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Community Connection in Times of Crisis
April 16, 2020 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
Community Connection in Times of Crisis is a virtual gathering for community foundation staff to share their experiences responding to COVID-19 through a community leadership perspective. Together, we explore best practices for bringing our relationships, tools and resources to the table to address this crisis, both in the short-term and in the long-term as our communities begin to recover and rebuild.
Below are the first six meetings we hosted on a weekly schedule. Starting in May, we have moved to a biweekly schedule and will post upcoming webinars on our Events Calendar.
Meeting 6 – Thursday, April 30
On this week’s webinar, we’ll hear about the value of coordinating your response with the public sector, the usefulness of supporting infrastructure providers, and the benefit of finding the right partners. We’ll also discuss the importance of keeping our work rooted in community engagement and accountability, even in a crisis.
Speakers:
- Marian Kaanon, President & CEO at the Stanislaus Community Foundation
- Marcella Tillett, Vice President of Programs and Partnerships at the Brooklyn Community Foundation
Meeting 5 – Thursday, April 23
On this week’s webinar, our speakers highlighted the value in setting principles for grantmaking from your COVID-19 funds and the need to devote attention now to reimagining public systems and rebuilding the third sector.
Speakers:
- Dr. Eric Jolly, President & CEO at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
- Kris Hermanns, Chief Impact Officer at the Seattle Foundation
Meeting 4 – Thursday, April 16
At our fourth meeting, we discussed creative responses to the challenges being faced by small businesses, ways to navigate new and existing donor partnerships and how to begin to lift our heads to think about what comes next.
Speakers:
- Ellen Katz, President & CEO at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
- Maeghan Jones, President & CEO at the Community Foundation for Greater Chattanooga
Meeting 3 – Thursday, April 9
At our third meeting, we discussed how to align our work with the nonprofit and public sectors, recognizing that this crisis is different from others community foundations may have responded to in the past. We also explored the opportunity for community foundations to weigh in on key policy issues that have been exposed by the pandemic to ensure that they advance racial equity and economic inclusion.
Speakers:
- Judith Bell, Chief Impact Officer at the San Francisco Foundation
- Stuart Comstock-Gay, President & CEO at the Delaware Community Foundation
Meeting 2 – Thursday, April 2
At our second meeting, we discussed the importance of continuing to listen to underrepresented populations in times of crisis, ways to invest in self-care for ourselves and our non-profit partners, and how to punch above our weight by working collaboratively with community partners on immediate and long-term recovery needs.
Speakers:
- Chris Barge, VP of Strategic Initiatives at the Community Foundation Boulder County
- Bridget Wilkinson, Executive Director at the Bozeman Area Community Foundation
Meeting 1 – Thursday, March 26
At our first meeting, we discussed building on existing relationships to support the public sector, fostering community trust and transparency, and using innovative tactics and strategies to support the most vulnerable among us.
Speakers:
- Ellen Gilligan, President & CEO at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation
- Isaiah Oliver, President & CEO at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint
- Patricia Mejia, Vice President, Community Engagement and Impact at the San Antonio Area Foundation
