The fourth annual Yale School of Management Philanthropy Conference, which I had the honor of co-chairing, took place on Friday, December 5. One hundred and fifteen students and professionals crowded into the upstairs ballroom of the New Haven Museum and Historical Society to hear speakers including Paul Brest, President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Ira Magaziner, Chairman of the Clinton Climate Initiative and the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative; Kate Levin, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Sean Stannard-Stockton, creator of the Tactical Philanthropy blog, and many others. (View the full schedule here.)
The theme of the day was “Collaboration and Leadership in Philanthropy.” In bringing these speakers together under this banner, the conference aimed to highlight examples of broad-based philanthropic thinking — the kind that recognizes that, in order to make a real difference in the world, one can’t act in isolation. The panels and speeches collectively examined many different kinds of collaboration — with other philanthropic organizations, with governments, with private sector corporations, with grantees, even with individuals — and what kind of leadership is required to make those collaborations successful.
To view highlights of the three panels along with Paul Brest’s keynote speech and Ira Magaziner’s opening speech, feel free to visit the links below. Many thanks to conference committee members Jeff Grosz, Morgan Hall, Edwin Lee, Kristin Tracz, and Megan Wilcox-Fogel for their assistance with the creation of these notes.