this session?

From this session, participants will leave with…

How do you plan to engage the audience during the session?

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What would be your wish list for the session? What A/V or other resources would you want to have
available?

If you have any ideas of additional work that could be done as a follow-up or take-away from the
conference in relation to your session, please share them here.

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Guidelines for Conference Session Designers

The GEO community is a diverse, engaged and innovative group of grantmakers. In many conference
sessions, the wisdom and experience of the attendees in the room is just as valuable as that of the speakers
leading the session. It is with this belief in mind that we encourage session designers to consider creative
session formats that tap the wisdom of the room.

GEO’s 2010 national conference will include about 40 breakout sessions that are 90 minutes long. GEO’s
conference planning committee is committed to creating an engaging program that provides attendees with
ideas and tools they can apply to their work. The committee will give priority consideration to proposals that
pay attention to the following recommendations.

Design Interactive Sessions

Previous conference evaluations show that a primary reason grantmakers come to the GEO conference is for
the opportunity to network with colleagues. The sessions that are more interactive — i.e. not in the traditional
panel format — are the ones that consistently receive the highest ratings. Research into adult education and
human learning demonstrates that learning takes hold more powerfully when people are asked to wrestle with
an idea themselves, come up with their own answers, and share learning with their peers.

Below are some ideas of interactive session formats that could tap the collective wisdom of the group:
Pecha Kucha. This format combines succinct presentations with time for ample audience
participation. Each presentation is limited to 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide, allocating the rest of
the session time for audience reaction and discussion.
Inner Circle and Outer Circle. This is a group discussion format, where participants sit in two
circles. During the first part, the inner circle discusses a topic or question, while the outer circle
listens. Then participants switch places for the second part of the discussion.
Knee to Knee. A facilitator states a “question that matters.” People sit knee to knee and talk about the
question. Then half of the group rotates to sit in knee to knee with a different person and discuss the
same question. This could be done for a number of rounds. After the rounds, the facilitator and
participants weave together themes in a large-group debrief session.
World Cafe. This format engages people in conversations around questions that matter to their work.
Attendees break into small groups at tables. Each table has a discussion leader who has a specific
question he or she wants input on. Attendees spend a set amount of time discussing this question. At
the end of the set time, attendees move to different tables while the discussion leader welcomes a new
group of attendees to discuss the same question and add onto the conversation.
Fishbowl Discussion. Attendees sit in a circle, and a small group of participants are in the sit inside the circle
as initial panelists. A topic is introduced, and questions that have been created ahead of time by all participants
are drawn by each panel member. The rest of the participants serve as observers. If they would like to
participate, they can take the place of a person inside the circle.
Appreciative Inquiry. In this format, the future is envisioned through an analysis of the past. The entire group
is engaged in an inquiry about what works. Then this “data” is analyzed for common themes. The group

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articulates the themes of what could be.
This list is only intended to get the creative thinking started. Other ideas are welcome!

Represent the Diversity of the Field

The conference planning committee has worked to ensure we have speakers from diverse backgrounds
covering a broad range of topics. In order to include all the necessary perspectives, however, we are asking for
session designers’ help. When designing your session, please look for opportunities to incorporate the
following perspectives:
Grantmakers with expertise in specific mission areas, such as the arts, education or the environment.
Sessions that focus on grantmaking strategies can include examples of effective strategies in mission-specific
areas.
Incorporating the grantee perspective. Whenever possible, conference sessions should incorporate the voice
of our grantee partners. Possible ways to add this perspective include inviting a grantee to sit on the panel or
sharing honest feedback grantmakers received from grantees.
Diversity among speakers. Sessions should include cultural diversity among panelists as well as
organizational diversity. Try to include minority speakers, different types and sizes of grantmaking
organizations, different geographic locations, and representatives of smaller foundations whenever possible.

Other Notes on Session Design

Limit the number of speakers to three. Previous conference experience shows that having more than three
speakers in a 90-minute session can cause sessions to feel hurried or overwhelming. Sometimes the strongest
sessions have just one speaker.
Focus on applying ideas to grantmakers’ work. Adults learn through a process that moves from description
(what happened here?) to analysis (why is this happening?) to application (if I tried this in my community,
what might happen?) to implementation (what can I do to make this happen or improve how I think it might
happen in my community?) Participants will expect recommendations on application and/or implementation
from conference breakout sessions, so try to format your session to guide participants through this learning
process.
Keep the grantmaker perspective in the forefront. Remember, this is not a conference on capacity-building
or the nonprofit perspective in general. All sessions should focus on grantmaker effectiveness or ways
grantmakers can improve the effectiveness of nonprofits.
Demonstrate results in your sessions. Many conference sessions will focus on promising practices or specific
grantmaking strategies. Whenever possible, please find a way to demonstrate the results of these practices,
whether it be a formal evaluation or anecdotal feedback.