The Power of Now | NCG's 2016 Annual Conference

9:00-10:00am 

Registration: The Breakfast Club

10:15-11:30am

Morning Plenary: The Perfect Storm

Keynote Ian Haney López says politically coded ideas about race undermine the notion that government has a role to play in righting the wrongs of extreme poverty. Lead thinkers on race and the promise of equal opportunity will probe this thinking.Then they’ll face off against NCG members in a game of “Funder Feud” to determine who is most in tune with our collective hopes in this presidential year.

• Ian Haney López, John H. Boalt Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law
• Alan Jenkins, Executive Director, Co-Founder, Opportunity Agenda
• Rinku Sen, Executive Director, Race Forward
• Fred Blackwell, CEO, San Francisco Foundation (moderator)

12:00pm-1:15pm

Lunch Breakout Sessions: A Chorus Line

Practitioners offer strategies, tools, and methods to help you amplify your own Power of Now. Consider how to apply the day’s big ideas on culture, technology, race and gender equity, and wealth concentration in your work, and explore new approaches to help us meet the opportunities and challenges of this historic moment head-on.

Communications and Culture: FAME

What moves people to action? Is the language of equity advancing the values that underpin it? What makes an effective narrative of change? Join a workshop and discussion on the tools and strategies for effective communication in this tumultuous time. Leave with a clear idea on how to use a framework of values, problems, solutions and action to reach your audience so that they hear you.

• Alan Jenkins, Executive Director, Opportunity Agenda

On the Front Lines of Tech for Social Change: The Matrix

Technology is enabling social change at an unprecedented rate. People from around the globe can engage in social movements from Arab Spring to #BlackLivesMatter to the presidential campaigns. Join us to ask: How are social change leaders leveraging technology? How is the philanthropic community engaging this work? What are the limits of technology?

• Alissa Black, Principal Investment, Omidyar Networks
• Christie George, Director, New Media Ventures
• Rashad Robinson, Executive Director, ColorofChange
• Natalie Foster, Advisor, The Aspen Institute and Open Society Foundation & Fellow, Institute for the Future (moderator)

Philanthropy, Race and Gender: Freedom on My Mind

Changing demographics, movements for racial justice, polarized communities, mass incarceration of people of color and an economic imperative suggest that race and gender factor integrally in community well-being. Think through some of these issues and questions to develop an approach that is steeped in the NOW.

• Nikole Collins-Puri, Chief Strategist of Philanthropic Initiatives, Women’s Foundation of California
• Josh Kirschenbaum, Vice President for Strategic Direction, PolicyLink
• Rinku Sen, Executive Director, Race Forward
• Justin Steele, Principal, Google.org
• Taj James, Founder and Co-Director, Movement Strategies Center (moderator)
• 

Economic Inequality: Inside Out

The economic downturn may seem like a distant memory in the wake of exploding prices for housing, rapidly changing neighborhoods, nonprofit displacement and residents locked out of the booming economy. Explore opportunities for funders to address gentrification and increase community stability, provide opportunities to participate in the growing economy and support residents as they migrate into new communities.

• Maria Noel Fernandez, Director of Organizing and Civic Engagement, Bay Area Rising
• Sandra Witt, Program Director – North Region, The California Endowment
• Miriam Zuk PH.D., Project Director, Urban Displacement Project at UC Berkeley
• Jahmese Myers, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (Moderator)

1:30-2:30pm

Closing Plenary: The 2016 Elections - Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot

What do the rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump tell us about voter attitudes regarding our political system in the United States? What are the implications of current election-year events and recent trends in Congressional (in)action for our democracy? How do funders reflect and engage these shifts? In what ways does civic engagement matter most right now? What is at stake?

• Aimee Allison, Senior Vice President, PowerPac+
• Jason Grumet, Founder and President, Bipartisan Policy Center
• Van Jones, President & Co-Founder, Dream Corps 
• Larry Kramer, President, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Scott Shafer, Senior Editor, California Politics & Government, KQED (moderator)

2:30-2:45pm

NCG Membership Meeting: Risky Business

• Diane Parnes, Northern California Grantmakers Board Chair;

2:45-3:00pm

Closing Remarks and Musical Performance: Purple Rain

• Van Jones, President & Co-Founder, Dream Corps

Van Jones pays tribute to the philanthropic legacy of his dear friend Prince. He’ll speak to the incredible power of this moment, the work ahead, and coming together collectively to make real change happen.

• Special Musical Performance by Vocal Rush

3:00 - 4:00 pm 

Reception: The Social Network

Share a drink and a story with colleagues and friends as we gather to toast the day and each other.

4:00 pm

Shuttle buses depart: Into the Night