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Calling all courageous leaders! Building off Philanthropy Southeast’s Accelerating Equity Learning Collaborative, we are considering convening in-person forums in 2024 focused on two of the most important issues facing communities in the Southeast: health and housing.

Accelerating Equity Forums will offer members an experience modeled on the dialogues and discussions that form a pillar of the Accelerating Equity Learning Collaborative. Each forum will take place over one day and will include:

• Member speakers and national and regional partners providing a landscape analysis and opportunities for action
• Small group conversations with peers, including affinity group discussions based on organization type, role, or other criteria
• Inclusion of the intersectional issues of education and climate and how those issues affect the forum topic (health or housing)
• Action-oriented tools and resources
• Introduction to advocacy opportunities at the community level
• Optional networking dinner the evening before the Forum

The forums will take place between June and September – the health forum will convene in St. Petersburg, Florida, while the housing event will be held in Atlanta.

We want to learn more about your interest in these events and what you hope to gain from them. Please share your interest via a brief survey – it should take no more than 3 minutes to complete.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts – we look forward to providing more information about the Accelerating Equity Forums soon!

Set a reminder now:
Registration for Philanthropy Southeast's 54th
Annual Meeting opens on Wednesday, June 7!

Taking place November 8-10 in Montgomery, Alabama, this year's Annual Meeting is focused on our shared commitment to the communities of our region and to improving people's lives.

While Southern philanthropy has become increasingly adept at recognizing the systemic issues that prevent people from fully participating and prospering, many challenges persist. But philanthropy simply cannot afford to be discouraged -- too much is at stake to slow down or take a step back. We must keep moving forward, and we must do it together.

By moving forward together, Southern philanthropy can act as a unifying force for good and a source of leadership in our communities and our region. We are diverse, but we are not divided -- and this year's Annual Meeting will be a demonstration of our unity and resolve during this pivotal time.

Opening Keynote Dr. Mae Jemison Doctor, engineer and NASA astronaut Closing Keynote Anthony Ray Hinton Activist and author of The Sun Does Shine

Thursday Afternoon Plenary Nikole Hannah-Jones Creator of The 1619 Project Friday Morning Plenary Matthew Desmond Author of Evicted and Poverty, By America

Last week, more than 500 leaders came together in Asheville, North Carolina, and online to not only attend the 2021 Annual Meeting, but also commit themselves to a new day and a new way defined by courageous leadership.

One big news item coming out of this year’s meeting: Our members overwhelmingly approved a new name, Philanthropy Southeast, that represents the organization we are today – an inclusive and courageous community of leaders working together for change. Stay tuned for more details about this exciting change!

This year’s Annual Meeting was the first hybrid event in our history and our first in-person event since March 2020. With strong health and safety protocols in place, as well as a virtual conference that allowed people to view sessions from their home or office, attendees were able to focus on the things that have made the Annual Meeting the region’s top philanthropic event: insightful sessions, powerful speakers and an unparalleled opportunity to connect with colleagues and experts from the Southeast and beyond.

Our opening keynote speaker, Wes Moore, got the event off to an inspiring start with remarks focused on what philanthropy – and those who lead it – need to emphasize in their work. “Our job in philanthropy is not to make ourselves bigger, it is to make the problems we are trying to solve smaller,” he told attendees. “If our revenue increased and we doubled the amount we granted but poverty increased, we failed.”

On March 31, more than 150 SECF members gathered online for a virtual town hall to learn about the work being done across the region to support communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attendees heard from several foundation leaders across the region and had the opportunity to ask questions, get answers and share details of their own work to address the health, economic and equity impacts of the outbreak.

Robert Dortch, vice president of program and community innovation at the Robins Foundation in Richmond, Virginia, said his foundation’s approach was rooted in a question – “What does this mean?” – applies to children, families, schools, communities and nonprofits. The foundation has partnered with the Family Independence Initiative to provide direct support to families affected by the pandemic.

“What we've learned a lot about is compassion,” Robert said. “You're seeing a lot of compassion and a need to come together.”

Last year, fresh off my third board meeting as a program officer for the James Graham Brown Foundation, I jumped on a plane to Durham, North Carolina, for what I hoped would be a comprehensive orientation to the philanthropic sector at SECF's revamped Philanthropy Essentials training. I had already heard great things about the program's predecessor, Essential Skills & Strategies, and was thrilled to mute my email and be immersed in an experience the SECF team built from the ground up.

Upon arriving at the Durham Arts Center, it was clear I was in a for a transformative two days. Along with a beautiful backdrop, I met my Philanthropy Essentials cohort, which included both staff and trustees of foundations from across the region, from Little Rock to Richmond. One of my peers had been on the job for seven weeks -- another had worked in the sector for 13 years.

Together, we ventured into the many complex aspects of philanthropy. Along the way, we collected a wealth of resources, held space for uncomfortable, but necessary, conversations, and set intentions for how we aimed to influence and grow through the work that we are so privileged to do.

For the third year in a row, SECF’s Annual Meeting will include a morning plenary showcasing a few of the leaders who represent Southern Philanthropy’s power to transform lives and communities and are among our sector’s strongest supporters.

That’s right – the Breakfast with Champions of Southern Philanthropy is back! This year, we’ve introduced a new twist: All five of this year’s panelists are trustees. As stewards of the mission and purpose of their foundations, these men and women provide a long-term perspective that is essential to making a lasting impact across the region.

One thing we’re glad hasn’t changed: Mark Constantine, president and CEO of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, has once again agreed to moderate this discussion, guaranteeing insightful questions, meaningful dialogue, moving moments – and more than a few laughs.

Joining Mark on stage will be five trustees selected for their strong leadership – at their foundations, in their communities, and within the philanthropic sector.

Today's the day: Registration is now open for SECF's 49th Annual Meeting: Come Together. Bridge the Divide. The region's premiere philanthropic event will draw grantmakers, experts and thought leaders to Louisville, Kentucky, for three days of connection, ​engagement ​and ​inspiration. ​We ​will ​confront ​critical ​issues ​facing ​our ​field ​– ​rising ​economic ​inequality, ​increasing ​polarization, ​and ​questions ​about ​philanthropy's ​role ​and ​purpose ​– ​while ​celebrating ​the ​ideas ​and ​people ​that ​are ​strengthening ​the ​fabric ​of ​our ​communities ​and ​pointing ​the ​way ​to ​a ​bright ​future.

This year's meeting features a fantastic lineup of keynote and plenary speakers who will be able to speak to this moment in the history of not only our nation, but also our region and our host city. Our featured speakers are:

A Few Lessons Learned
Anna Sims, Grants and Communication Associate

Oftentimes in life, the best way to learn is to just do it – to simply jump in and get to it! That’s a large part of how I’ve learned what I’ve learned as the grants and communication associate at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley after nearly two years. Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way, but in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we may have missed some key pieces to the puzzle.

We can only do so much with our limited time day to day, which is why it’s such a valuable opportunity to attend a workshop like Essential Skills & Strategies for New Grantmakers, hosted by SECF. This seminar reinforced much of what I’ve learned on the job. But it also introduced some key themes that I’ve never had the opportunity to learn and explore.

One of those key concepts, part of the Making Sound Funding Recommendations section, involved learning what healthy financials should look like when examining a grantee and making a sound funding recommendation. We studied key financial documents, such as 990s, balance sheets and income statements.

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the Community Foundation Boot Camp presented by SECF and the Florida Philanthropic Network. As a practitioner transitioning from the world of private philanthropy to the world of community foundations, nothing could’ve been more timely. A training that summarizes the history of the field, gets me acquainted with the “art” of grantmaking, and expands my network to 40 new colleagues in the span of two days – sign me up, please! The training was also made worthwhile by a faculty that represented some of the most respected and experienced professionals in the field.

I’ll share three quick things I learned during my experience at Boot Camp:

Working in the community foundation field is one of the best jobs anyone could have. To spend your days in service to your community is a privilege.

But community foundations are complicated animals. All those funds! All those laws! The learning curve is steep for those new the field. Even community foundation veterans who are experts in their job may not really understand all the aspects of a community foundation.  

At the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance we are fortunate to have the resources to develop a two-day curriculum we call “Boot Camp.” We love sharing this with the community foundations around the country. We get to meet fantastic, dedicated professionals and volunteers. We are excited about our upcoming trip to Orlando to present Boot Camp on June 20-21.