An SVP Investee Reflects on the Audacious Philanthropy Conference
Executive Director, Matt Morton, of SVP Investee the Native American Youth and Family Center, was one of the attendees at last week's annual SVP Network Conference: Audacious Philanthropy.
The Audacious Philanthropy Conference satisfied some key elements that made this experience both special and worthwhile. My comments below offer examples across these elements.
Inspiration: Friday's morning plenary (Paul) and lunchtime presentation (Ben) both offered inspiring messages about the impact an individual can make in the lives of others. They illustrated the "spectrum" of impact, from individual to collective. People need to see and believe that impact is possible, and I believe Paul and Ben provided the proof.
Concrete Examples (content): Although there were not a lot of investees at this year's conference, "experts" from the field provided excellent examples of scaling their organization's impact. Greg's session on Friday afternoon gave a solid foundation to anyone brave enough to amplify their work across multiple markets.
Fresh Ideas: Saturday's plenary (Bill Eggers) gave us excellent ideas to consider as we go back to our own communities and dream big about what's possible. In other words, Portland needs rooftop honeybees!
Networking: The roundtable format of sessions, group meals, and ample social time made it very easy to build connections with people across the SVP network. Accessibility of speakers was a special benefit and offered deeper dialogue on topics. I felt like I was treated well, and the kindness of SVP staff, leadership, and partners was appreciated.
Reflection: The schedule was tight, but I still had the time and flexibility to reflect on my own organization's path to impact. I loved sharing these fresh ideas with my colleague from NAYA and partners from SVP, and I enjoyed seeing their faces light up at the possibilities as they shared their own ideas.
We have a lot of work to do; let's see what we can accomplish before next year's conference in Seattle!