Dear Giving Institute Members:
A few weeks ago, registration was launched for this year’s Summer Symposium taking place in Minneapolis, MN with the theme of Seeking True North: Direction, Passion, and Purpose.
The Giving Institute and Summer Symposium Committee look forward to welcoming you to this event in July and would like to provide some reasoning behind the theme and location choice.
Minnesota’s state motto is L’Etoile du Nord,
“The Star of the North.” The North Star is the anchor of the northern sky, helping those who follow it determine their direction. Our journey to help clients achieve their missions, to become better colleagues and leaders, and to advance the philanthropic sector is our own path to seeking true north. Sessions will focus on running the business, trends in philanthropy, networking roundtables, Generosity Commission, corporate philanthropy, and other timely topics. We hope member firms will bring colleagues at all stages of their careers.
Why Minneapolis?
Minneapolis has a rich tradition of philanthropy which provides one-of-a-kind speakers and unique programming content for our members. Minneapolis also provides much ethnic and cultural diversity which we plan to integrate into programming and offsite events. Of note, the Twin Cities are home to the largest Hmong community as well as the largest Somali community in the United States.
Minneapolis is also known for its extraordinary arts and cultural community boasting numerous theaters, an opera, an orchestra, and many art museums. Unique to Minneapolis is also corporate support of arts and cultural organizations through annual giving pledges.
We also want to recognize that Minneapolis is a place with a turbulent past that still struggles today with race relations and social justice. As the city where the murder of George Floyd took place and more recently the fatal shooting of Amir Locke, Minneapolis is a formative part of the important dialogue around racial equity in the country. We do not want to turn away from a city and a strong community that is seeking to impact change. Instead, we want to learn from those leaders and support their work. Our hope is that this will be a part of the Summer Symposium dialogue and be a part of the healing, which aligns with our values and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals.
It is of the utmost importance that all Giving Institute members feel emotionally and physically safe throughout the event and during their time in Minneapolis. The Summer Symposium committee is working hard with Giving Institute leadership and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion taskforce leaders to build a safe space that welcomes all members and fosters authentic dialogue.
The Summer Symposium committee is working hard to make the Symposium a great professional development and networking experience for all professional staff at member firms.
Please consider bringing multiple members of your firm to Minneapolis this coming July. There are discounted fees for multiple registrants from one firm. Thank you.
