To those of you who were with us in Napa, I hope you enjoyed the 2016 Summer Symposium, co-chaired by Jon Biedermann, DonorPerfect, and Karen Rotko-Wynn, Alford Group. They did a terrific job and attendance, plus the webinar on Friday morning, was the highest in Summer Symposium history. Congratulations to Jon and Karen, and we look forward to the 2017 Summer Symposium, co-chaired by Cedric Richner, Richner & Richner, and Laura McDonald, The Benefactor Group, scheduled for July 20-23, 2017 in Detroit. Please watch for details in the months to come.
I’m writing to remind you to make sure that you are signed up on a Giving Institute Committee or a Giving USA Foundation Committee. Your participation is the way to stay involved and connected to your colleagues and is a valuable benefit of membership. Committee chairs and co-chairs are reviewing the goals and objectives recently passed in the Shared Intelligence for the Greater Good: Plan for 2017-2021, the strategic plan for The Giving Institute and the Giving USA Foundation that was unanimously passed at the July Board meeting. We encourage you to download the document, review it, and make sure you are plugged into the committee where you feel you want to make the most difference.
I am not asking for you to switch your membership in a committee assignment, unless you would like to. However, I want to make sure every member is involved in at least one or more committees, and I have asked Erin Berggren to contact you if you are not. Many of you have colleagues within your firms that may be interested in participating on a committee. We welcome their participation! Being a member of a committee is an excellent way to be a part of the conversation to help make philanthropy stronger. If you or someone you know is interested in participating on a committee, please share these links to sign up for a Giving Institute or Foundation Committee.
Thanks in advance for your participation, and as always, please let me know how I can assist if needed.
Jeffrey D. Byrne
President + CEO, Jeffrey Byrne + Associates, Inc.
Chair, The Giving Institute
