CFLeads

Leading with Our Values in Uncertain Times: A Peer-to-Peer Learning Series for Community Foundations
2025-03-13 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-04-17 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Online
Are you a community foundation leader hoping to support residents, nonprofits, and donors as your community navigates this moment of legal and cultural uncertainty? We invite you to join CFLeads for three virtual conversations among community foundation leaders who are helping their communities lean into their shared values to find common ground, focus on solutions, and galvanize action towards a collective community vision. Each session features:

Real-world examples of how community foundations are taking the initiative to lead with values in this current moment
Opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and exchange in small group discussions
Tools to help your community foundation put its organizational values into practice to build stronger, more vibrant communities.

This three-part series is free of charge and open to CEOs and staff of community foundations. Active participation is highly encouraged through small group discussions and peer exchange. Space is limited.

Learning Series Details
Part 1: Our Values as Our Guide

Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern

Featured Speakers:

Simeon Banister, President & CEO, Rochester Area Community Foundation
John L. S. Simpkins, President & CEO, MDC

John L. S. Simpkins, President & CEO of MDC, introduces our three-part series by highlighting the opportunity that community foundations have to lead with our values in this cultural moment. Simeon Banister, President and CEO of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, follows with a discussion on how the Rochester Area Community Foundation centers its organizational values to bring clarity to its work in an eighty-county region in New York, especially as community members experience current policy changes, political shifts, and uncertainty.
In this session, you’ll have the opportunity to consider how your community foundation’s organizational values can be a guide for your leadership role moving forward. You’ll also hear about an interactive tool that the Rochester Area Community Foundation uses with its board and staff as an organizational pulse check, and you’ll explore that tool in small group discussions with peers from other community foundations.

Part 2: Standing Our Ground: Making the Case for Thriving Communities

Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern

Featured Speaker: Dr. Tiffany Manuel, President & CEO, TheCaseMade
Community foundations are uniquely positioned to help make the case for thriving, resilient communities. This session will focus on how we can use our community position effectively and intentionally, especially in this difficult and challenging climate.
In this session, we’ll share strategies for navigating the complex communications landscape, avoiding common pitfalls that can lead to backfires, and circumventing misinformation that can undermine community trust. We will also delve into the bridge-building work that is necessary to foster collaboration, strengthen relationships, and reinforce shared values.
We’ll end this session by discussing how to empower community partners to enhance their own casemaking, ensuring that our collective efforts remain effective, credible, and deeply impactful. Join us for this essential conversation on standing firm while moving forward together.

Part 3: Lessons from the Field: The Moment Ahead

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern

Featured Speakers:

Tracy Edgerton, President & CEO, Lincoln Community Foundation
Karen Dubois-Walton, President & CEO, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Erica Snow, President & CEO, Aspen Community Foundation

Our final session features perspectives from community foundation leaders who represent the diversity of places, priorities, endowments, and geographic areas that makes each community unique.
These leaders will help us make sense of key themes and take-aways from previous sessions in the series. They’ll also share how their community foundations are adapting to the post-election environment and charting next steps. We will conclude the session by providing a space for you to reflect on the ways in which you can help your community foundation embrace its organizational values and provide leadership irrespective of what lies ahead.

Registration
Please register for the learning series by using this link. The webinar will take place on Zoom.
We hope you can join us!

Applying Behavioral Science to Unlock Donor Generosity
2025-07-30 13:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | Online
Join CFLeads for an insightful webinar with Ideas42, a leader in behavioral science innovation, as we explore how behavioral insights can help unlock greater generosity from donors. In this session, we’ll dive into practical strategies rooted in behavioral science that can boost engagement, build trust, and drive more impactful giving.Don’t miss this opportunity to reimagine donor engagement through a behavioral lens.

Speakers

Tony Bowen, Executive Director, Fidelity Charitable® Catalyst Fund
Eleni Fischer, Associate Managing Director, Ideas42
Julia Ritz Toffoli, Associate Managing Director, Ideas42
Mary L. Thomas, President & CEO, CFLeads

Webinar Details

Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Time: 1 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern

Registration
Please register for the webinar by using this link. The webinar will take place on Zoom.
We hope you can join us!

Foundations for Community Safety Guidebook Launch
2025-08-18 11:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online
Join us for the final webinar in the Foundations for Community Safety Series, where participants will get an exclusive preview of the Foundations for Community Safety Case Statement and Guidebook. This session offers a first look at the Guidebook, designed to empower community foundations with actionable strategies to enhance safety and well-being in their regions. Participants will hear directly from the creators about the development journey, the structure of the Guidebook, and the essential content that will guide community leaders in their safety efforts.
In addition to exploring the Guidebook, we’ll share effective strategies for its dissemination, ensuring that community foundations have the tools they need to spread its impact far and wide. You’ll also learn more about the upcoming Milwaukee Regional Convening in September – an exciting opportunity to connect with other foundations and leaders committed to advancing community safety. Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of the movement and contribute to building stronger, safer communities.

Webinar Details

Date: Monday, August 18, 2025
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Eastern

Registration
Please register for the webinar by using this link. The webinar will take place on Zoom.
We hope you can join us!

Power in Partnership: Advancing Economic Mobility Through Local-National Funder Collaboration
2025-08-19 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Join CFLeads for an insightful conversation as we bring together national philanthropic leaders from the Gates Foundation and the Mott Foundation to explore how funders can work together to accelerate place-based change.
This session – open to community foundations and national funders – will highlight the strategic roles each partner plays in collaborative efforts to advance economic mobility. Learn about promising partnership practices, evolving strategic priorities, and how national and local funders can complement each other to drive more effective and equitable outcomes in communities.
Join us for this valuable opportunity to strengthen your role in impactful, place-based philanthropy.

Speakers

Kevin Howard, Program Officer, Economic Mobility and Opportunity, Gates Foundation
Nick Deychakiwsky, Senior Program Officer, Civil Society, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Mary L. Thomas, President & CEO, CFLeads
Leonard Brock, Senior Vice President for Systems Change, CFLeads

Webinar Details

Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Time: 1 – 2 p.m. Eastern

Registration
Please register for the webinar by using this link. The webinar will take place on Zoom.
We hope you can join us!

Foundations for Community Safety Convening
2025-09-22 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Greater Milwakee Foundation, 2153 N Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr Suite 4000, Milwaukee, 53212, United States
Foundations for Community Safety Convening | Milwaukee, WI
We are pleased to share the successful launch of CFLeads’ Foundations for Community Safety (formerly Gun Violence Prevention Network) program of events this year, focused on how community foundations can advance community safety and well-being by leveraging the Community Leadership Framework.
As part of this initiative, we would like to invite you to join us for an in-person convening in Milwaukee, WI on Monday, September 22, 2025.
This event is open to community foundation staff and their community partners who are engaged or interested in this important work. Whether your organization is just beginning to explore community safety or is already leading efforts in this space, we welcome your participation.
We will share the journey, structure, and content of the Foundations for Community Safety Guidebook and strategies for dissemination. Additionally, we will develop an action plan for beginning or building upon this work in your community.
Who Should Attend?
This is a free opportunity open to community foundation staff and their community partners who are engaged or interested in this important work. Whether your organization is just beginning to explore community safety or is already leading efforts in this space, we welcome your participation.
Registration closes on September 8.
Register now.

Community Foundations for Civic Health: Live in Chicago!
2025-09-30 08:30 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Summit Chicago, 205 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois, 60601
Community Foundations for Civic Health: Live in Chicago!
We invite you to the Community Foundations for Civic Health: Live in Chicago! event on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Central. We will host a networking cocktail reception the evening prior, Monday, September 29th. The registration deadline is Friday, September 12, 2025 and space is limited.
Who
We are welcoming community foundation CEOs and/or one other senior member of your staff who is leading civic health work (or who is likely to be part of future work). The convening is closed-door, private, and will follow Chatham House rules.
Speakers

David Brooks, New York Times columnist, commentator for PBS NewsHour and NPR, and founder of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute
Simeon Banister, President & CEO, The Rochester Area Community Foundation
Ian B. Bautista, Senior Director of Civic Engagement, Greater Milwaukee Foundation
Martin Carcasson, Founder and Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Jonathan Collins, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Stuart Comstock-Gay, President and CEO, Delaware Community Foundation
Shannon Green, President & CEO, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement)
Joseph K. Hoereth, Director, Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, University of Illinois Chicago
Melissa Newman, Strategy Advisor, Press Forward Bluegrass
Isaiah Oliver, President and CEO, Community Foundation for Northeast Florida
Jodie Riesenberger, Vice President, Community Impact, NoCoFoundation
Daniel Stid, Executive Director, Lyceum Labs
Nancy Van Milligen, President and CEO, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque
Jillian Youngblood, Executive Director, Civic Genius
Richard Young, Executive Director, CivicLex

Registration Details
Please register by clicking the button below and reach out to Enida Jeteric at ejeteric@cfleads.org with any questions.
Register now.
Background
Community Foundations for Civic Health, an initiative of CFLeads, the Rhode Island Foundation, the National Civic League, and other partners, is aimed at increasing the number of community foundations confidently engaging in strengthening civic health in their communities. Civic health matters. Strong, ongoing connections between residents, robust relationships between people and public institutions, and positive attachments between citizens and the places they live are highly correlated with a range of positive outcomes, from better physical health to higher employment rates to better resilience in the face of natural disasters.
Civic health is based on the quality of civic opportunities and the strength of civic infrastructure. When these supports are weak, people of different backgrounds and political perspectives are less likely to communicate or work together, which exacerbates partisan polarization.
We look forward to partnering with you on this critical work.

The Gathering 2025
2025-10-19 17:00 - 2025-10-21 15:00 (America/New_York) | Amelia Island, 39 Beach Lagoon Rd, Fernandina Beach, Florida, 32034, United States
About the Gathering
Following the successful inaugural Gathering in 2024 in Atlanta, CFLeads is thrilled to announce the next Gathering designed for African American Community Foundation CEOs, taking place on October 19-21, 2025 in Amelia Island, FL.
The Gathering is an essential, safe space for African American community foundation leaders to authentically share their lived experiences, connect, reflect, and collaborate on the opportunities and challenges facing the field today.For the 2025 Gathering, we chose Amelia Island as our convening space not just because it’s a beautiful place, but because it’s a location steeped in profound Black history. It is home to American Beach, founded by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, Florida’s first African American millionaire, as a haven for African American families during segregation. Florida also holds the legacy of the first Underground Railroad, where enslaved people escaped south to freedom, not north.
We hope you can join us for this impactful Gathering. This year, the group will explore the theme, Riding the Waves of Change. Register today for this special occasion filled with inspiration, support, and the opportunity to create a strong network in an ever-changing philanthropic ecosystem.
More details regarding the agenda and the booking link for the Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa hotel will be shared soon. In the meantime, please mark your calendars and prepare for an enriching and uplifting experience.
Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors!

Hotel Information
The 2025 Gathering will be hosted at The Omni Amelia Island Resort. Please click the following link to book your hotel room at our discounted rate:
https://bookings.villasofameliaisland.com/event/villas-amelia-island/cfleads-the-gathering
Registration
Register HERE.

Community Foundations for Civic Health: Reflections, Insights & Next Steps
2025-11-19 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Community Foundations for Civic Health: Reflections, Insights & Next Steps
Join us for a virtual follow-up to the Community Foundations for Civic Health convening in Chicago. This webinar will bring together participants from the in-person gathering and other interested community foundation leaders to reflect on key themes, share insights, and explore actionable next steps in strengthening civic health across our communities.
Community Foundations for Civic Health – an initiative led by CFLeads, the Rhode Island Foundation, the National Civic League, and partners – is committed to increasing the number of community foundations confidently and effectively engaging in civic health work. Strong civic health means stronger communities: better health outcomes, higher employment, and increased resilience in the face of challenges.
In this session, we’ll revisit the key takeaways from Chicago, lift up promising practices from peers, and look ahead to upcoming opportunities for collaboration and support.
Webinar Details

Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 2 – 3 p.m. Eastern
Registration: Register HERE

Who
This webinar is designed for community foundation CEOs and/or one other senior member of your staff who is leading civic health work (or who is likely to be part of future work).
Why Civic Health?
We believe civic health is the backbone of thriving communities. It’s about the strength of our civic infrastructure: the relationships between people, between institutions, and with the places we call home.When civic health is strong, communities see better outcomes across the board – from improved physical health and employment rates to greater resilience during crises. When it’s weak, divisions deepen, and trust erodes.This convening is your opportunity to connect with peers, learn from national experts, and walk away with ideas and strategies to move this work forward in your community.

Community Leadership Lab
2025-12-02 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-12-04 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-12-09 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Not available anywhere else in the field, this introductory course is designed to build the skills, knowledge and resources of community foundation staff to embrace and/or deepen their community leadership practice.
Whether you are new to the community foundation field or just new to the concept of community leadership, this introductory course is for you!
Community foundation staff who register for this unique course will:

Introduce and advance practical applications for CFLeads’ Framework for Community Leadership, meeting people where they are on their community leadership journey
Orient attendees on how they can leverage their current work and leadership
Provide and discuss case studies of community foundations that have operationalized the framework at various levels
Help participants interact with, and learn from, other community foundation leaders through engaging discussions, small group breakouts and networking opportunities

These virtual sessions will also feature guest speakers who will share real-life experiences on how community leadership plays out on the ground, and provide insights on the skills needed to do this important work both now and in the future.

Series Details
The series includes three virtual sessions in a two-hour format over three days in December 2025
Session Dates
December 2, December 4, December 9 in 2025 | Each session will take place from 3–5 p.m. Eastern

Session I: Building Blocks for Community Leadership
Session II: Leveraging Your Organizational Assets
Session III: Deep Dive – Community Leadership for the Current Moment

Who Should Attend?
Any community foundation staff or board member who wants to learn how to bring a community leadership framework to their work is eligible to attend. We encourage multiple staff or board membersfrom a community foundation to attend.
Registrants for virtual sessions are expected to attend all three sessions. Virtual sessions will be hosted on the *Zoom Meetings platform. You must use the video and audio for Zoom to participate.
*To receive the Zoom link, please register by clicking the button below and following the instructions on the final page of registration titled “Thank you for registering.”

Registration
CFLeads Investor Registration | price per person – $299
Non-Investor Registration | price per person – $375
Registration for Community Leadership Lab is now CLOSED.

Neighborhood Revitalization for Community Foundations: How to Prevent Displacement & Create Prosperity
2026-03-18 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Over the past decade, hundreds of U.S. neighborhoods have increased prosperity while preventing displacement – demonstrating that inclusive growth is possible when leaders implement the right strategies. In this webinar, Common Good Labs will share a national, data-driven perspective on what thriving communities did differently and what those lessons mean for community foundations working to advance economic mobility.
Rhett Morris of Common Good Labs and the Brookings Institution will highlight research from hundreds of successful neighborhoods, surface patterns that distinguish opportunity-rich communities, and offer actionable insights that foundations can apply locally. The session will also introduce a follow-up, hands-on workshop opportunity where all community foundations (particularly in medium to larger cities) will receive customized city- and neighborhood-level data and collaborate on evidence-based strategies tailored to their communities.

Webinar Details

Date: March 18, 2026
Time: 2 – 3 p.m. Eastern
Registration: Click HERE

The State of the Field: Emerging Priorities Shaping Community Foundations' Work
2026-04-14 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Online
Community foundations are operating in a rapidly evolving environment – one that requires clarity about the issues shaping communities, philanthropy, and leadership across the country. Drawing on findings from CFLeads’ 2026 Issues of Interest Survey, this webinar will highlight the priorities, challenges, and opportunities community foundations are navigating today and what those insights signal for the field moving forward.
CFLeads will share key themes emerging from the survey, examine areas of alignment and divergence across the field, and explore how these insights can inform leadership practice, strategy, and collaboration.
Participants will gain:

A field-wide snapshot of the issues community foundations identify as most pressing
Insight into emerging trends shaping local, place-based philanthropy
Perspective on how national leaders and philanthropic institutions can better support community foundation leadership
An overview of how CFLeads is translating survey findings into learning priorities, programs, and resources

This session is designed for community foundation CEOs, senior leaders, and partners who want to understand where the field is headed—and how to lead with greater insight and impact.

Webinar Details

Date: April 14, 2026
Time: 2 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern
Registration: Click HERE

2026 Economic Mobility Summit
2026-07-29 - 2026-07-30 | Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth, TX, United States
The 2026 Economic Mobility Summit will take place on July 29 – 30 in Fort Worth, TX. Registration opens in April.

Community Foundations for Civic Health Annual Summit
2026-09-09 - 2026-09-10
Join us for the Community Foundations for Civic Health Annual Summit on September 9 – 10, 2026. Location TBD. Registration opens in March.
