Disability Funders Network: 2005 Council on Foundations Conference Activities, San Diego

Saturday, April 9

4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

DFN Annual Meeting

Join the DFN board for an update of the events of the past year and a preview of exciting projects coming up in 2005. This event is not on the COF printed schedule; it is open to all DFN members, who are welcome to join the DFN Board and staff for an informal dinner after the meeting.

Location: Balboa Marriott, Level 3, South Tower

Sunday, April 10

9:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Film, Advocacy and Systems Change

Co-sponsors: DFN and the Community Technology Foundation of California

Award-winning documentary Freedom Machines is at the heart of an advocacy campaign to make technology available and affordable for people with disabilities.  Join one of the film’s featured subjects, advocacy experts, and funders for a discussion on how grantmakers can support the use of film and other compelling methods to fuel systems change. At the close of the session, DFN will present its annual William Diaz Impact Award for Disability Grantmaking.

Location: Convention Center, Meeting Room 7A/B

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

SUPERSIZE the Impact of a Small Foundation

Co-sponsors: DFN, Association of Small Foundations, and Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues

Small foundations can deliver an impact that belies their modest size. Colleagues from small community, corporate and private foundations will share strategies and tactics that yield results that are far greater than the sum of the grants they make. Come share your own clever and resourceful practices for transforming ‘small’ to ‘mighty.’ Indeed, come celebrate the advantages of small foundations! Participants will receive a summary of ideas presented during the session by speakers and colleagues.

Location: Convention Center, Meeting Room 16A/B

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Who’s Up Next: Retirement, Generation Change and Executive Transition

As the large number of baby boomers retires, executive leadership transitions in foundations and their grantees will become more frequent. Issues of accountability, ethics, race, gender and age will likely complicate these challenging periods for both grantmakers and nonprofits. This session will explore the individual and organizational dimensions of the coming generational shift and highlight strategies for funders that ensure more effective and accountable nonprofit leadership from new executives and their boards. DFN’s Executive Director is participating as a speaker in this session designed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Location: Convention Center, Meeting Room 3

9:00 p.m. – Midnight

Unity (JAG) Dance Party

Join your colleagues for food, drink, conversation and dancing! Jointly sponsored by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy; ABFE; Disability Funders Network; Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues; Hispanics in Philanthropy; National Network of Grantmakers; Native Americans in Philanthropy; Women & Philanthropy; and the Women’s Funding Network. Representatives will be on hand to discuss resources available to you on a broad range of diversity issues.

Location: Marriott Hall III

Monday, April 11

9:00 – 10:30 a.m.

MEET THE FILMMAKER: Freedom Machines

Co-sponsors: DFN, Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media

This film, a 2005 Film & Video Festival winner by Jamie Stobie and Janet Cole, takes a new look at disability through the lens of technology.  People’s experiences let us re-examine cultural ideas about ability and disability.  Engineers, designers and users challenge barriers, revealing the gap between the promises of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and everyday reality for 54 million Americans with disabilities.  Whether showcasing mainstream technology or extraordinary inventions such as stair-climbing wheelchairs, the film reveals technology’s power and limitations.  After the screening, discuss the film with the filmmakers.  DFN Trustee Jackie Brand is one of the film’s featured subjects.

Location: Convention Center, Meeting Room 11B

9:00 – 10:30 a.m.

Lessons Learned: Adopting a Human Rights Framework for Domestic Grantmaking

Co-Sponsors: Joint Affinity Groups, International Human Rights Funders Group

In our increasingly diverse society many leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors are moving from an identity/population-based focus to a holistic, integrated frame for their work. One approach is the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a framework for domestic and international funders. How do philanthropic leaders transform their institutions to embrace and implement a human rights lens? What are the considerations and implications of such a change at the staff, board and community level? Trustees and staff from two foundations will discuss these questions as they share the internal process of adopting a human rights focus for their foundations.

Location: Meeting Room 17A/B Convention Center