Fact Sheet | Summit Program  | 2008 Summit







 
DATE
September 23, 2009 at The Harvard Club, New York City

Keynote Speaker
SonaL Shah, White House Director,
Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation
 

Panel One
BUILDING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN FUNDERS AND GRANTEES
 

Moderator:

KASH RANGAN Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing, Harvard Business School, Director of Research, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Social Enterprise Initiative

With many foundations witnessing shrinking endowments and corporate philanthropy budgets being slashed, discussion will explore how funders and grantees are working together to cope with the new realities. Funder/Grantee pairs will comment on the evolution of business models responding to limited resources and highlight how organizations are building the bridges needed to continue fulfilling their missions.

Panel Partners:

Panel Two
BUILDING STRENGTH THROUGH NEW
ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS
 

Moderator:

ALNOOR EBRAHIM, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative

“Business as usual” is not enough to ensure a non-profit’s ongoing success. These economic times have highlighted the urgency for change, but irrespective of current funding challenges, all non-profits can benefit from reevaluating their business models and exploring alternative organizational approaches for achieving results while also managing costs.
 

Panel:

Merger
Stephan RusSo Executive Director, Goddard Riverside Community Center
Three years ago, Goddard Riverside was approached by the Board of St. Matthew’s and St. Timothy’s Neighborhood Center, Inc. (SMSTNC), a small sister settlement house in the same neighborhood, and asked to take over its operations. SMSTNC has now been fully integrated into the Goddard Riverside organizational structure, and the two entities are now in the process of completing the consolidation through a legal merger.

Strategic Downsizing
Theresa Bischoff CEO, American Red Cross in Greater New York
The American Red Cross in Greater New York is a volunteer-led humanitarian organization that provides relief to individuals affected by disasters and helps prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The organization recently completed a 30% downsizing effort based on a management and Board coordinated strategic review.

Shared Services
Michelle de la Uz Executive Director, Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC)
Aaron Shiffman Executive Director, Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI)
FAC's mission advances social and economic justice in South Brooklyn by developing and managing affordable housing and community facilities, creating economic opportunities, organizing residents and workers, offering student centered adult education and combating displacement caused by gentrification. Through FAC's affiliation with BWI, we share office space, program management and clients to provide jobless and working poor New Yorkers with a range of free training programs and social supports.
 

Breakout Discussion Groups
 

The final component of the Summit will be small moderated discussion groups designed to build a bridge from the global insights generated in the earlier sessions to the specific challenges faced by each participant’s organization.

This collaborative process will examine how to translate the panel discussions into action.

• What do the issues raised earlier mean for each organization?

• What practical and strategic steps would enable the leadership to meet the current economic challenges most effectively?

• How have other participants addressed these challenges?

• What important issues have not been discussed?

• What are the most important lessons learned which should be shared with colleagues, and more broadly in the non-profit community?