Held in partnership with Philanthropy Northwest
Conference Overview
The GEO community is united by a common drive to challenge the norm in pursuit of better results. Recognizing that current standard practices in philanthropy are not doing enough to make progress on the issues they care about, GEO members strive to find more efficient and effective ways to grow their impact. GEO’s 2012 National Conference offered a range of perspectives and new ideas for smarter grantmaking that leads to better results and presented opportunities for participants to learn from the wisdom and experience of their peers. Session topics included:
- Supporting Effectiveness sessions explore how grantmakers can improve practices to build grantee capacity and better support nonprofit sustainability.
- Evaluation and Learning sessions help grantmakers and their partners better use evaluation to foster learning and make real-time improvements in their work.
- Collaborative Problem-Solving sessions focus on how grantmakers can best partner with other funders, grantees, corporations and government agencies to solve problems and grow impact.
- Scaling Impact sessions offer strategies and knowledge about how we can help nonprofits achieve better and more results.
- Networking sessions allow for peer interaction and connections to help you turn learning into action.
Who attends GEO conferences?
GEO conferences get consistent high marks in post-conference evaluations. Conference participants often say they are energized by the ideas presented — ideas that challenge the status quo in philanthropy — and by the people in the room who are willing to champion change within their organizations and across the broader field. Attendees appreciate the opportunity to hear from voices outside the field of philanthropy at GEO conferences.
GEO’s national conference typically attracts 500 – 650 leaders from within philanthropy. Conference attendees come from a variety of roles in their organizations. At previous national conferences, about half of attendees were program staff, 25 percent were CEOs of grantmaking organizations and 3 percent were foundation trustees.
Previous conference attendees have said:
- "GEO is the place where those creative seeds get planted early, which I found extremely helpful."
- "The presentations were of the highest quality and the flow and pace of the conference was perfect."
- "I made many wonderful contacts that will bear fruit for some time."
View highlights from previous GEO convenings:
