AAPIP Blog

The National Philanthropy Summit is today, October 20th!

Starting promptly at 4PM Pacific/ 6pm Central /7PM Eastern time,
click the link below to watch the live webstream in progress:

http://www.livestream.com/justgoodtv

Follow along on Twitter @AAPIP
#AAPIP2010

We are pleased that Kathy Im, Director, General Program, of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and immediate past chair of the AAPIP Board of Directors, has initiated and will lead the AAPIP Leadership Council. Following the AAPIP National Summit on October 20 and in the coming months, she will be reaching out to many of you in the field and in our communities to join this historic formation.

The Leadership Council will serve as a strategic sounding board for us to amplify our work within the field and to broaden our networks. It will be an important part of charting our path as we move into the future. We hope that many of you will be a part of it in the months and years ahead, and that you’ll join AAPIP in finding new ways of building democratic philanthropy.

For more on the development of AAPIP Leadership Council, click to watch Kathy Im’s special message about the Council.

If you won’t be joining a convening in one of the 11 cities for the AAPIP National Philanthropy Summit, or if you’re hosting a viewing party of your own, let us know!

We would love to hear from you. You can do that by signing-in at the link below:
http://aapipwebcast.eventbrite.com/

Participation in The Summit is free, and you do not have to register to watch the livestream.

Still, we would love to know who’s joining us on the web and to stay in touch before and following the Summit. Knowing ahead of time who’s joining us from other cities and locations from throughout the web will be a great way for us to acknowledge the growth and expanisveness of the AAPIP network. And it will give us a chance to acknowledge your location in the livestream, the Twitter feed and chat functions that will be a part of The Summit.

AAPIP President/Executive Director, Peggy Saika, reflects on AAPIP’s 20 years and how together we can all be part of building democratic philanthropy for a more just and equitable world.

BUILDING DEMOCRATIC PHILANTHROPY
- Peggy Saika, AAPIP President/Executive Director

Over the last two decades AAPIP has focused primarily on building membership and chapters to access philanthropic capital for our communities. Even though we’re reminded daily of the enduring challenges that our communities face, at AAPIP we support solutions that provide signs of hope.

Building Democratic Philanthropy is a framework that calls on both organized philanthropy and individuals to support the development of institutions and practices that begin with the vision of communities first, and that draw on the assets of those communities as the starting place for any blueprint to maximize its potential.  It is a call to institutions and individuals to engage the voices of impacted communities, and to leverage individual action for collective good.

There may be no clearer expression of Building Democratic Philanthropy than AAPIP’s commitment to community philanthropy and the development of a giving circle movement. A giving circle is a pooled fund, often organized with friends and colleagues, through which individuals collectively support their communities. Giving circles expand economic assets and build social consciousness.

No matter who or where you are — in a grantmaking institution, in government, or as a community donor, you can contribute to building democratic philanthropy.  Building Democratic Philanthropy demonstrates the development of practices within the field and in our communities that begin with justice and equity.

HOW YOU CAN BE PART OF BUILDING DEMOCRATIC PHILANTHROPY:
A CALL TO ACTION

Be a part of a renewed drive to increase foundation support to immigrant and refugee communities

• Encourage development of and investment in collaborative funds that support your community
• Stress the need for capacity-building as well as core support to sustain your community’s organizations
• Use and insist on data that reflects giving—or the lack of giving—to your community

Join the national movement to grow individual philanthropy

• Join or start a giving circle
• Talk to your community foundation about supporting your community or giving circle
• Build a matching pool of funds for organizations in your community

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Please RSVP online today to attend one of the 11 cities hosting a local AAPIP National Philanthropy Summit and celebration on Wednesday, October 20th.

As we approach AAPIP’s 20th anniversary on October 20, 2010, and the AAPIP National Philanthropy Summit: Building Democratic Philanthropy, we’ll be sharing observations and throughts from key leaders about AAPIP’s twenty years of advocacy for communities and within the field of philanthropy. We’re pleased to start with one of AAPIP’s longest-running supporters, Emmett Carson, CEO/President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Mr. Carson joined the Silicon Valley Community Foundation as CEO in 2006, following a 12-year tenure as the CEO/President of The Minneapolis Foundation. Prior to that, he led The Ford Foundation’s worldwide grantmaking program on philanthropy and the non-profit sector.  In each of these roles, Mr. Carson has been an effective and respected advocate for social justice. He provided AAPIP with one of our first Institutional Memberships while at The Ford Foundation, and continued to do the same at each succeeding institution. We are pleased to partner with Mr. Carson and with the Silicon Valley Communty Foundation in observance of our 20th year of advocating on behalf of communities within the field philanthropy.

To find out more about Mr. Carson and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, please click here.

[author credit: Joe Lucero; And an extra special thanks to AAPIP's Silicon Valley Members for the video footage!]