Please Join Your Fellow Funders for This Special Event!

Dear Colleague,

We are writing to invite you to an enlightening day of inspiration, learning, conversation and networking at the Points of Light conference this June. The theme of the conference is: Igniting a Passion for Community Mindedness and Civic Engagement.

In these turbulent times, we all experience our country and democracy facing daunting challenges. Mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits and funders, can help reinforce and sustain democratic values through strategic engagement of citizens as volunteers in meaningful ways.

To help advance thinking about the role of philanthropy in volunteerism and its connection to democratic practice, PACE, The Leighty Foundation, and the Lodestar Foundation are helping design a series of special sessions for funders during the Points of Light Conference, on June 19th. The Points of Light Conference is the world’s largest service-related convening, bringing together 2,000 nonprofit, government, business and civic leaders to gain and share the knowledge, resources and connections needed to galvanize the power of people to create change.

These sessions will provide an opportunity to network with fellow funders and expand the conversation around how we can support our grantees in utilizing volunteer resources in innovative and high impact ways to accomplish their missions.

The sessions that may be most appealing to funders will happen concurrently on Wednesday, June 19th, as follows:

8:30 – 10:00 am – Funding Volunteer Engagement:  The Whys and the Hows
This session, designed specifically for funders and grant makers, will explore the latest research and successful models in funding volunteer engagement as a cost-effective core strategy to partner with grantees in accomplishing their missions.

10:30 am – 12:00 pm – The Role of Civic Engagement in Strengthening Communities and Democracy
A large-scale forum on the relationship between civic engagement and democracy, with Kristen Cambell, Executive Director, PACE; Virginia Tenpenny, Executive Director, Starbucks Foundation; Dr. William Flores, Professor of Political and Social Science, University of Houston-Downtown

2:00 – 3:30 pm – Successfully Making the Case for Volunteer Engagement Funding
Hear from funders who have invested in volunteer capacity building, as well as nonprofits that have successfully secured funding. Speakers include Crystal Avila and Dabash Negash from NYC Service, Office of the Mayor, and Sheryl Parker from UJA Federation of New York.

4:00 – 5:30 pm – Funding Strategy Session
This session will expand the conversation around how we can support our grantees in utilizing volunteer resources in innovative and high impact ways to accomplish their missions.

6:00 – 7:00 pm – Funder Networking Reception 
Sponsored by The Leighty Foundation and the Lodestar Foundation.

As colleagues and partners in the effort to strengthen organizations’ capacity to engage volunteers in meeting their missions, we hope you will consider attending.  Please register for the conference. If you are unable to attend the full conference but would like to join us for the funder-related sessions on Wednesday, June 19th, simply use this code when checking out to take advantage of the discounted one-day registration fee of $300: MVFUNDER. We also ask that you please RSVP to jill@leightyfoundation.org so we know to expect you for the luncheon and reception.

Thank you for your consideration and please let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Jane, Kristen, and Lois

Jane Leighty Justis, President, The Leighty Foundation
Kristen Cambell, Executive Director, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement)
Lois Savage, President, The Lodestar Foundation