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Planning is now underway for this year’s Annual Meeting, taking place November 8-10 in Montgomery, Alabama. As we begin to build out our agenda, we want to hear from Philanthropy Southeast members about which topics we should explore in our breakout sessions.

Due to the cancellation of last year’s Annual Meeting, there are a few things to keep in mind about this year’s Call for Topics:

• Some topics from last year’s agenda will be considered for inclusion at the 2023 Annual Meeting. Others will be repurposed into webinars, adapted for other in-person programs – such as the Family Foundations Forum – or explored via articles on our blog or in Inspiration magazine.
• To help ensure our agenda captures the state of philanthropy today, we encourage you to submit topics focused on recent developments, new initiatives and emerging trends that have risen to prominence in the past year.
• If a topic you submit is selected, we may ask you to serve on our Annual Meeting Session Design Team to develop your idea further, recruit speakers and work with the Philanthropy Southeast staff on session logistics.

Our full agenda will include sessions focused on these four areas:

• Best & Next Practice – These topics are designed to make organizations more effective and impactful in their giving (e.g., evaluation, collaboration, diligence, reporting).
• Giving Strategies & Priorities – These topics typically focus on community issues, initiatives or programming that reflect giving priorities (e.g., education, health care).
• Governance & Leadership – These topics focus on internal operations and strategies for effective leadership and management (e.g., compliance, investments, governance, communications, staff and trustee development, recruitment and retention).
• Communities & Ecosystems – These topics focus on broad issues facing Southern communities, philanthropy, the charitable sector or society generally (e.g., demographics, public policy, next generation issues, diversity/equity, nonprofit capacity).

In addition to topics, this survey will also allow you to submit ideas for keynote and plenary speakers for this year’s meeting – we’re excited to hear your ideas!

The survey will allow you to submit up to three topics. If you have more than three topics, please send your submission to Chris Yueh, Philanthropy Southeast’s director of events and meetings, at chris@philanthropysoutheast.org.

Submissions are due Friday, February 17!

This year's Annual Meeting was going to feature the presentation of the 2022 Truist Promise Award to the Healthcare Georgia Foundation for its Two Georgias Initiative, a five-year effort to address health inequities in rural Georgia. Due to the meeting's cancellation, our award presentation could not take place. However, we still want to put a spotlight on this incredible work – below is the article about the Two Georgias Initiative that will run in the upcoming issue of our Inspiration magazine, arriving in late December or early January. Congratulations to the Healthcare Georgia Foundation for its inspiring work!

Foundations face daunting challenges when they attempt to improve the health of people living in rural communities.

Communities located far from metro areas often lack ready access to medical care. Many are virtual food deserts and are chronically short on resources and funding for schools, libraries, social services and transportation options.

Healthcare Georgia Foundation in Atlanta identified these challenges and took them head on – in a big and bold way.

In 2017, the foundation launched the Two Georgias Initiative, an ambitious five-year project to identify and address systemic inequities that, in essence, had created two Georgias divided between better- resourced metro areas and often-forgotten rural communities.

The initiative focused on delivering funding and robust resources to support 11 rural Georgia coalitions to address the most vexing challenges within their communities, ranging from the opioid crisis and high incidence of diabetes, to establishing literacy and education efforts and pursuing economic development initiatives.

Now formally concluded, the initiative produced physical results in the form of new health clinics, food banks, basketball courts, fitness trails, and satellite libraries as well as innovative programming to encourage greater health literacy, educational achievement and effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Woven throughout was an emphasis on building a greater awareness and understanding of equity and how long- standing systemic challenges have often further held rural communities back.

Adding to the challenge was the fact that the foundation’s efforts to address rural health equity came at a time of intense change and challenge – a period that included the reckoning on racial justice sparked by the murder of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Equity was the north star throughout the Initiative,” said Lisa Medellin, Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s director of programs. “Often, programming similar to this can have equity as a side issue or as an extension. We put equity at the center and really leaned in on that – and I think that was hugely beneficial to the communities for their growth on their equity journey.”

In recognition of this groundbreaking work, Philanthropy Southeast recently named Healthcare Georgia Foundation as the winner of the Truist Promise Award. The award, Philanthropy Southeast’s top annual honor, recognizes an initiative or innovative grantmaking strategy or approach that is focused on significant and systemic issues facing the region and the country.

Last week, we found ourselves in a previously unthinkable position: needing to cancel the Annual Meeting due to a mandatory evacuation order at our host hotel in Amelia Island.

While weather is always a concern at this time of year in the Southeast, not once in our 53-year history had we faced this situation before. The closest we had ever come was 2005, when our meeting in Marco Island came two weeks after a hurricane that made our overflow hotel unavailable.

This time was different: Hurricane Nicole was set to make landfall while the meeting was taking place. Flights in and out of Jacksonville were being delayed and cancelled. Weather forecasts called for severe coastal flooding – a major concern at a hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The double red flags snapping in the strong winds, signaling the closure of the beach, provided a clear warning that these conditions could not be ignored.

We are so sad that we were unable to come together – and we know that many of you feel the same way. We have literally been moved to tears reading the many messages we have received from members following the Annual Meeting's cancellation.

Planning for the 53rd Annual Meeting began a year ago and required the work of our entire staff plus dozens of member volunteers. We want to thank each of them for what they brought to this process – your work is deeply appreciated, and you should be proud of what you built!

We are beyond grateful that our entire team and all our attendees were moved out of harm's way before the worst effects of Hurricane Nicole hit northeast Florida. We appreciate the staff at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island who stayed in constant communication with our staff and helped facilitate a quick, yet calm, evacuation and relocation.

We also want to thank everyone who chose to not make the trip to Amelia Island as it became clear weather could be an issue. Your decision made taking care of those already on-site a much easier task.

This year’s Annual Meeting will feature the presentation of the Truist Promise Award recognizing innovative philanthropy in the region. First presented in 2020, this honor has recognized groundbreaking work that has exemplified courageous leadership while transforming communities and improving lives.

Nominations for this year’s Truist Promise Award are now open. The award recognizes a particular initiative and/or innovative grantmaking strategy or approach, done by an individual organization or through a collective partnership – as such, it may be presented to more than one foundation if the initiative is a product of partnership and collaboration. More than one initiative may be recognized in a single year.

The Truist Promise Award recognizes work that focuses on significant and systemic issues facing the region and the country today. In addition, nominees must meet the following criteria:

• Work focused on issues of racial equity, racial justice or anti-racism.
• The innovative use of multiple forms of philanthropic capital, particularly beyond financial capital.
• Use of data and research in determining strategies and tactics.
• Cooperation with community partners, particularly in other sectors, or direct engagement with community members.
• Impact/outcomes that are evidence-based.

You may nominate any Philanthropy Southeast member organization, including your own, for the Promise Award. The recipient will be selected by a group of Philanthropy Southeast staff and Board members and will be recognized at the Chair’s Dinner of the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Nominations are due Friday, September 30. Click below to submit your nominee!

Get ready for Philanthropy Southeast’s 53^rd Annual Meeting with these titles by our keynote and plenary speakers, now available through our online Lending Library. Philanthropy Southeast members have exclusive access to our virtual collection offering e-books and audiobooks on best practices in philanthropy, advancing equity, and social sector leadership. Visit our website to get started today!

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond

In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
by Nikole Hannah-Jones

In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the United States. The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together eighteen essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with thirty-six poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance. The essays show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and our democracy itself.

Today we’re excited to give you a first look at what’s in store for Philanthropy Southeast’s 2022 Annual Meeting – Bold Moves: Building a Brighter Future. Over three days in Amelia Island, Florida, we will come together to share how courageous leadership can translate into actions that take our work to the next level and help realize our vision of a just and equitable South!

As we prepare to open registration on Wednesday, June 15, we wanted to give you a quick preview of what’s in store for this year’s event!

Thought-Provoking Leaders Take the Stage

This year’s lineup of keynote and plenary speakers includes two voices with years of social sector experience who are also unafraid to speak their minds:

Edgar Villanueva, author of Decolonizing Wealth, Hull Fellows alumnus and award-winning author, activist, and expert on race, wealth, and philanthropy issues. Decolonizing Wealth, one of the most talked-about books in our field, was recently reissued as an expanded 2^nd edition.

Vu Le, whose irreverent Nonprofit AF blog has long been a favorite of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders. His combination of blunt and provocative insights along with humor have made him a can’t-miss speaker that leaves audiences both entertained and energized.

The 2021 Annual Meeting is less than a week old, but we’re already turning our focus to next year – planning is now underway for Philanthropy Southeast’s 2022 Annual Meeting, and we’d like your ideas to be a part of it!

What topics should we explore in 2022? You can tell us your thoughts by answering our Call for Topics today – your submissions will be used by our Leadership and Session Design teams to build out the next Annual Meeting agenda.

Click the button below to get started – and mark your calendars for November 9-11, 2022, when the Philanthropy Southeast Annual Meeting comes to The Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida.

Last week’s Annual Meeting was incredible for many reasons, but near the top of the list was our announcement of a new name for our organization: Philanthropy Southeast!

Since many people were not able to join us in Asheville this year, I wanted to take some time here to talk about our new name, the process that led up to it and what it means for our members going forward.

Philanthropy Southeast represents what we are today: an inclusive and courageous community of leaders working together for change, committed to a vision of a just and equitable South. We embrace philanthropy in all its forms – a “big tent” that welcomes many types of organizations and many forms of philanthropic capital. We focus not only on how philanthropy is done, but also the issues it addresses and the communities it serves.

Our new name was approved by an overwhelming majority in a vote of our members conducted ahead of this year’s Annual Meeting. I believe that margin was a result of the deliberate and thoughtful approach we took to this process, which began when we were planning our 50^th Anniversary in 2019.

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.”

This year’s Annual Meeting will include the second presentation of the Truist Promise Award recognizing innovative philanthropy in the Southeast! Last year, this prestigious honor honored work done by two SECF members: the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation and the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

Nominations for this year’s Truist Promise Award are now open. The award recognizes a particular initiative and/or innovative grantmaking strategy or approach, done by an individual organization or through a collective partnership – as such, it may be presented to more than one foundation if the initiative is a product of partnership and collaboration.

The Truist Promise Award recognizes work that focuses on significant and systemic issues facing the region and the country today. In addition, nominees must meet the following criteria:

• Work focused on issues of racial equity, racial justice or anti-racism.
• The innovative use of multiple forms of philanthropic capital, particularly beyond financial capital.
• Use of data and research in determining strategies and tactics.
• Cooperation with community partners, particularly in other sectors, or direct engagement with community members.
• Impact/outcomes that are evidence-based.

You may nominate any SECF member organization, including your own, for the Promise Award. The recipient will be selected by a group of SECF staff and Board members and recognized at the 2021 Annual Meeting.

Nominations are due Friday, October 15. Click here to submit your nominee!