Nonprofit leaders discuss how to build forward-looking partnerships with donors

In 2020, nonprofits discovered new potential and purpose. This year, nonprofit leaders and fundraisers are asking: How do we advance what we learned? Visions are bold, and strategic plans are ambitious. Realizing them will require funding – and soon.

Fortunately, just as nonprofits are embarking on new strategic plans, funders are rethinking what it means to support the causes they care about. A decades-long trend toward rigorous, metrics-based decision-making was disrupted by crisis—which forced funders to adapt and act quickly—and social justice movements—which forced funders to begin to examine their role in systemic racism. Funders gave general operating support, simplified application processes, and made decisions more quickly, breathing new life into the organizations they supported.

Join us for a panel discussion to explore how nonprofit leaders and fundraisers can engage forward-looking individuals, foundations, and companies in what comes next:

• How do you identify prospective early funders in your vision?

• How do you engage those prospective funders in the process of developing your vision and co-creating solutions?

• How do you ensure the partnership you develop is a genuine win-win?

• How do you avoid common pitfalls?

Panelists:

• Tia Hodges, Citi Foundation (moderator)

• Heather Northrop, Child Mind Institute

• Leya Petrovani-Miller, Bowery Mission

• Nancy Sackson, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank

• Jen Szapiro, Audubon Society

This panel is offered in collaboration with the NYUSPS George H. Heyman, Jr. Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising.