Learn more about past events, webinars, and other convenings hosted by PACE, our members, and out partners.

New PACE Webinar: ‘Infogagement: Citizenship and Democracy in the Age of Connection’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/955452234

PACE has just released a new white paper, ‘Infogagement: Citizenship and Democracy in the Age of Connection‘. The paper grew out of our ‘Information and Engagement Project’, a two year conversation at PACE that involved multiple convenings across the country and dozens of interviews with leading thinkers and practitioners in the fields of journalism, civic technology and public engagement. In these conversations we explored how new and old forms of information delivery could encourage more civic engagement, particularly among previously disengaged populations. What we discovered was a complex set of cause and effect relationships that creates an image of public life ‘that has become something more like a Jackson Pollock painting’.

The project and paper were financially supported by PACE members the Rita Allen Foundation, the Case Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The paper is available as a free pdf download at the PACE website, www.pacefunders.org.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will introduce and moderate the webinar. Matt Leighninger, the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the author of the paper, will summarize the paper’s findings. Paula Ellis, former Senior Vice President of the Knight Foundation and now a Kettering Foundation Associate, will provide additional commentary.

Title: New PACE Webinar: ‘Infogagement: Citizenship and Democracy in the Age of Connection’
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

PACE Webinar: ‘Philanthropy and the Limits of Accountability’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/304727682

PACE and the Kettering Foundation have just released a new white paper, ‘Philanthropy and the Limits of Accountability: A Relationship of Respect and Clarity’. (www.pacefunders.org) The paper grew out of a year long conversation about how the transparency and accountability movements will impact the sometimes insular world of philanthropy. These movements have transformed how government, business, non-profits, politics and the media do their work and it is only a matter of time before they impact philanthropy as well. Through multiple convenings and interviews, we identified some of the major issues, concerns and tradeoffs as the field of philanthropy thinks through how to become more accountable to the fields and communities they serve.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will introduce and moderate the webinar.
Brad Rourke, author of the paper and a program officer at the Kettering Foundation, will present the paper’s highlights.
Kevin Murphy, the immediate past chair of the board of the Council on Foundations and the President of the Berks County Community Foundation, will add his reactions and commentary.

We hope you’ll be able to join us!

Title: PACE Webinar: ‘Philanthropy and the Limits of Accountability
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2014
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

June a Busy month for PACE

June will be a busy month for PACE Executive Director Chris Gates, with five major events taking place. First, Gates will meet with other leaders of the service community in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania June 4-6 to hear about the progress of the Aspen Institute’s Franklin Project, an effort to make service a more integral part of the lives of all American youth. Then Gates, who has been working closely with the staff of the Council on Foundations to design two democracy-related sessions at their upcoming annual conference in Washington, DC, will moderate both a session on the upcoming 2014 midterm elections and a conversation about campaign finance reform and the IRS issues around advocacy and speech in the non-profit sector at the COF conference. Shortly after that, on June 11th and 12th, the board and members of PACE will gather for their summer board meeting in Washington, DC to update each other on their work, hear updates about PACE work and make plans for the remainder of 2014. Next Gates will head to Atlanta for the annual National Conference on Volunteering and Service, sponsored by Points of Light. As a member of the Reimagining Service Council Gates will be involved in several conversations there about efforts to rethink how the non-profit world uses volunteers to accomplish their goals. Finally, Gates has been invited to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative-America meeting in Denver, Colorado on June 23-25. Gates will serve as a resource person in the ‘Empowering Opportunity Youth’ track and be a voice for the perspective that PACE has championed for several years, that service can provide a civic path out of poverty for disconnected, disadvantaged and disengaged youth.

PACE Webinar: Is There Trans-Partisan Support for Democracy Reform?

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/628288882

PACE Members:

Please join us on April 1st for this special members-only webinar for a discussion of the possibility of developing a trans-partisan conversation about the need for democracy reform.

PACE has been exploring this topic over the past year and one of our key partners has been the Fund For the Republic (FFR), led by Nick Penniman. FFR recently commissioned a report by Republican strategists Juleanna Glover, Mark McKinnon and Trevor Potter, which revealed that reform-minded conservative leaders are far more common than the political landscape might suggest. Their report, ‘A Conservative Lighthouse: Broadening the Coalition for Money-In-Politics Reform’ (attached above) shows that conservative leaders not only understand that policy outcomes are distorted by current campaign finance practices, but they also acknowledge that a largely unrestrained system might be actively hurting the Republican Party.

The topic will be introduced on our call by Nick Penniman, the Executive Director of FFR.

Then we’ll hear from Daniel Stid, a funder working in this space. Stid is a Senior Fellow at the Hewlett Foundation and advises Foundation President Larry Kramer on Hewlett’s efforts to improve the health of democracy in America.

After that we’ll hear from all three authors of the FFR report:

-Juleanna Glover is currently the Managing Director at Teneo Intelligence and previously served as senior staff to George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney, Rudi Giuliani and many others.

–Mark McKinnon is a Senior Advisor at Hill+Knowlton and has served as a senior advisor to George W. Bush, John McCain, Lance Armstrong, Bono and many others.

–Trevor Potter is one of the country’s best known campaign and election lawyers. He previously served as a Commissioner and Chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Title: PACE Webinar: Is There Trans-Partisan Support for Democracy Reform?
Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

PACE Board and Member Meeting

The first board and member meeting of 2014 will take place in Chicago February 9th and 10th. In addition to regular board business, members will have the opportunity to update their colleagues on the work of their institutions, hear from several guest speakers and discuss the 2014 work plan for PACE. For more information on joining this vibrant learning collaborative please click ‘Join Now!’ on our website’s home page.

CALLING ALL CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM OFFICERS AND GRANT MANAGERS
This is a webinar you won’t want to miss!

Your Role In Building A Strong Democracy Funding Tool

Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET

REGISTER TODAY

PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, FCCP-Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation and the Foundation Center are happy to invite you to a very important webinar on how you can help build an interactive tool to show where and how much funding is going for democracy work in the United States. The Democracy Mapping Project is a collaborative project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Democracy Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rita Allen Foundation, JPB Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.

Please join us to learn how you can track and send your grants data to the Foundation Center electronically to ensure your funding is accurately included in this effort. Your participation is the key to the success of this project and will benefit the civic engagement field for years to come. During this call our Foundation Center colleagues will demystify the electronic grant reporting program, explain self-coding best practices, and share examples of how you can leverage this tool to collaborate more effectively and identify gaps in funding.

REGISTER TODAY

PACE Webinar -‘Igniting a Movement: Community College Student Leadership and Civic Engagement’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/122732786

Join PACE member the Rappaport Family Foundation, and three Rappaport grantee partners, to learn more about it its three years of funding civic engagement work with community college students, who make up nearly half of all undergraduates in this country. Learn more about how we can tap into these 2.4million community college students and invest in long-term community-centered leadership. These three impressive grantees–The Democracy Commitment, Roosevelt Institute’s Campus Network, and the New Organizing Institute–will discuss their groundbreaking work with this overlooked yet critical swath of young people and potential leaders.

The webinar will be moderated by Catalina Ruiz-Healy of the Rappaport Family Foundation.

Our speakers will be Amee Bearne with the Democracy Commitment, Taylor Jo Isenberg with the Roosevelt Institute’s Campus Network and Hope Wood with the New Organizing Institute.

PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic practice.

Title: PACE Webinar -‘Igniting a Movement: Community College Student Leadership and Civic Engagement’
When: Monday, November 4, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

PACE Webinar, 9/26, ‘A Second Front for Democracy Reform’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/447750914

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and Nick Penniman, the Executive Director of the Fund for the Republic, recently published an article that proposed creating a second, trans-partisan, front for democracy reform in America. The evidence has become overwhelming clear, there are no defenders left of our current system for financing and running campaigns and elections. Republicans and Democrats agree that the system is broken, voters are so disgusted that many of them cite the system for the reason why they don’t vote, and business leaders make it clear that the time has come for a change.

Why is it then that there seems to be so little progress in creating a movement for democratic and political reform?

Two issues seem to be at the core of this disconnect. First, while voters of every stripe are concerned and even alarmed about our current system of financing and running campaigns, they also don’t think that their voice can make a difference. Second, many view the fight for democratic reform as a partisan one, with each side proposing reforms that will game the system for their side.

So, is it possible to transform this issue into a bi-partisan and trans-partisan one that unites the country around a desire to make their democracy more responsible and more responsive? And can philanthropy play a role in bringing the various actors together around a shared agenda of reform?

These are the questions that will be posed during this special PACE webinar, we hope you will join us on September 26th at 2pm Eastern time.

Title: PACE Webinar, 9/26, ‘A Second Front for Democracy Reform
When: Wednesday, September 26, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

What’s New with Community Philanthropy in the US and Around the World

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/727123322

Between 2000 and 2010, the number of one type of community philanthropy organization – the community foundation – grew by a remarkable 86%. Most of this growth has been outside the United States. Of the many factors which appear to have contributed to this growth, one is the civic-participatory nature of many of the nascent institutions and their strong linkage to civil society development. At the same time, there appears to be a genuine shift, slow but steady, in the behavior of community foundations in the U.S. toward supporting greater resident engagement. Globally, the discourse on the latest in community philanthropy is often in terms of ‘international development’ while in the U.S., in terms of social change. These different framings are really two sides of the same coin – of participatory, inclusive, democratic involvement and contribution of people toward the betterment of their communities. The webinar will examine what are the trends, what are the challenges, and what is being currently done by several organizations in this space that is at the intersection of philanthropy and civic engagement.

Our speakers will be:

-Nick Deychakiwsky is a Program Officer at the C.S. Mott Foundation where he oversees the United States and Global Philanthropy & Nonprofit Sector areas of the foundation’s Civil Society Program.

-Barry Knight is the Executive Director of CENTRIS, and is best known as a statistician and evaluator. In the past four years, he has devoted much energy to the field of community philanthropy, working with the Global Fund for Community Foundations, the CS Mott Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation (US), the Cleveland Foundation and the Greater New Orleans Foundation to help to develop the field.

The webinar will be moderated by Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement. PACE is a learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of service, civic engagement and democratic practice.

Title: What’s New with Community Philanthropy in the US and Around the World
When: Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

A Conversation with Sally Prouty, “Civic Service: Providing an ‘Opportunity’ for Millions of Youth”

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/188744594

For the past year Sally Prouty has served as the inaugural PACE Fellow for Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, a learning collaborative of funders and philanthropies doing work in the fields of service and civic engagement. PACE has been at the forefront of a movement to bring more focus in the service community to working with disadvantaged and disengaged youth, a population now often referred to as ‘opportunity youth’. Sally has helped lead this work and is a firm believer in the power of service and civic engagement to turn around the lives of this critical population.

Sally has written a white paper detailing her experiences over her nearly 30 year career and a shorter essay which will be the basis for our conversation with her on June 28th. We hope you will join us as we hear one of the great leaders of the service community reflect on the lessons she has learned and provide all of us some guideposts for how we can and should move forward.

Before serving as a PACE Fellow, Sally served for nearly a decade as President and CEO of The Corps Network (TCN). Prior to her time at TCN she served for seven years as Director of the Ohio Civilian Conservation Corps and four years as Deputy Director of Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources. She was also a founding co-chair of both Voices for National Service and the National Campaign for Youth.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will serve as the webinar’s moderator.

Title: A Conversation with Sally Prouty, “Civic Service: Providing an ‘Opportunity’ for Millions of Youth”
When: Friday, June 28, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

PACE Board & Member Meeting

The board and membership of PACE will meet in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 17th for a full day of PACE business, organizational updates, meetings with local funders and informational presentations. The meeting is being hosted by the St. Paul office of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Southeastern Council of Foundations (SECF) Policy Call: Chris Gates, PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement

‘America’s Democracy: Making Sense of the Chaos’

After an unusually rancorous presidential election, Washington DC has struggled to find it’s footing as both parties and all three branches of government try to sort out their leadership roles and move the country forward. The philanthropic and non-profit sectors find themselves in the middle of the discussion as government leaders debate the future of the charitable deduction, the purpose of non-profits and the role of foundations in our country.

Join Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and former President of the National Civic League, as he provides an update and leads on conversation on the challenge of governing and the pressure of politics in Washington, and what it all might mean for our sector.

Join our PACE Conversation with the Authors of ‘Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/128716610

Join co-authors, Kari Dunn Saratovsky and Derrick Feldmann, for a discussion of their new book, Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement. This groundbreaking book includes strategies for engaging Millennials as constituents, volunteers, donors and employees – and shows how organizations can realign themselves to better respond to this burgeoning group of 80 Million people. At the heart of this research-based book is the Millennial Engagement Platform, an action-based rubric developed by the authors to help organizations create the infrastructure for a long-term Millennial engagement strategy. Cause for Change profiles members of this generation who have emerged as dynamic leaders to create and manage movements in their communities.

Presenters:

Kari Dunn Saratovsky
Kari is Principal of KDS Strategies. She has spent her career in the public and nonprofit sectors directing national programs and building cross sector alliances to advance social change. KDS Strategies specializes in innovative program design, strategic communications, and social media strategy-all with a unique understanding of next generation engagement. Prior to establishing KDS Strategies, Kari served as VP of Social Innovation at the Case Foundation. She also serves as the chair of the board of Mobilize.org.

Derrick Feldmann
Derrick is the CEO of Achieve, a creative fundraising agency focused on engaging Millennials and attracting supporters to causes. He leads the research team on the Millennial Impact-a project to understand how Millennials connect, involve, and give to organizations. He is a writer and speaker on the latest trends in fundraising, donor engagement, and Millennials.

The conversation will be moderated by Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement. PACE is a national learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic practice.

Title: Join our PACE Conversation with the Authors of ‘Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement’
When: Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will be redirected to the website for the book, causeforchangebook.com , then will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, AndroidT phone or Android tablet

PACE Webinar: A Conversation with Aaron Hurst, Founder of the Taproot Foundation

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/931787674

Aaron Hurst is the founder of the Taproot Foundation and the creative force behind the conception of the Billion+Change Initiative and the Service Enterprise Model. He has recently authored ‘Powered by Pro Bono‘, a hands-on guide to promote the potential of pro bono services to the non-profit sector. More than $15 billion in pro bono serves are donated to non-profits every year, four times as much as all corporate grantmaking. These services go beyond traditional areas of pro bono support like legal services, they now extend to marketing, strategic planning, technology and more. ‘Powered by Pro Bono‘ offers nonprofit organizations the tools they need to plan for and turn on their pro bono potential.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the webinar. PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, serves as a learning collaborative for foundations doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic practice.

Aaron began his career as a social innovator at the University of Michigan, where he designed and led an educational program for local correctional facilities. Upon graduation he worked in inner-city education in Chicago before landing in Silicon Valley as an early employee at two venture-backed social venture companies. In 20011 he was named one of the top 50 nonprofit leaders in the US by the NonProfit Times.

Title: PACE Webinar: A Conversation with Aaron Hurst, Founder of the Taproot Foundation
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®/iPad®/AndroidT smartphone or tablet

PACE Member Webinar: A Conversation with Josh Lerner, The Participatory Budgeting Project

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/946482538

PACE Members:

We have a regularly scheduled PACE Member check-in call scheduled for Monday, September 17th at 12pm eastern/11am central/9am pacific. We’d like to try something different with this call and so after we do quick organizational updates, we’ll have a conversation with Josh Lerner, the Executive Director of The Participatory Budgeting Project.

In a time of widespread budget cries and plummeting trust in government, citizens and elected officials alike are searching for more democratic and accountable ways to manage public money. Participatory budgeting (PB) offers that alternative. First developed in Brazil and now used in over 1,000 cities around the world, it enables citizens to directly decide how to spend part of a local budget. Called ‘revolutionary civics in action’ by the New York Times, PB offers people a fundamentally different way to engage with government.

Josh and his organization work directly with governments and organizations in North America to develop PB processes that help communities decide how to spend public money. He has a PhD from the New School, a Masters of Planning from the University of Toronto and has been working in this field since 2003.

Our friend Matt Leighninger of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium will provide some brief context and introduce Josh and the topic.

We hope you’ll be able to join us for this PACE Members-Only conversation on the 17th, and that you’ll invite other members of your organization to join in the dialogue.

Chris Gates
Executive Director
PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement

Title: PACE Member Webinar: A Conversation with Josh Lerner, The Participatory Budgeting Project
Date: Monday, September 17, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®/iPad®/AndroidT smartphone or tablet

View the original PDF

8:30 a.m.
Registration and coffee

9:15 a.m.
Welcome
Rishi Jaitly, Program Director, Detroit, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Setting Expectations
Chris Gates, Executive Director, PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement

9:30 a.m.
Civic Showcase with 10-minute, TEDx-Style Presentations
What insights anchor some of our city and country’s most promising engagement initiatives?

Dan Pitera & Priya Iyer
Community PlanIt & Detroit 247

Martha McCoy
Everyday Democracy

Darryl Redmond
BME Black Male Engagement

Jerry Paffendorf
Loveland Technologies

Andrew Rasiej
Personal Democracy Forum

Elizabeth Garlow, Delphia Simmons, Trish Dewald, Michigan Corps, Detroit4Detroit, Kiva Detroit

Vince Keenan
Publius.org

10:30 a.m.
Break

10:45 a.m.
Civic Learning Breakout Sessions
How are these insights about engagement relevant to other issues in Detroit? What new ideas do we have for the community?

Group #1: Music Box
Group #2: Robert A. & Maggie Allesee Rehearsal Hall
Group #3: Second Floor Mezzanine

11:30 a.m.
Reporting Lessons & Ideas

Noon
Lunch and Keynote Address
Chris Gates, Executive Director, PACE

1 p.m.
Close
Rishi Jaitly, Program Director, Detroit, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

PACE Webinar: ‘Diversity Counts: Addressing the lack of diversity in public service sector leadership’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/811848434

This webinar seeks to share data from a new report that provides a current snapshot of the current composition of leadership at the highest levels throughout the public service sector. National Urban Fellows commissioned this report as part of an ongoing effort to increase awareness of the challenges and best practices in developing inclusive leadership practices, and structures – aimed at increasing the numbers of ethnic and racial minorities serving in top leadership capacities in government, nonprofits and philanthropy.

The Public Service Leadership Diversity Initiative works to develop new strategies and approaches that will aid in creating more diverse leadership across the highest levels of federal, state and local government; through research, training and mobilization of organizations committed to the goal of achieving leadership throughout the public service sector that effectively represents and reflects the diversity of our nation – in the interest of improving the quality and effectiveness of efforts to meet societal challenges.

Once you register for the webinar, you will automatically be redirected to the website for the Public Service Leadership Diversity Initiative at www.publicserviceleaders.org.

Our two presenters will be Paula Gavin, President of the National Urban Fellows and Anthony Winn, Director of NUF’s Public Service Leadership Diversity Initiative.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will serve as the moderator of the webinar.

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative for funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic renewal.

Title: PACE Webinar: ‘Diversity Counts: Addressing the lack of diversity in public sector leadership’
When: Thursday, June 14, 2012
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar: “Building Playgrounds to Build Communities: How a ‘Quick Win’ Develops Long-lasting Community Capacity”

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/936095626

The legacy of a KaBOOM! playground build is visible and tangible: in one day, volunteers build a healthy play space for kids and families to enjoy for years to come. What’s lesser known is that the projects also help develop a community’s long-lasting capacity to transform their neighborhoods, as a Knight Foundation independent evaluation recently found.

Join KaBOOM! and the Knight Foundation to learn more about how a build helps residents and partner organizations gain the leadership and organizational skills they need to solve other commuity problems, and the confidence that community activism is an effective vehicle for change. At the heart of the process is the belief that a short-term, intensive, structured effort – such as a playground build – inspires individuals to take on other pressing issues and can yield effects that increase community change.

Once you register for the webinar you will automatically be redirected to a link for the executive summary of the evaluation.

Our speakers will be Mayur Patel, Vice Presdident for Strategies and Assessment at Knight, Damian Thorman, National Program Director at Knight, and Kate Becker, Vice President for Program Management at KaBOOM!

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the conversation. Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative for funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic practice.

Title: PACE Webinar: “Building Playgrounds to Build Communities: How a ‘Quick Win’ Develops Long-lasting Community Capacity”
When: Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar, featuring Matt Leighninger: ‘Planning for Stronger Local Democracy’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/680772210

Please join us on Thursday, March 22nd, for a webinar with Matt Leighninger featuring his newly released guide, “Planning for Stronger Local Democracy‘.

We have learned a great deal about the strengths-and limitations-of public engagement as it is practiced today. These engagement initiatives typically produce a range of significant outcomes, from personal transformation to policy change. But they take considerable amounts of energy and time, and in most cases they do not seem to shift the long term relationship between citizens and their public institutions. With these lessons in mind, many communities are starting to envision more comprehensive, long term, sustainable forms of public engagement. They are considering how they might create their own recipies for democracy using some key civic ingredients.

This webinar will focus on the recent National League of Cities-Deliberative Democracy Consortium publication, ‘Planning for Stronger Local Democracy‘. (You’ll be redirected to a link to the guide once you register for the webinar.) The guide is built around two lists: the questions to ask about your community in order to take stock of local democracy, and the building blocks you might consider as part of a comprehensive sustainable strategy for vitalizing civic engagement in your community.

Matt Leighninger is the author of the guide and serves as the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, an alliance of the major organizations and leading scholars working in the field of deliberative and public engagement.

Chris Gates is the Executive Director of PACE- Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and will serve as the webinar’s moderator. PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative for funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic renewal.

Title: PACE Webinar, featuring Matt Leighninger: ‘Planning for Stronger Local Democracy’
When: Tuesday, March 22, 2012
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar: Bringing Communities Together to Promote Grade-Level Reading

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/609329978

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort by dozens of funders and nonprofit partners across the nation to ensure that more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career, and active citizenship. The campaign focuses on the most important predictor of school success and high school graduation–grade-level reading by the end of third grade. The Campaign is partnering with the National Civic League to focus it’s prestigious All-America City Award this year on cities, counties and communities working to address these issues through broad-based local coalitions of community leaders.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate this webinar. Our two presenters will be Ralph Smith, the Senior Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Gloria Rubio-Cortes, the President of the National Civic League. Smith serves as the Managing Director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and has a long history of advocating for the needs and rights of children. Rubio-Cortes has held senior positions at the Community Technology Foundation of California, the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the National Council of La Raza.

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative for funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic renewal.

Title: PACE Webinar: Bringing Communities Together to Promote Grade-Level Reading
When: Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar: ‘Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/909418194

Paul Schmitz, the CEO of Public Allies, has just published ‘Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up’, a book that inspires readers to see new leadership possibilities within themselves and their communities. It also offers a set of practices that will help leaders be more effective at bringing diverse people and groups together to solve problems. Paul is a great friend and ally of PACE and we look forward to hosting this conversation with him.

As the CEO of Public Allies, Paul works to advance leadership to strenghten communities, non-profits and individuals. In addition to writing and speaking about the fields of social innovation and community building, he also serves on the White House Council on Community Solutions.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate this webinar.

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic practice.

Title: PACE Webinar: ‘Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up’
When: Monday, November 21, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar: How Can an Overreliance on Accountability Undermine the Public’s Confidence?

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/758849994

Please join Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) on November 10th at 2pm eastern for a webinar. Jean Johnson and Will Friedman of Public Agenda, along with John Dedrick of the Kettering Foundation, will share new research that sheds light on why, at a time when most leaders are working hard to show that their institutions are accountable to the public and investing considerable time and effort in this mission, so many Americans remain so disappointed with these institutions. The recent report, titled Don’t Count Us Out: How an Overreliance on Accountability Could Undermine the Public’s Confidence in Schools, Business, Government and More¸ examines this qualitative research and presents startling evidence that the public and leaders hold vastly different ideas about what it even means to be accountable.

Both perspectives have value and legitimacy, yet the differing definitions can lead to harmful crosstalk. What can leaders do to address this possibly corrosive accountability gap and avoid such crosstalk? How do recent events demonstrate where the accountability gap is emerging and elucidate the public’s accountability framework, especially their concerns about values and ethics? This webinar will examine these questions while explaining key findings from the report.

John R. Dedrick is Vice President and Program Director at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Inc. He has a long-standing research interest in the theory and practice of democracy.

Will Friedman is the president of Public Agenda and was the founding director, in 1997, of the organization’s public engagement department.

Jean Johnson is the executive vice president of Public Agenda and the author of Don’t Count Us Out.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the webinar.

Title: PACE Webinar: How Can an Overreliance on Accountability Undermine the Public’s Confidence?
When: Thursday, November 10, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar: Increasing College Access and Success Through Civic Engagement

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/809466530

Please join us for this PACE webinar where we’ll feature Campus Compact’s national effort to utilize civic engagement to promote access to and success in higher education.

In the first of its kind Presidential Leadership Summit convened by Campus Compact (CC) in October 2010, nearly 100 college and university presidents and state CC directors gathered to focus on a single, compelling thesis: that college students who participate in civic engagement and service learning as part of their curriculum earn higher grade point averages and have a better chance of staying in college and earning degrees. We’ll hear about what has happened since the Summit and what lessons have been learned that can inform the work of other higher education institutions. Once you register for the webinar, you’ll be redirected to a link to A Promising Connection, the white paper published by CC for the Summit.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the webinar. Our two speakers will be Dr. Maggie Stevens and Dr. Art Scott. Dr. Stevens is the Executive Director of Indiana Campus Compact and serves as the primary liason to the presidents and chancellors of member campuses. Dr. Scott has served as the President of Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania since 2003.

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement and service.

Title: PACE Webinar: Increasing College Access and Success Through Civic Engagement
When: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Intermountain West Funder Network Invites You to Participate in a Webinar:

RE-AMP: Exploring How an Innovative Funder/Nonprofit Network is Changing Collaboration

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/752174278

Dear Funders:

The Intermountain West Funder Network, a program of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is pleased to host a webinar that will explore how the RE-AMP Network, which comprises 140 nonprofits and funders across eight states in the U.S.’s upper Midwest, is working to achieve its one audacious goal: reducing regional global warming emissions 80 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2050.

A recent Monitor Institute report says that “.there is no doubt that RE-AMP is on the leading edge of experimenting with new ways of working.” Rick Reed and Jennie Curtis of the Garfield Foundation, who conceived RE-AMP in 2004, will discuss how RE-AMP is redefining the way organizations collaborate to accelerate change in one sector and offer insight to adapting RE-AMP’s unique characteristics to others.

When:
September 22, 2011
2:00 p.m. Eastern | 1:00 p.m. Central |Noon Mountain | 11:00 a.m. Pacific

Presenters:
Rick Reed, Senior Advisor, Garfield Foundation
Jennie Curtis, Executive Director, Garfield Foundation

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Space is limited.

If you have any questions, please contact Katherine Pease at katherine@katherinepease.com or (303) 679-2604.

PACE Webinar: Upgrading Voter Registration, A Project of the Pew Center on the States

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/173942050

Please join Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) on September 13th at 12pm eastern for a webinar featuring the Pew Center on the States’ Election Initiatives’ Upgrading Voter Registration project, an effort in partnership with states to upgrade their voter registration systems to improve accuracy of voter rolls, increase efficiency and save taxpayer dollars, while enhancing the integrity of the rolls.

As the gateway to voter participation, voter registration systems serve both as a point of entry for eligible voters and a safeguard from ineligible voters, protecting the integrity of elections. Despite its fundamental role, however, the current voter registration system is costly, inefficient and frequently inaccurate. Significant voter registration problems in recent elections reinforce its shortcomings.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the webinar with speaker David Becker.

David Becker is the project director for the Pew Center on the States’ Election Initiatives voter registration efforts. Prior to joining Pew, David served as a senior trial attorney in the Voting Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division for seven years, leading investigations into violations of federal voting laws.

PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic renewal and reform.

Title: PACE Webinar: Upgrading Voter Registration, A Project of the Pew Center on the States
Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

PACE Webinar: ‘Using Online Tools to Engage-and be Engaged by-the Public’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/549873707

Please join us for this PACE webinar featuring our friend and colleague Matt Leighninger of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium.

How can online tools help you engage citizens in public decision-making and problem-solving? What are the most common mistakes being made by public managers and other leaders as they try to work with the public online? In a given scenario, which tools and tactics seem most appropriate and effective? Using Online Tools to Engage – and be Engaged by – the Public, a new report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government, delves into these questions, describes a range of scenarios and tactics, and gives real-world examples of online engagement. It highlights over 40 different technologies in use today to support various kinds of public participation.

Matt Leighninger, who wrote the report, is Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, an alliance of the major organizations and leading scholars working in the field of deliberation and public engagement. The DDC represents more than 50 foundations, nonprofit organizations, and universities, collaborating to support research activities and advance democratic practice, in North America and around the world. Over the last seventeen years, Matt has worked with public engagement efforts in over 100 communities, in 40 states and four Canadian provinces. He is the author of The Next Form of Democracy: How Expert Rule is Giving Way to Shared Governance – and Why Politics Will Never Be the Same.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will moderate the discussion. PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and works as a learning collaborative of foundations doing work in the field of democratic theory and practice.

Title: PACE Webinar: ‘Using Online Tools to Engage-and be Engaged by-the Public’
Date: Monday, June 27, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Frontiers of Democracy: Innovations in Civic Practice, Theory, and Education

The Third Annual Conference in Civic Studies at Tufts

Co-sponsored by The Deliberative Democracy Consortium, The Democracy Imperative, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), and the Tisch College of Citizenship

Register Now

Please join us for this two-day gathering of educators and activists to explore the theory and practice of citizenship. (It will begin in the evening of July 21 and conclude in the afternoon of July 23). Through interactive sessions, we will focus on “citizenship” as creativity, agency, and collaboration – not as a form of membership that separates those who are in from those who are out.

Join us for a series of learning exchanges, presentations, and conversations on:

• Engaging—and being engaged by—the online public:  How are online technologies being incorporated into democratic governance and education?
• The “neutrality” challenge: Concerns over neutrality challenge educators and practitioners alike. In public life, the question is how to balance the commitment to a politically neutral process with the desire to achieve more equitable outcomes. In the classroom, the question is how to present all perspectives on an issue yet take a definitive stance in an effort to educate for democracy. What are the politics of neutrality, on campus and in public life?
• What role is there for innovative theory in civic practice? For example: how might Elinor Ostrom’s Nobel-prize-winning research on “common pool resources” help citizens, public officials, and other leaders share the work of sustaining deliberative democracy?

Scholars, students, activists,  educators and others interested in this topic are welcome to use this form to apply to attend. Registration costs $120, $30 for students. Free admission for participants in the Summer Institute of Civic Studies. Scholarships are available for select applicants who demonstrate financial need.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The Civic Studies, Civic Practices Conference concludes the third annual Summer Institute of Civic Studies at Tisch College. This intensive, two-week interdisciplinary seminar brings together advanced graduate students, faculty and practitioners from diverse fields of study for challenging discussions about the role of civics in society.

DRAFT SCHEDULE

For a draft conference schedule (subject to change), please see this page.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
For information about practical matters, please visit our FAQ page.

JUNE FIRST MONDAY CALL

Behind the Numbers: An Analysis of 2010 Census Data and What it Means for Your Foundation

Monday, June 6th, 2010, 3-4pm ET/ 12-1pm PT

REGISTER TODAY!

Please join PACE and FCCP on June 6th for an analysis of the major demographic trends emerging from the 2010 Census, including racial and ethnic composition, regional patterns, household/family structures and age distributions. Leading political demographers will discuss how these trends will affect public policy and civic engagement, especially as it relates to underserved communities, and what that may mean for how foundations invest in social change.

Moderator:

• Kelly Bates, Executive Director, Access Strategies Fund [bio]

Speakers:

• William H. Frey, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution [bio]
• Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant, Funders’ Census Initiative [bio]
• Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center [bio]

PACE Webinar: The Future of Social Networks: How will people connect for the greater good?

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/529930602

We hope you will join us for this PACE webinar which will feature a new Knight Foundation and Monitor Institute report that explores how an increasingly connected world–where social networks are proliferating on and off-line–will affect the way people push for social change.

Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks, draws from more than 70 rich examples of how networks are being used to build better and more engaged communities. Together these networks have pushed for open government, cared for the elderly, assisted disaster victims and more. You’ll hear from the report’s authors and a leader creating change in her community through networks.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will moderate the webinar.

Our speakers will be:

–Paula Ellis, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Knight and a PACE board member. A member of the Knight Foundation’s Executive Committee, she oversees national programs and new initiatives and is responsible for developing and gauging the impact of the foundation’s overall strategy.

–Diana Scearce, the report’s author, works out of Monitor Institute’s San Francisco office and has over a decade of consulting experience as a strategist across sectors. Her practice focuses on helping social change organizations, networks and multi-stakeholder groups increase their impact through collective action.

–Dana Jackson is the executive director of Making Connections Louisville. Making Connections is an initiative that has at its center improving outcomes for some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.

Once you register for the webinar you will be redirected to the Connected Citizens website where you can download a free copy of the report.

Title: PACE Webinar: The Future of Social Networks: How will people connect for the greater good?
Date: Monday, May 16, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Webinar: ‘How New Media Is Changing The Relationship Between Citizens and Congress’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/179141475

Join us for this PACE webinar on Monday, May 2nd, when we’ll provide an overview of a new survey of congressional staff gauging Capitol Hill opinions on the various influences on lawmakers’ decisions, the impact of the Internet on the Congress and public policy, and how Congress views and uses social media.

The presentation will offer some surprising findings on the power of informed citizen-advocates, how Congress views mass grassroots campaigns, and raise important questions for anyone interested in the public policy process. The program will be presented by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a nonpartisan non-profit organization which works to improve congressional operations through research, publications and training. This report is part of CMF’s new initiative to enhance understanding of and the realtionship between citizens and Congress, the Partnership for a More Perfect Union.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE – Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will moderate the webinar. Our two presenters will be Brad Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and the author of Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials, and Tim Hysom, Director of the Partnership for a More Perfect Union initiative at the CMF.

PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative for funders doing work in the fields of democratic practice and civic engagement. For more information about PACE, go to www.pacefunders.org

Title: PACE Webinar: ‘How New Media Is Changing The Relationship Between Citizens and Congress’
Date: Monday, May 2, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Webinar: Introducing LikeMinded, A Project of the Craigslist Foundation

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/329646211

Craigslist Foundation’s LikeMinded project began with a simple observation in late 2009: people are doing great work in their local communities, but stories about that work frequently stay local or go untold. The Craigslist Foundation, with a mission focused on building stronger neighborhoods and communities, spent 2010 developing the idea for a knowledge platform that would help stories travel from town to town and help the archives of institutionally-held community success stories travel beyond each institution’s silos.

LikeMinded has been quietly beta testing and is targeting a public announcement of the free service on April 12th. This webinar will give participants insight into both Craigslist Foundation’s community-driven program development approach and a walkthrough of LikeMinded’s key features.

Arthur Coddington, Director of Online Programs at the Craigslist Foundation, will present this webinar. Arthur leads the LikeMinded program and sees local engagement as a remedy for the frustrations that national politics can create and serches for ways that everyone can be involved, whatever their community role.

Chris Gates is the Executive Director of PACE and will moderate the webinar. PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and serves as a learning collaborative for funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement and democratic practice.

Title: PACE Webinar: Introducing LikeMinded, A Project of the Craigslist Foundation
Date: Monday, April 18, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Join us for this PACE Webinar: ‘The Color of Change: Inter-Ethnic Youth Leadership for the 21st Century’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/338769242

‘The Color of Change: Interethnic Youth Leadership for the 21st Century’ suggests that one approach to securing a better future involves seeing youth as the progenitors of change and not simply the recipients of services. This report argues for equipping young people with the tools to change – and hold accountable – the institutional structures that can facilitate or impede their success is critical. It also suggests that the rapidly changing demographic dynamics mean that young leaders will need special skills at working across the usual boundaries of race, geography and generation. ‘The Color of Change’ looks at youth organizing through a social movement lens and offers specific recommendations for the field, including taking risks on new leadership, healing generational divides in movement organizations, seeing community colleges as sites for strategic intervention, and moving towards an integrated service delivery and civic engagement model.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will moderate the webinar, which will feature comments from report authors Manuel Pastor and Rhonda Ortiz.

Pastor is the Director of the University of Southern California’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and a Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at the USC. Pastor’s research has focused on issues of environmental justice, regional inclusion, and the economic and social conditions facing low-income urban communities. Ortiz is the Project Manager for USC’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE). As Project Manager, Ortiz manages, researches and writes about immigrant integration and social movements.

Title: PACE Webinar: ‘The Color of Change: Inter-Ethnic Youth Leadership for the 21st Century’
Date: Thursday, March 31, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Webinar: ‘Trend or Tipping Point: Arts and Social Change Grantmaking

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/562486738

Across sectors, artists and arts organizations are increasingly being called upon to activate the social imagination, motivate civic participation, broaden who has voice, ground grassroots organizing, and lend inspirational images, messages, and meaning to catalyze and sustain the work of community development, civic engagement, and movement building. Join us to discuss findings of the recent report, Trend or Tipping Point: Arts & Social Change Grantmaking. Released by Americans for the Arts’ Animating Democracy program, the report assembles a first-time portrait of arts and social change funders, and others supporting civic engagement and social change through arts and cultural strategies.

Animating Democracy co-directors Barbara Schaffer Bacon and Pam Korza will offer an overview of the range of funders supporting this work, how grantmakers think about community, civic, and social change in the context of agency goals, and what outcomes they are looking for through their support. Whether exploring or affirming your place in supporting “arts for change,” this webinar can inform planning conversations, program design, and assessment interests. Learn, too, about related resources from Animating Democracy’s full Arts & Social Change Mapping Initiative.

Barbara Schaffer Bacon and Pam Korza co-direct Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that inspires, informs, promotes, and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to community, civic, and social change. John Esterle, the Executive Director of The Whitman Institute and a member of the PACE board, will introduce and facilitate the webinar.

The Trend or Tipping Point study is supported by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, CrossCurrents Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Lambent Foundation, and Surdna Foundation.

Title: Trend or Tipping Point: Arts and Social Change Grantmaking’
Date: Monday, March 21, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

This private donor briefing presents findings from a public opinion research poll commissioned by Free Speech For People and with support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation on the public’s views of the Citizens United ruling and a constitutional amendment to address it. Come hear about the growing opposition to this ruling within Washington State and across the country and tactics currently under consideration.

Speakers are Free Speech For People co-founders John Bonifaz (MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient) and Jeff Clements (former Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General).

Free Speech For People seeks to reclaim constitutional rights for people and return corporations to their place as economic rather than political entities. Free Speech For People launched its campaign moments after the US Supreme Court issued its Citizens United ruling on January 21, 2010, a decision that swept away a century of precedent and opened the floodgates to the spending of hundreds of millions of corporate dollars in this past election. Since its launching, Free Speech For People has helped define the fundamental question underlying that ruling: whether we are a democracy where people, not corporations, govern. More information at www.freespeechforpeople.org.

Space is limited. Philanthropic advisors and foundation staff with client representatives interested considering the proposed strategy are welcomed to attend.

Please RSVP to Mitchell Fox at mitchell@glaserprogress.org or 206-728-1050,
by Tuesday, March 8.

We hope you will join us.

Peter Hart from Hart Research & Associates will present findings from a public opinion
research poll commissioned by Free Speech For People, with the support of the Nathan
Cummings Foundation, on the public’s views of the Citizens United ruling and a
constitutional amendment to address it.

Peter Hart will be joined by Free Speech For People co-founders John Bonifaz and Jeff
Clements to make a presentation about this historic challenge to democracy and the
opportunity before us as a nation. Free Speech For People is a new national non-partisan
campaign pressing for a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution to overturn Citizens United v.
FEC and restore free speech and fair elections to the people.

About Free Speech For People
Free Speech For People (www.freespeechforpeople.org) seeks to reclaim constitutional rights for people and return corporations to their place as economic rather than political entities. Free Speech For People launched its campaign moments after the US Supreme Court issued its ruling on January 21, 2010, in Citizens United, a decision that swept away a century of precedent and opened the floodgates to the spending of hundreds of millions of corporate dollars in this past election. Since its launching, Free Speech For People has helped to define the fundamental question underlying that ruling: whether we are a democracy where people, not corporations, govern.

Please RSVP to Catalina Ruiz-Healy at catalina.ruizhealy@gmail.com by Friday, March 5. We
hope you will join us.

Upcoming Webinar: ‘Positioning for the Possible: Civic Engagement as an Education Reform Strategy in New Mexico’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/376128938

Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), the New Mexico Association of Grantmakers (NMAG) and the Intermountain West Funders Network (IMWFN) invite you to join us for a webinar to explore the findings of the recently released report ‘Positioning for the Possible: Investing in Education Reform in New Mexico’.

Based on her analysis of the dynamics in New Mexico, the author Chris Sturgis, a national advocate for community engagement, recommends that philanthropic investments be directed towards community engagement along with a statewide educational intermediary to support local efforts. Adrian Pedroza from the Partnership for Community Action will join the conversation to delve into the cultural dynamics in New Mexico that need to be taken into consideration in community engagement efforts. Ron White of NMAG will discuss the implications of this approach for New Mexico grantmakers.

• Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the webinar.
• Chris Sturgis is President of MetisNet, a consulting firm that specializes in supporting foundations in strategy development, coaching and rapid research. MetisNet specializes in high school reform, dropout recovery, youth issues, and community engagement.
• Adrián Pedroza is the Executive Director of the Partnership for Community Action (PCA), a community-based organization in Albuquerque, New Mexico that is committed to building strong healthy communities through relationship building, leadership development and civic engagement.
• Ron White is the Executive Director of New Mexico Association of Grantmakers. He has worked in philanthropy for over 30 years, including positions with the Tides Foundation; the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; and Share Our Strength.

Title: Upcoming Webinar: ‘Positioning for the Possible: Civic Engagement as an Education Reform Strategy in New Mexico’
Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Innovative Civic Engagement Tools and Practices in Land Use Decision-Making

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/869172518

New research that examines innovative civic engagement tools and practices in land use decision-making has recently been completed for the Intermountain West Funder Network, a new philanthropic learning collaborative. Using case studies, the research looks at alternative methods for engaging residents in decision-making processes that affect their communities and regions. Join us to learn how innovative civic engagement tools are impacting land use decisions and how funders can be essential to supporting and facilitating these discussions. Many of the case studies are based in the Intermountain West.

The Intermountain West Funder Network: Working at the Nexus of Civic Engagement and Growth and Development is a joint project of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and PACE – Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and is made possible through the leadership and support of the L.P. Brown Foundation, the Orton Family Foundation, and others.

Title: Innovative Civic Engagement Tools and Practices in Land Use Decision-Making
Date: Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

‘Civic Pathways Out of Poverty and Into Opportunity’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/514185370

PACE has recently published a new white paper, ‘Civic Pathways Out of Poverty and Into Opportunity’. This paper is the result of nearly two years of conversation, research, deliberation and writing. PACE and its members, lead by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the New World Foundation, were interested in exploring the idea that service and civic engagement can be more purposely focused on workforce development goals and post-secondary educational achievement for low-income youth and young adults. The project had a particular interest in reversing the conventional view of service as something ‘done to’ people in need.

Kara Carlisle, Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Cynthia Jones, COO of Marga Incorporated and the principal author of the report, will lead our webinar discussion.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will serve as the webinar moderator.

Title: ‘Civic Pathways Out of Poverty and Into Opportunity‘
Date: Thursday, December 2, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Presents, How can foundations become more effective at creating a better world?

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/401654618

How can foundations become more effective at creating a better world? How can we achieve more substantial and sustainable results? Mark Rosenman, the Director of Caring to Change, asked these questions of over 150 representatives of the philanthropic and non-profit sectors. Their answers are presented in the report, Foundations for the Common Good, which is the topic of this PACE webinar.

Mark Rosenman is the Director of Caring to Change, an effort to develop new foundation grantmaking strategies for the common good. His effort is being conducted in conjunction with the Aspen Institute’s Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation. He is a professor emeritus at the Union Institute and University where he was Vice President of Social Responsibility.

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is a learning collaborative of foundations doing work in the fields of democratic practice and civic engagement. Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will serve as the moderator for this webinar.

Title: PACE Presents, How can foundations become more effective at creating a better world?
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Presents, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics and Change

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/442519411

Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics and Change explores the parallels between the open-source ethic – marked by transparency and open participation and made famous by Linux and Wikipedia – and the preferred model of organizing and engagement among the rising under-30 generation, the Millennials. Sharing the stories of participatory organizations such as SeeClickFix and AmericaSpeaks, the book goes on to show how it is increasingly possible to solve complex problems by drawing on the contributions of vast and diverse communities of citizens. PACE member organization The Orton Family Foundation is also featured in what author Bill McKibben calls, “a behind-the-scenes tour of the next wave of activism, organizing, inspiration, and change.”

Jared Duval is a fellow at Demos and the author of Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change (November 2010, Bloomsbury). Prior to joining Demos Jared served as the National Director of the Sierra Student Coalition (SSC), the national student chapter of the Sierra Club and the largest student environmental organization in America. Jared currently serves on the national Board of Directors for the Sierra Club and is a Trustee of the Orton Family Foundation. A recipient of the David Brower Youth Award and the Morris K. Udall and Harry S. Truman scholarships, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Wheaton College in Massachusetts in 2005.

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is a learning collaborative of funders doing work in the fields of civic engagement and democratic practice. Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will serve as the moderator for this webinar.

Title: PACE Presents, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics and Change
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Presents,
Measurable Community Change: How do we know it when we see it?

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/178023290

In response to our recent webinar on measuring and evaluating civic capacity and community change, we are pleased to continue the conversation with this new webinar.

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Civic Engagement that contributes to measurable community change – how do we know it when we see it?

Everyday Democracy (www.everyday-democracy.org) has recently completed the grant-funded portion of its Communities Creating Racial Equity (CCRE) initiative, for which the Center for Assessment and Policy Development (CAPD) (www.capd.org) did the cross-site evaluation. In CCRE, eight community coalitions received coaching and grants from Everyday Democracy to implement dialogue, deliberation and action intended to contribute to closing racial disparities. CAPD worked with the coalitions to help them measure community-level results of that work. Carolyne Abdullah of Everyday Democracy and Sally Leiderman of CAPD will share some of the challenges and lessons from the cross-site evaluation and invite participants to offer additional examples and lessons.

They will highlight learnings on two related fronts – specific outcomes that measure the contribution of civic engagement to community change, and infusing a racial equity lens throughout the creation and application of civic engagement processes. The latter will include candid discussion of issues of power and privilege in: determining what kinds of outcomes should be measured; creating indicators; timing of data collection; and developing feasible and cost-effective ways to document the outcomes of civic engagement. They will also share data collection tools that focus on observable community changes that helped community coalitions measure results based on a “how would you know it when you see it” approach.

Carolyne Abdullah is a program director at Everyday Democracy and Sally Leiderman in President of the Center for Assessment and Policy Development.

Title: PACE Presents, Measurable Community Change: How do we know it when we see it?
Date: Monday, October 4, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Civic Innovators Forum

It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the Civic Innovators Forum, an invitation-only pre-conference event to the 65th Annual National Conference on Citizenship. Registration is available at www.ncoc.net/InnovatorsForum.

The Forum will be held on September 16 at the Newseum in Washington, DC. The day will begin with the Case Foundation hosting a discussion on the role of citizen-centered participation in cultivating civic engagement in communities and developing solutions to society’s pressing problems. Over lunch, we’ll discuss the role of the corporate sector in addressing community problems and the evolution of corporate citizenship. Then, PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement will host members of the last four Presidential administrations to discuss how they have worked with the field of philanthropy on a civic engagement agenda and what this evolving relationship can and should look like.

We’ll end the day with a fun reception hosted by SplashLife in which we will discuss how to support and empower the pro-social Millennial generation and its over-abundance of extraordinary but largely untapped talent to help rebuild the American dream.

The Forum will lay the foundation for the 65th Annual National Conference on Citizenship, being held the next day, September 17, at the Library of Congress. Our theme, “BIG Citizenship: Citizens as Catalysts and Innovators” will showcase ways individuals everywhere are self-organizing to meet community needs while demanding transparency and accountability from government and greater social responsibility from corporations.

As you know, the conference is an annual event that focuses on the state of civic engagement in America, and brings together 450 civic leaders, educators, CEOs, and representatives from each of the three branches of government to address issues related to our nation’s civic health. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participate in a keynote conversation, and we will present the “Citizen of the Year” award to TIME Magazine Managing Editor Rick Stengel. We will also discuss our nation’s Civic Health Assessment, produced for the first time in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service.

We would be honored to have you participate in both the Civic Innovators Forum and the 65th Annual National Conference on Citizenship. Registration is complimentary and available at www.ncoc.net/InnovatorsForum. Thank you for your consideration. We hope you will be able to join us for this exciting event.

Sincerely,

Christopher T. Gates
Executive Director
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement

David B. Smith
Executive Director
National Conference on Citizenship

Jean Case
CEO
The Case Foundation

Melissa Helmbrecht
CEO
SplashLife

PACE Webinar, ‘An Emerging Relationship: The Executive Branch, Philanthropy and Civic Engagement’

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/569143058

In May of this year PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement released ‘An Evolving Relationship’, a white paper based on a briefing memo prepared for a White House meeting held earlier this year between leaders of the philanthropic community and a variety of Obama Administration officials representing both the White House and the Corporation for National and Community Service. The paper argues that a number of key trends in Administration approaches to civic engagement are now intersecting and suggests a great deal of possibility for moving forward in the near future.

Promoting civic engagement is a clear priority for both the Obama Administration and key leaders in the philanthropic community. More and more foundations are making increased commitments to the fields of deliberative dialogue, civic engagement and democratic practice. The white paper explores both the recent history of the relationship between the Executive Branch and philanthropy and prospects for future collaboration.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, will moderate the webinar.

Brad Rourke, the author of the white paper, be be the presenter.

Brad Rourke is the president of The Mannakee Circle Group, a firm that helps organizations engage better with their publics. He is an associate of the Kettering Foundation and has over a decade of experience working with key organizations in the civic participation field. He blogs regularly about new media, participation and ethics, and is the founder of ‘Rockville Central’, a hyperlocal community-based news sources that has grown to become the second most-read blog in Maryland.

Title: PACE Webinar, ‘An Emerging Relationship: The Executive Branch, Philanthropy and Civic Engagement’
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Presents, ‘Civil Society, Philanthropy, and the Fate of the Commons’, a new book by Bruce Sievers

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/221545947

In ‘Civil Society, Philanthropy and the Fate of the Commons’ Bruce Sievers raises important issues about civil society and the relationship between the public and private, and offers us a valuable long-term perspective. Sievers explores how historical trends in the formation of civil society and philanthropy aid or impede our achievement of public goods in the modern era.

Sievers asks: How do we balance the public and private sides of modern life in a manner that allows realization of the ideal of individual freedom and, at the same time, makes possible the effective attainment of collective aims.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will be the moderator of the webinar.

John Dedrick, Vice President of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and a PACE board member, will introduce Sievers and the topic.

Then Bruce Sievers, the author of the book and visiting scholar and lecturer at Stanford University and adjunct professor at the Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management at the University of San Francisco, will present the key findings from his new book. Sievers spent over a decade as the executive director of the California Council for the Humanities and almost two decades as the CEO of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

Title: PACE Presents, ‘Civil Society, Philanthropy, and the Fate of the Commons’, a new book by Bruce Sievers
Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE Presents, The Emerging Framework for Civic Engagement Evaluation

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/446437866

Join Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) for a conversation about how to improve the evaluation of civic engagement efforts. In response to the call for better tools for assessing progress and framing the impact of civic engagement, the Building Movement Project (BMP) has partnered with groups like the Innovation Network to collect these new tools and uncover a useful framework for how groups can think differently about how to approach civic engagement evaluation.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will moderate this webinar.

Our two speakers will be Trish Tchume, Director of Civic Engagement at The Building Movement Project, and Ehren Reed, Senior Associate at the Innovation Network.

Trish Tchume supports BMP’s ongoing work of integrating social change values and practices into nonprofit service organizations. Prior to joining BMP she served as a Campus Organizer and then as a Community Outreach Manager for Action Without Borders/Idealist.org.

At the Innovation Network Ehren Reed leads planning and evaluation initiatives with nonprofits and foundations. His recent clients include The Atlantic Philanthropies, The California Endowment, and the National Council of La Raza.

Once registered for the webinar you will be redirected to a website where you can download a copy of ‘Evidence of Change: Exploring Civic Engagement Evaluation’.

Title: PACE Presents, The Emerging Framework for Civic Engagement Evaluation
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Deliberative Democracy: A New Approach to Community Dialogue

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/356080602

Join the Intermountain West Funder Network (IMWFN) for an informative webinar on the emerging field of deliberative democracy. IMWFN fosters information sharing, learning and action among foundations in the region who share an interest in the nexus between civic engagement and growth and development issues.

The webinar is co-hosted by PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN). The session will be facilitated by Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, and will feature a presentation by Matt Leighninger, the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC).

As the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE commissioned Leighninger to write a guide to the relatively new, and sometimes confusing, field of deliberative democracy. Entitled ‘Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What philanthropy should know about the emerging field of deliberation and democratic governance’, this guide tells the stories of how communities have used these new tools to break policy deadlocks, reduce tentions and galvanize volunteerism, and will help funders better understand the possibilities, and limitations, of various new models for engaging the public.

Once you register for the webinar you will be redirected to the PACE website where you can download a free pdf version of the guide.

Title: Deliberative Democracy: A New Approach to Community Dialogue
Date: Friday, June 11, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

PACE presents, Creating Spaces For Change: Working towards a ‘story of now’ in civic engagement

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/665555699

Over the last two decades, ordinary people have been playing increasingly prominent roles in politics and public life, thanks in part to the work of an unheralded set of leaders. These practitioners of ‘active civic engagement’ are a diverse lot, and their work is inspired by several different philosophies.

‘Creating Spaces for Change’, a new report by the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is an attempt to describe these different philosophies and their areas of convergence. In particular, this report raises up the area of shared interest that both community organizers and deliberative democrats want to prioritize: going beyond mobilization techniques to more structural changes in ways that communities make decisions and solve problems.

Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, will moderate the webinar discussion.

Kara Carlisle, Program Officer of the Civic Engagement team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will open the webinar and discuss how the paper grew out of the Kellogg Foundation’s Civic Engagement Learning Year. Kara’s work at Kellogg focuses on citizen participation and engagement, public philanthropy, and new models for movement building as she develops innovative partnerships and promotes civic and philanthropic engagement in a wide range of sectors and professional spheres.

Matt Leighninger, the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC) and the author of the paper, will then take us through his research and it’s conclusions. The DDC is an alliance of major organizations and leading scholars working in the field of deliberation and public engagement. Over the last sixteen years, Matt has worked in public engagement efforts in over 100 communities, in 40 states and four Canadian provinces.

Once you complete your registration, you will automatically be redirected to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation website where you be able to download a free copy of the paper.

Title: PACE presents, Creating Spaces For Change: Working towards a ‘story of now’ in civic engagement
Date: Monday, May 24, 2010
Time: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) Present a Special-Issue Briefing

Expanding Our Vision of Civic Engagement:
Advancing Practices for Community Change

April 6, 2010
9:00 am – 12 noon

San Francisco State Downtown Center
835 Market Street, Room 609
San Francisco, CA

google map

register now!

Civic engagement is a contested term that is used to describe a range of activities including voting, participation in public meetings, advocacy work, or the level of attachment and volunteerism residents bring to their communities. Two main strands of active civic engagement are community organizing and deliberative democracy. Practitioners of both of these approaches mobilize ordinary people to influence public decision-making and sometimes participate in public problem solving-yet how they frame their work can differ markedly.

Community organizers describe their work mainly in terms of “social justice” and “equity” while deliberative democrats emphasize “public participation” and “democratic renewal.” Though other tensions exist as well, there are also emerging opportunities for these sets of practitioners to inform and support each other’s work in a time of expanding interest in new models of active civic engagement.

This program will address these themes and the role of engaged funders via a highly participatory World Café format.

Come join us to explore the following questions:

1. What are you funding in relation to civic engagement, broadly defined? What are you learning about “what works”-the tools, perspectives, and approaches that are most effective?
2. In terms of civic engagement, what questions or possibilities are you most interested in exploring now in your work?
3. How might we as funders better support one another in promoting civic engagement as a way to build community and advance social change?

As a jumping off point, program participants will review highlights of a recent paper by Matt Leighninger, “Creating Spaces for Change: Working Towards a ‘Story of Now’ in Civic Engagement” (PDF). The paper was commissioned by W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of its Civic Engagement Learning Year, in partnership with PolicyLink and delves into the challenges and opportunities in trying to bring together and cross-fertilize “community organizing” and “deliberative democracy” approaches to civic engagement.

Target Audience:
This program is free and open to NCG. Grantmakers who don’t necessarily see themselves as “democracy” funders are encouraged to see relevance to their work-regardless of program area.

Presenters:
Kara Carlisle is a Program Officer of the Civic Engagement team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She focuses on citizen participation and engagement, public philanthropy and new models for movement building as she develops innovative partnerships, and promotes civic and philanthropic engagement in a wide range of sectors and professional spheres.

Chris Gates is the first Executive Director of PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement. In this role, Gates speaks extensively around the country and around the world on the broad topics of civic engagement, including civic education, leadership training, community problem solving, political reform and democratic renewal.

Tom Hurley is currently guiding the global evolution of the World Café and serves as a senior advisor and executive coach for leaders seeking innovative approaches to key strategic issues and large-scale systems change. He is a board member of the World Café Community Foundation and the Berkana Institute.

Matt Leighninger is the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC), an alliance of the major organizations and leading scholars working in the field of deliberation and public engagement. The DDC represents more than 50 foundations, nonprofit organizations and universities, collaborating to support research activities and advance democratic practice, in North America and around the world.

Sponsors:
Walter and Elise Haas Fund
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Whitman Institute

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Other Upcoming NCG Programs:

• March 11, 2010: Teacher Effectiveness: How is it Measured and Rewarded?
• March 17, 2010: School-Based Initiatives in Guiding Youth: Restorative Justice and Its Stakeholders
• March 30, 2010: NCG Annual Meeting: Philanthropy Transformed
• April 22 – 23, 2010: New Grantmakers Institute

For a complete listing of NCG programs please visit the NCG Calendar of Events:

www.ncg.org/events

PACE Co-Sponsors Katrina @ 5 Conference, March 22-24, New Orleans

As communities rebuild after disaster, they often find their work to be less about recapturing the status quo and more about building a stronger community than before.

As you work to tackle tough issues and transform communities, keep in mind the lessons to be learned about response, rebuilding, and community transformation nearly 5 years following the Gulf Coast disasters.

Gather in the region with hundreds of fellow funders to explore what has worked, what hasn’t, and the lessons for donors like you working to respond, rebuild, and transform their communities.

Katrina @ 5: Partners in Philanthropy is a collaborative effort of more than 30 partner organizations representing national, regional and local funders, and funder networks, including PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement.

Join us March 22-24 in New Orleans for Katrina @ 5. Learn, share, and affirm your support for the Gulf Coast-and for sustainable, resilient communities everywhere. Learn more at www.KatrinaAtFive.org.

We’ve seen how films like An Inconvenient Truth can dramatically shape public opinion and advance urgent policy issues. Critical Condition is essential viewing as the debate over comprehensive health reform remains center stage.

Meet Dr. Patrick Dowling, the Chairman of the UCLA Department of Family Medicine who appears in the film and filmmaker Roger Weisberg to learn how the documentary was supported in its development by the foundation community and how it has been successfully used as an education and advocacy tool.

First aired on PBS in September 2008, this powerful and timely documentary puts a human face on America’s health care crisis by capturing the harrowing struggles of four critically ill Americans who discover that being uninsured can cost them their jobs, health, home, savings, even their lives.

Through the film’s intimate storytelling style, Critical Condition lays out the consequences of an increasingly expensive and inaccessible system and humanizes the complex policy failures at the heart of our health care crisis.

Our special guests will update us on the status of the subjects of the film; they will outline the effectiveness of their campaign to educate the public and elected officials and move people to action; you’ll hear from them about the unprecidented response from viewers who continue to post comments to the film’s Web site; and they will provide you with insight on how your foundation can get involved and partner with other foundations to support essential media campaigns like this one.

Funding for Critical Condition was provided by Annie E. Casey Foundation, Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York Community Trust, Park Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, Silverweed Foundation, Spunk Fund, Inc, and The Trull Foundation.

This screening is co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families and PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement.

Visit www.gfem.org and the Council on Foundations website at www.cof.org for updates and registration information or contact Evelyn Gibson, gibse@cof.org, (703) 879-0691.

View the PDF Flyer

Announcing a Webinar on Building Civic Pathways for Non-College Bound Youth

Sponsored by:
– National Assembly/National Collaboration for Youth
– PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement

Date: Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Time: 3-4 PM EST

About half of young Americans have never attended college, and only 35% of youth graduate from college. They are less than half as likely to vote and to volunteer as their college-educated peers. These youth have few opportunities to develop civic skills and interests. Drawing on a white paper published by PACE-Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement in October, 2009–An Inequitable Invitation to Citizenship: Non-College-Bound Youth and Civic Engagement–Jim Youniss, Professor of Psychology at Catholic University of America, and Peter Levine, Director of CIRCLE, The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement and Research, and research director of Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, will provide the latest research on non-college bound youth and civic engagement.

The speakers will suggest ways that civic and human services sector organizations can be part of the solution to greater inclusion of non-college bound youth, while at the same time enriching their own missions, creating future volunteers, social justice advocates, and engaged citizens.

RSVP at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/613511355

Building Civic Paths for Non-College-Bound Youth

Recent studies from PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) and CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) have highlighted staggering contrasts in civic opportunities and engagement for youth on a path towards college and those who are not. Young people without college experience have an unemployment rate double their college-bound counterparts and vote, volunteer, and otherwise participate at much lower rates. Our nation is at great risk of disenfranchising and isolating a large segment of our population (traditionally the backbone of our society) if we do not act soon.

Please join the Case Foundation, PACE and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for an enlightening and interactive discussion with the authors of recent groundbreaking studies on this critical topic.

When: Thursday, December 10, 2009 – Noon to 3:00 p.m. (Lunch will be served)

Where: The Case Foundation
1717 Rhode Island Avenue, Seventh Floor
Washington, DC 20036

RSVP: RSVP@casefoundation.org by December 4. Space is limited, so please reply quickly. When replying please include the full name, title and organization of all those planning to attend.

The discussion will feature:

Organizers of focus groups of non-college youth: Peter Levine, Director, CIRCLE and Abby Kiesa, Youth Coordinator & Researcher, CIRCLE; and authors of “An Inequitable Invitation to Citizenship: Non-College-Bound Youth and Civic Engagement” (PDF): Jonathan Zaff, Vice President of Research, America’s Promise Alliance and senior fellow, Tisch College; James Youniss, the James and Wylma R. Curtin Professor of Psychology, Catholic University of America; and Cynthia Gibson, principal of Cynthesis Consulting and former program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Please remember to RSVP by December 4: RSVP@casefoundation.org

PACE Webinar: Investing in Democracy, Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/264880810

Carmen Sirianni will be the presenter for this interactive one hour PACE webinar. Sirianni, a professor of sociology and public policy at Brandeis University, is the author of a new book, “Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance”. In this book, Sirianni explains how government can create an environment and ethos in which citizens work together to solve the unprecedented challenges we face. Harry Boyte, Director of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota says, “This is a pioneering work that breaks new ground in patterns of governance, civic engagement, and the meaning of democracy for the 21st century.” Join us for this presentation and conversation!

PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is a learning collaborative of foundations doing work in the field of civic engagement and democratic practice. For more information, go to www.pacefunders.org

Title: PACE Webinar: Investing in Democracy, Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Local governments today are mobilizing citizens in innovative ways to set priorities, make decisions, resolve conflicts and solve critical community problems.

While many of these instances are driven by fiscal realities, these innovations are opening the door to new ways of thinking about how local governments fulfill short- and long-term community goals.

Based on research sponsored by PACE, this PublicForum webinar will focus on the four key innovations that are changing how communities plan and make decisions today:

• Experiments that equalize engagement across the citizenry as part of ensuring diverse voices are heard, rather than providing a platform for “professional citizens” alone
• New programs that resolve long-standing problems and address pressing neighborhood needs, by leveraging community assets and knowledge
• Temporary planning and decision-making forums that go beyond community meetings and public hearings, as part of building support for difficult decisions
• Government-citizen efforts that harness technology for gathering real-time data, for program decision making and day-to-day program management

In this 90-minute webinar, NCL’s Mike McGrath will briefly present findings from the recent PACE report and then lead a discussion with panelists Amalia Alarcón de Morris, Derek Okubo and Ed Everett about current innovations in engagement practice at the local government level. You’ll hear key ‘lessons learned’ and gain tips for implementing similar initiatives in your own community. Bring your questions and join us for this insightful discussion!

Guest Panelists

• • Amalia Alarcón de Morris, Director of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, City of Portland, Oregon.
    Amalia has 25 years of experience in cross-cultural community building with an emphasis on intercultural communication, organizational development and strategic planning. She has extensive experience working with Latino, African American, American Indian, and Asian and Pacific Islander as well as gay, lesbian, bi and transgender and disability leadership in both mono- and multi-cultural settings. Her programs include initiatives intended to promote shared governance while integrating the City’s civic engagement system. Her programs have been receiving national attention recently, being featured in the New York Times and on National Public Radio. Amalia’s work continually teaches her that integration, whether at the national, local or corporate level is a two-way street and can only succeed where there is willingness to power-share, as well as true leadership development and mentoring involving both those who are new to a system and those who manage it.
  • Derek Okubo, Vice President of the National Civic League.
    Derek has delivered extensive technical assistance for local and state governments, school districts and communities in areas that include long-range planning, economic development, conflict resolution, apprenticeships, diversity, program development, collaborative problem-solving, consensus building, substance abuse prevention and health care. Derek has been a part of nearly 40 community planning processes around the country. Derek was the primary author of the documents Governance and Diversity: Findings from Los Angeles and Governance and Diversity: Findings from Oakland and The Community Visioning and Strategic Planning Handbook. He managed the process to develop the revised version of the Civic Index – a self assessment tool for communities to measure their civic infrastructure. He is also actively involved in the eighth revision of the Model City Charter.

• Ed Everett, former City Manager, Redwood City, California.
  Ed also has served as city manager of Belmont, assistant county manager for Washoe County, Nevada, and program analyst/fire chief for the City of Palo Alto. He has a degree in economics from U.C. Davis and a graduate degree in urban affairs from Princeton University. He also served several years as a VISTA volunteer. Before retiring as city manager in 2007, he oversaw what some have called the “renaissance of Redwood City,” focusing on community building and citizen engagement.

Moderated by Mike McGrath, Senior Editor at the National Civic League.

Read more in the New Laboratories for Democracy report.

About PACE/Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
PACE is a learning community of grantmakers and donors committed to strengthening democracy by using the power, influence and resources of philanthropy to open pathways to democratic participation. PACE’s mission is to work within the field of philanthropy to inspire interest, understanding and investment in civic engagement, broadly defined. It was created to take a broad approach to educating grantmakers about effective civic engagement strategies that strengthen communities and improve our democratic practice.

About the National Civic League
The National Civic League (NCL) is America’s original advocate for community democracy. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization dedicated to strengthening citizen democracy by transforming democratic institutions. NCL fosters innovative community building and political reform, assists local governments, and recognizes collaborative community achievement. NCL accomplishes its mission through technical assistance, training, publishing, research, and the All-America City Awards, America’s original and most prestigious community recognition program.

About PublicDecisions
PublicDecisions is the premiere provider of online, “live” training, professional development events and conferences on stakeholder engagement. Our international registrants include professionals in the planning, transportation and environmental sectors; community health workers and other health professionals; school administrators, librarians and nonprofit/NGO leaders. PublicDecisions programs – such as our PublicForum book talks and webinars – feature state-of-the-art best practices and leading-edge ideas for successfully engaging stakeholders today.

“Web2.0” technology and new organizing models have created a new standard for reaching citizens. In this interactive session we will hear about emerging practices to help the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors evaluate these new models, understand their benefits and drawbacks, and explore how best to capture and catalyze civic excitement.

Expert panelists will include:

Diana Aviv, Independent Sector
Scott Heiferman, Meetup.org
Ellen Miller, Sunlight Foundation
Anne Mosle, Kellogg Foundation
Micah Sifry, Personal Democracy Forum
Tim Ziegler, Pickens Plan

2:00PM – 5:00 PM on September 9th
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Following the Annual National Conference on Citizenship
(To register for the Annual Conference, visit www.ncoc.net/conference)

This Invitation-Only Event is Hosted by:
The National Conference on Citizenship,
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement,
and The Case Foundation

Please RSVP to David B. Smith, dsmith@ncoc.net

‘The New Laboratories of Democracy: How Local Government is Reinventing Civic Engagement’

Join us for a Webinar on July 13

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/688310939

Local governments are at the front lines of the interaction between citizens and their leaders. All over America local government leaders are reinventing the relationships with their communities, and reinvigorating their civic practice. This is the world beyond public hearings and public comment, a place where new approaches and new tools are being used to bring citizens to the table of community problem solving and priority setting. PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, has just published a report that describes these new approaches, and puts them in the context of the history and practice of local government. Join Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE and the former President of the National Civic League, and Mike McGrath, the author of the the new paper, for this timely webinar.

Title: ‘The New Laboratories of Democracy: How Local Government is Reinventing Civic Engagement’
Date: Monday, July 13, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

On Tuesday, June 23rd there will be a strategic conversation on Innovations, Opportunities, and Challenges for Service and Civic Engagement to be held during the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco. The session is being co-convened by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Case Foundation, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement), Corporation for National and Community Service, and Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network to get input on how the service community can work with philanthropy to serve vulnerable youth, families, and communities. A series of events, including the passage of the Kennedy Serve America Act, the establishment of the White House Office of Social Innovation and its new $50 million social innovation fund, and ground-breaking online civic participation campaigns, is bringing increased national attention to the service and civic engagement movements. This offers us a new opportunity to open the dialogue between philanthropy and service about how we can work together to make a positive difference in the lives of those most affected. What would our nation look like if we directed the 250,000 AmeriCorps members, the more than 500,000 national service alums, and the millions of individual volunteers and self-organized groups to support and improve the lives of our nation’s most vulnerable kids and families and against our most critical community problems? What if diverse groups came together to engage in dialogues on healthcare or school reform to create community-generated solutions and strategies? For years now, service sector organizations, funders and volunteers have been calling for more intentional connections to civic engagement methods to affect deeper, long-lasting social change. There has been a need and desire to increase the racial equity lens through which service and civic engagement is structured and organized so that traditionally marginalized people are engaged in the solutions. Finally, rapid breakthroughs in technology and social media such as Change.org’s Ideas for Change in America, the Case Foundation’s Make it Your Own Awards and the Knight News Challenge have changed and continue to change the nature of involvement by allowing for new methods of participation and community organizing. Clearly, the time is right to begin a strategic conversation with a diverse group of funders and national and state leaders to develop a deeper understanding of the current innovations, challenges, and opportunities that lay before the service movement as it relates to increased civic engagement that drives impact. Sincerely, Anne B. Mosle Vice President – Programs

PACE Webinar – Register Now!

“Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic Governance”

Wednesday, May 27th, 12:00pm-1:00pm (eastern)

As the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a guide that provides a detailed description of how local civic engagement has grown and developed over the past decade.

“Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic Governance” is a free, downloadable publication designed to inform the field of philanthropy. You can download the paper here.

The strategies described in the guide-and the stories of how communities have used them to break policy deadlock, reduce tension and galvanize volunteerism-can help funders, public officials and community activists better understand the possibilities, and limitations, of various approaches to working with the public.

Join us for a webinar with the author of the paper, Matt Leighninger, the director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, to discuss the paper and his findings.

To register for the webinar, go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/593212427

“As more and more foundations are making civic engagement a part of their funding priorities, they are also being presented with a whole new set of approaches and tools for engaging citizens at the local level,” says Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, ‘This guide is an attempt to demystify the emerging field of deliberative democracy and help funders make more informed decisions about their support of this growing field.”

The guide provides a list of some of the main organizations working in this field, describes some of the most influential models and processes, and provides examples of particularly significant democratic governance efforts. It also outlines some of the cutting-edge questions facing the field and provides a long list of resources to consult.

PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations, founded in 2005 to bring new philanthropic focus to the issues of civic engagement and democratic renewal.

PACE Webinar – Save the Date!

Civic Engagement and the Arts:
Recommendations from the 2008 National Arts Policy Roundtable

Friday, May 8, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern)

PACE invites members and network affiliates to Civic Engagement and the Arts, a webinar offered in cooperation with Americans for the Arts on Friday, May 8, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). The webinar shares highlights and recommendations from the 2008 National Arts Policy Roundtable, an annual forum of Americans for the Arts and the Sundance Preserve. Chris Gates, PACE’s Executive Director, and John Esterle, PACE Board Chair, participated on behalf of PACE along with thought leaders in philanthropy, government, education, business, media, and the arts.

The arts are increasingly recognized and being called upon for their unique capacities to foster diverse participation and bring forth new ways to view an increasingly complex world. With intention, cultural organizations and artists are extending creativity into new civic settings-neighborhood associations, human service and community development agencies, planning-as well as pursuing civic and social change through their own cultural offerings and spaces. The Roundtable examined important and timely opportunities for the arts to promote civic engagement toward building healthy communities and a healthy democracy.

Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, will frame the intent of the Policy Roundtable and also provide a brief update on the arts in the current administration. Susan Patterson, program officer with the Knight Foundation, will share her experience with Crossroads Charlotte, a unique, ongoing city-wide arts-based civic engagement effort which was a center point of discussion at the Roundtable. Marian Godfrey Roundtable Chairperson and Senior Director of Culture Initiatives of the Pew Charitable Trusts, will highlight recommendations in areas of cross-sector alliances, policies and investment, research and evaluation, and messaging and casemaking to ensure a vital civic role for the arts.

To register for the webinar go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/734769051

Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With more than 40 years of service, it is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Animating Democracy, a program of the Arts fosters civic engagement through arts and culture. www.AmericansForTheArts.org

PACE is proud to be co-sponsoring several screenings and discussions at the upcoming Council on Foundations annual conference in Atlanta.

SATURDAY, MAY 2

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Saturday Night @ the Movies
BANISHED, a film by Marco Williams
2009 Henry Hampton Award winner

Dinner, screening and discussion.  Tickets on sale at the door.
Tickets: $30 general; $21 GFEM Members.

The Hollywood Reporter calls Banished an “enlightening” documentary that “adds another compelling and necessary chapter to the literature of racism in this country.” From 1864 well into the 1920s, in dozens of towns and counties, white Americans drove out entire African American communities. Many of these towns remain all white to this day.  The documentary investigates the ongoing impact of the expulsions on families and communities, Black and White, including a town in Georgia just north of where the Council on Foundations conference is taking place.  The film asks us to consider our responsibility for past wrongs and our role in righting them.  After the screening, meet the filmmaker Marco Williams for a discussion about the film and the issues it highlights.

Co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, ABFE, Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement.

SUNDAY, MAY 3

9:00 am -11:00 am Sunday Morning @ the Movies
BODY & SOUL: DIANA & KATHY
by Alice Elliott and Simone Pero Audi
2009 Henry Hampton Award winner
Hot breakfast, screening and discussion.

Tickets on sale at the Council on Foundation’s Resource Central, located in the exhibit hall on the Marquis level. Tickets: $25 general; $17.50 GFEM Members.

BODY & SOUL: DIANA & KATHY offers an intimate portrait that is alternately heartbreaking and inspiring.  This triumphant film captures the poignant story of two visionary women and their fight for a dignified and independent life.  Kathy, 65 years old, has cerebral palsy and speaks through an electronically generated voice, and her friend and caregiver, Diana, 57 years old, has Down Syndrome and works to heal from her abusive childhood. Refusing to live in the institutions that would claim to serve them, Diana and Kathy fight tenaciously not only for their own independence but for the rights of all people with disabilities.  After the screening, join filmmaker Alice Elliott, and Diana & Kathy for an in depth discussion on disability rights, the importance of independent living, the need for effective advocacy from all sectors, and how media can be a potent organizing tool.

Co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, Disability Funders Network, Grantmakers in Aging, Grantmakers in Health, Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement.

TUESDAY, MAY 5

10:00 – 11:30 am Meet the Filmmaker  – UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
2009 Henry Hampton Award winner
by California Newsreel & Vital Pictures

“Riveting” says USA Today, and the New York Daily News calls it “instructive, informative . and occasionally infuriating.”  This PBS-broadcast film investigates startling new findings that suggest there is much more to our health than bad habits, healthcare or unlucky genes – the social conditions in which we are born, live and work actually get under our skin and affect our risk for disease as surely as germs and viruses. After the screening, meet Larry Adelman of California Newsreel for an in depth discussion about the film and how it is being used to help reframe the national debate over health and what we can do to tackle our health inequities.

Co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, ABFE, Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, Grantmakers in Health, Neighborhood Funders Group, and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement.

TUESDAY, MAY 5

1:40pm – 3:35pm

Meet the Filmmaker – TROUBLE THE WATER
2009 Academy Award nominated film and a Henry Hampton Award winner
by Tia Lessin & Carl Deal.

This film features a young African American couple who record the flooding of New Orleans in a chilling video diary which threads through the film.  It’s a story about a young couple living on the margins who are surviving not only deadly floodwaters, armed soldiers, and bungling bureaucrats, but also a social system that has failed them.  After the screening, meet filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal for an in depth discussion about the film, its partnership strategies, and effective audience engagement program.

Co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media, ABFE, Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement.

New Webinar: How Local Governments Are Reinventing Civic Engagement

Join us for a Webinar on April 29 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/490961398 PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is a learning community of funders and foundations who are involved in the fields of civic engagement and democratic renewal. One of its current projects is a research effort to identify how local governments around the country are reinventing the processes of civic engagement. PACE Executive Director Chris Gates, and researcher/writer Mike McGrath, will present preliminary findings from this research effort and answer questions about how local governments are creatively engaging with their residents. Title:   New Webinar: How Local Governments Are Reinventing Civic Engagement Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MDT (9am Pacific, 11am Central, 12pm Eastern) System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer

November 6, 2007: 9:30am – 2:00pm

NCG & Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE)
present an All Member Gathering

Giving in the Connected Age

What is the essence of the connected age? Why is it different? And what do we need to change about our work as grantmakers to be successful?

Do you ask yourself any of the following questions:

• How can I integrate technology into my work?
• What do I need to pay attention to?
• How do I get started?

This program will provide an opportunity to learn about new technology and methods of connecting, and will highlight how members of our community use these methods to enhance and support their work.

Come join us for a half-day follow-up to the January All Member Gathering to learn how the Philanthropic sector can be engaged with and informed by technology. The program will begin with a keynote from Allison Fine, the author of the highly acclaimed book, Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age. The keynote will be followed by engaged discussion moderated by Chris Gates, Executive Director of PACE around specific examples from foundations that have used technology to inform their strategic planning and grantmaking, and will conclude with a networking lunch.

Location TBA (on the Peninsula)

For more information please contact:
Lauren Friedman
Program Associate, Northern California Grantmakers
415-777-4111 x16
lfriedman@ncg.org
www.ncg.org

NOTE: This program is designed for a funders only audience and is participation is complimentary to NCG and PACE members. If you are a non-member and interested in attending, please contact Erik Tvede of NCG’s member services department at 415.777.4111 x 28.

Online Registration Link: http://www.ncg.org/events/reg_meal_free.html

In collaboration with PACE, FCCP and other civic participation funders, Proteus Fund has conducted a research project exploring whether an integrated, comprehensive approach to democracy issues could be more effective than single-issue or sectoral approaches. The Democracy Agenda Project has examined linkages and gaps among areas in the field, including structural reform to elections, lowering barriers to participation, deliberative and shared governance approaches to democracy and campaign finance reform.

The two-day Wingspread conference provides an unparalleled opportunity for a small group of funders to thoughtfully consider the results of this research in dialogue with practitioners and colleagues who are pioneering more holistic grantmaking approaches and to discuss emerging funding strategies for systems change. Our goal is to collectively identify the most effective current approaches and funding strategies and the most promising experiments in the field that are working to better integrate a more holistic democracy agenda. The conference culminates an eight-month research process that has included:

• Review of literature in the field
• Extensive interviews with advocates, analysts, journalists, academics, independent scholars, elected officials, legal advocates, pollsters, deliberative democracy and social capital practitioners, individual donors and foundation funders
• Two-day convening hosted by the Joyce Foundation, of practitioners, scholars and advocates to envision a systems approach to changing our democracy system
• Case studies of integrated democracy work in Minnesota, North Carolina and California
• A report summarizing the research and detailing emerging approaches in the field and possible funding strategies, which will be disseminated before the conference

Open Session at the 58th Annual Council on Foundations conference in Seattle, Washington

Date: Sunday, April 29, 2007

Location: Room 609, Washington State Trade & Conference Center, Seattle

Time: 8:30am – 11:00am

Schedule:
8:30am-coffee, breakfast and conversation
9:00am-Panel Presentations
10:00am-Questions, Comments and Dialogue
11:00am-adjourn

“Citizens Leading the Way: A New Plan for Rebuilding New Orleans”

Moderator: Christopher T. Gates, Executive Director, PACE

Speakers:
– The Honorable Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, New Orleans City Councilwoman
– Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, President, AmericaSpeaks
– Carey Shea, Associate Director, Rockefeller Foundation

In the wake of a natural and human disaster, thousands of citizens have involved themselves in the recovery process in New Orleans by coming together to set city-wide rebuilding priorities at a unique set of town meetings held simultaneously in cities around the country. By learning from the mistakes that have occurred in previous civic engagement efforts, this foundation-supported project, the Unified New Orleans Plan, has worked assiduously to engage the true diversity of the New Orleans community and create a plan that they hope will be supported by the community at large. Panelists will include a representative of the funding community who supported this effort, the architect of the innovative process that was used and a representative of the community of New Orleans. Join us for a spirited conversation about how philanthropy has played a leadership role in addressing one of the most critical issues of our time-the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina.

Please join The Surdna Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Open Society Institute, and The New York Regional Association of Grantmakers in welcoming Chris Gates, the new Executive Director of PACE Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement

PACE is a national community of grantmakers and donors committed to strengthening democracy by using the power and resources of philanthropy to open pathways to civic participation. Formerly known as the Grantmakers Forum on Community and National Service, PACE recently renamed itself to signal a broader approach to educating grantmakers about effective civic engagement strategies that strengthen our communities. These strategies include community problem solving, civic education, leadership training, and political reform. To access PACE’s Profiles of Engagement Investments and other reports, please click here.

Chris Gates, former president of the National Civic League, became PACE’s new Executive Director in June 2006. Leadership of PACE offers Chris the opportunity to sustain his longtime commitment to promoting meaningful participation in community affairs. Chris is a national leader and frequent speaker on topics relating to the state of our democracy, the interaction between citizens and government, and innovative community problem solving.

Chris also serves on a variety of boards, including the Council for the Advancement of Citizenship and the California Center for Civic Renewal. He is an elected Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration, Co-chair of the Civic Practices Network, and served as Co-chair of the Saguaro Seminar, a Harvard University project studying social capital. He is also the founding chairman of the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training.

This funders briefing offers New York grantmakers an opportunity to meet Chris, learn how PACE can best serve the needs of foundations interested in civic engagement, and learn about other foundations’ civic engagement strategies.

Date: Wednesday, September 13th

Time: 8:30-10:30 a.m. Breakfast will be available.

Place: The Surdna Foundation, 330 Madison Avenue (between 42nd and 43rd Streets), 30th floor

RSVP: Please contact Elisabeth Pulvermann at 212-557-0010, or epulvermann@surdna.org