Happy Spring, Giving Institute Members!
It’s an exciting time to be part of our collective work, partnering with each other and our clients to transform challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation. My guiding word for 2025, “Unstoppable,” resonates deeply as we proactively shape the future we envision.
The energy from our recent Spring Meeting in Austin continues to inspire me. It was wonderful to connect as a community, united by our commitment to strengthening sustainability, resilience, and impact within the nonprofit sector. We welcomed 72 attendees, including 13 people from 8 of our newer member firms, and 4 people from 3 prospective member firms, fostering valuable connections and shared learning. A heartfelt thank you to Jim Bush, our visionary Program and Education Chair, and our exceptional Meeting Co-Chairs, Missy Gale and Leya Simmons, along with their dedicated committee Sharon Tiknis and Anne Guillen, for a truly stellar experience.
Key highlights from the meeting included:
- Our Dynamic New Website: Led by Tim Burcham and his committee, Karrie Wozniak, Carla Willis, Chad Paris, Steve Waiksnoris, Erik Tomalis, Josh Meyer, Karrie Cox, Kurt Worrell, and Doug Diefenbach, our refreshed website offers an enhanced user experience to amplify our impact and insights. Please take a moment to review and update your organization’s listing to ensure it accurately reflects your unique value proposition.
- Elevating Inclusivity and Generosity: A robust discussion led by Dr. Chance resulted in a powerful statement reaffirming our commitment to a welcoming environment and centering generosity as a core value. The extended statement is available HERE.
- Inspiring Insights from Dr. Russell James: His closing session on donor identities and social norms provided a valuable and energizing perspective.
The momentum continues as Kate Hughes, Tim Sarrantonio, and Richard Tollefson, along with their committee Richard Tollefson, Kate Hughes, Tim Sarrantonio, Sharon Tiknis, Nikkii Kashub, Tammy Weinman, Anne Guillen, Kate Kramer, Lexi Cramer, Leya Simmons, Chelsea Tibbits, Summers Hamel, Adriana Lopez, Tim Burcham, Lola Banjo, and Chris Hammond, are hard at work on the Summer Symposium 2025 in San Diego. This promises to be an engaging and informative event – one you won’t want to miss! We encourage you to leverage our Golden Ticket opportunity to invite a qualifying organization and share the value of Giving Institute membership.
A special thank you to Sally Ehrenfried for her insightful members’ Federal Update last week. Her presentation underscored the critical need for our collective support of the Charitable Universal Tax Act, which has the potential to significantly encourage greater generosity.
The dedication of each of our committees is vital to our success. I recognize the demands on your time and deeply appreciate your ongoing commitment to the Giving Institute. It’s your engagement that makes the Giving Institute a powerful force for good, reflecting our shared values as professionals and change makers!
Keep going!
Brenda
