We Want to Know What’s Working

Data is important to providing accurate narratives. It’s even more important to share promising practices that are working for Black people and communities. Our calls for ideas in each thematic category are as follows:

Category 1: Building and Sustaining Black Wealth and Economic Power

• What are the myriad of ways that philanthropy is using its power and investments to stabilize and sustain Black wealth (for households and communities)?
• What philanthropic grantmaking and impact investment strategies are underway to help advance Black business and entrepreneurship that show promise?
• What are funders and front-line organizations doing to retain, preserve and protect Black land and their rich histories in both urban and rural communities?

Category 2: Growing and Sustaining Black Political Power

• How are grantmakers and donors advancing Black political power to support issues that they fund?
• What investment strategies in the area of voting are showing promise (including protection for the right to vote and efforts to mitigate federal, state and/or locally created obstructions to a fair and free election)?
• What are donors engaged in to build power amongst Black immigrant and LGBTQ populations ensure access and opportunity for our communities?

Category 3: Support to Black-led Social Change Organizations

• What strategies are being used by foundations, giving circles and donors to support Black-led organizations and their leaders?
• How are Black-led organizations engaging Black individuals, youth, families and communities across diverse areas to build and implement agendas for their future?

In our sessions, we want to highlight work that aligns with ABFE’s Responsive Philanthropy in Black Communities framework and the importance of supporting Black-led social change. As such, we are particularly interested in session ideas that lift up the use of the following strategies:

• Civic Engagement & Political Power;
• Community Organizing & People Power;
• Policy Advocacy & Systems Reform;
• Economic Development & Economic power;
• Research & Intellectual Power;
• Communications Narrative & Social Power; or,
• Leadership Development & Strategic Convenings.

We welcome content ideas from:

• Individual or institutional philanthropy;
• Philanthropic networks (pooled funds; giving circles; etc.)
• Public-private partnerships; and
• Grassroots Leaders powering their community change.

The voices of youth/next generation leaders are greatly desired.

THE PROCESS

We greatly appreciate your investment of time in submitting a proposal (or two). Unfortunately, we will have limited time and space, and won’t be able to accommodate all of the submissions. We will select sessions that best fit our vision for the 2020 conference.

If selected, ABFE will work with the session curators to create an ideal session for 2020!

• As a session designer, you’ll be responsible for covering your travel costs.
• Funders and representatives of larger organizations are expected to cover expenses.
• Very limited resources are available for speakers that might have limited travel budget. Travel support will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
• Session times, titles & descriptions may need to be modified to accommodate timing & placement in the agenda.
• There might be opportunities to collaborate with another colleague, with a similar submission topic. We ask that you are amenable to collaborative opportunities, should we decide to accept & merge similar ideas.