Dear Giving Institute Members:
There are so many things happening in our association these days:
New Members Joining: We welcome Aqubanc with voting member James Cowen and EveryAction with voting member Jamie Mueller. Both new members were formally approved very recently, and we hope to see James and Jamie at our board meetings in Scottsdale. We have other prospective new members in the pipeline. Thank you to our hard-working membership committee! Also, please note that Aqubanc and EveryAction were Golden Ticket attendees at the Summer Symposium in Washington, D.C. last year. Please be thinking of firms you might invite to this year’s Summer Symposium on a Golden Ticket assigned to your firm. The Summer Symposium is a great way for prospective members to get to know The Giving Institute.
Brenda Asare and Josh Birkholz are leading an initiative to make sure we execute our new strategic plan. As we know from our client work, too many strategic plans sit on the shelf after much effort is invested to create the plan. Progress on the plan will be tracked, and we will also commit to learning as we go and being willing to pivot where needed. Thank you to Brenda, Josh, and those working with them on this initiative.
The Generosity Commission is up and running. Be sure to visit the website and sign up to receive regular updates on progress. You can look back on past newsletters to learn about the research being funded by the Commission.
Those who attended the Summer Symposium last year in Washington, D.C. will remember the dynamic conversation we had on data ethics. Paul Koreen is now leading the effort to update the Code of Ethics to be inclusive of data ethics. Thank you to Paul for this important work.
The DEI Committee is hard at work creating a Change Framework. As you know, there has been a survey (thank you for the strong responses!) and multiple members are involved in subgroups examining what GI’s future should look like from a DEI perspective. Dwayne Ashley and Rachel Hutchisson are leading this charge. Dr. Gloria Chance, CEO of the Mousai Group, led a “Lab” workshop on February 8th as part of the work to create the Change Framework. Close to 20 representatives from GI member firms participated. There was a robust pre read package and dynamic interaction during the sessions. Dr. Chance will join us in Scottsdale to lead a workshop with all those present at the GI/GUSA board meetings.
Laura MacDonald and Sally Ehrenfried have gathered a work group to examine if and how GI and GUSA can become a more active voice in policy affecting generosity. The group met on February 11th and will report back to the joint executive committee at its meeting on March 10th in Scottsdale.
Speaking of Scottsdale, please join us March 10th and 11th. We have a great lineup of programs, thanks to Richard Tollefson and the program committee. Plus, I hear the weather will be good.
Please note the new mailing address for The Giving Institute and Giving USA Foundation:
7918 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 300
McLean, VA 22102
This is just some of what is happening with The Giving Institute these days. I have found it easier than I thought to serve as Chair because so many people are invested and doing so much good work. Thank you all and see you in Scottsdale!
