Launched in 2014, Connection is more than an event; it’s an experience that convenes our community’s leading thinkers and doers to share ideas that make a difference in the lives of the communities that we serve.
To curate these thought leaders, we rely on a brain trust of Catalysts who have their fingers on the pulse of the field. With Connection 2017 just a few short months away, we are excited to announce the addition of Catalysts to the Connection 2017 experience!
Catalysts support the Connection 2017 experience by sharing academic or practice-based innovations, identifying & crafting experiential content, cultivating critical voices, and sharing locally-inspired subjects with the Connection 2017 curators.
These thought leaders are a critical addition to the main stage at Connection 2017, the larger experience of those attending, and the subsequent experience of the virtual audience. Here are the Catalysts for Connection 2017:
A Way Home America
“A Way Home America (AWHA) is a national initiative to build the movement to prevent and end homelessness among young people.
We are an initiative of homeless youth providers, advocates, researchers, government agencies, philanthropists and young people uniting behind a common goal:
In 2020, prevent and end homelessness among all youth and young adults. Ensure that homelessness among youth and young adults is rare, and if it occurs, experiences of homelessness are brief and one-time.”
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
“The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private philanthropy that creates a brighter future for the nation’s children by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow.
Casey places a priority on investing in human services and community innovations – an approach that is different from most of our philanthropic peers. We develop and test new solutions, ideas and models that can help address barriers for vulnerable families. We use our resources to collect and disseminate data to facilitate informed decision making. Casey collaborates with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, policymakers and community leaders to transform communities and systems. We provide strategic consulting that helps public schools, juvenile justice agencies and child welfare systems get better results for kids and families. Casey also supports research and understanding of how historical patterns of discrimination continue to make it more difficult for people of color to gain a foothold in mainstream society, and we promote ideas for overcoming these disparities. Taken as a whole, these approaches to philanthropy help increase our positive impact on the populations we care about most; expand our influence with key audiences; and maximize our ability to leverage even more resources for the kids, families and communities at the heart of our mission.”
The Forbes Funds
“The Forbes Funds’ Vision
Envisioning Pittsburgh’s nonprofit sector as innovative, informed, engaged, and effective, The Forbes Funds advances capacity building within and among the region’s nonprofit organizations.
As we pursue our vision, we endeavor to respect certain values and our operating philosophy:
- To engage in activities in which we have distinctive competencies and to seek other organizational partners whenever appropriate.
- To promote continuous learning and capacity building in the organizations we serve and to discourage long-term dependence on outside technical assistance.
- To evaluate our own activities so that we improve the quality and relevance of our portfolio of programs and services.
- To be mindful that efficient management is not an end in itself but rather a means to a better accomplishment of the social and charitable missions of the organizations we serve.
- To adhere to the highest standards of professional ethics and accountability in all that we do.
The Forbes Funds’ Mission
The Forbes Funds focuses on building the management capacity and impact of community-based nonprofits individually and collectively.”
Forum for Youth Investment/Opportunity Network
“The Forum for Youth Investment is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan “action tank,” combining thought leadership on youth development, youth policy, cross-system/cross-sector partnerships and developmental youth practice with on-the-ground training, technical assistance and supports. A trusted resource for policymakers, advocates, researchers and program professionals, the Forum provides youth and adult leaders with the information, connections and tools they need to create greater opportunities and outcomes for young people. The core work of the Forum is helping leaders, organizations, partnerships and systems – at the local, state and national levels – assess, improve and align their practices and policies.
The Forum for Youth Investment was founded in 1998 with a tagline of moving ideas to impact. Our work is carried out in the nation’s capital and in more than 35 states by the 45 staff and 15 consultants associated with our two offices in Washington, D.C., and Ypsilanti, Mich.
Helping all young people be ready by 21 – ready for college, work and life is the vision that drives our work and knits together the technical assistance centers, networks, and projects and initiatives we have developed to help leaders change the ways they do business.”
“greenSinner does things a little differently. We’re a florist, but we’re really about something more than that: designing memorable event experiences for guests in using smart and sustainable practices. It’s not about the flowers; it’s about the memories you create.”
Heartland Alliance, one of the world’s leading anti-poverty organizations, works in communities in the U.S. and abroad to serve those who are homeless, living in poverty, or seeking safety. It provides a comprehensive array of services in the areas of health, housing, jobs and justice – and leads state and national policy efforts, which target lasting change for individuals and society.
Heartland Alliance advances the human rights and responds to the human needs of endangered populations—particularly the poor, the isolated, and the displaced—through the provision of comprehensive and respectful services and the promotion of permanent solutions leading to a more just global society. “
“We share your commitment to creating a more just, prosperous, and sustainable world. Throughout our history as a nonprofit consulting firm, we have been inspired by the socially-driven work of nonprofits and foundations, and our team stands behind our mission to improve leadership and management practices throughout the sector for greater social impact. Our consulting approach is collaborative, creative, and driven by a commitment to help our clients accelerate results.”
Melville Charitable Trust
“We are driven by one goal: Ending homelessness.”
We believe that homelessness is a preventable and solvable problem and philanthropy is an essential partner to end it.
The Melville Charitable Trust is the largest foundation in the U.S. exclusively devoted to ending homelessness.
Since our founding in 1990, we have invested over $140 million to end homelessness for good. For over 25 years, we have consistently and strategically invested in proven, lasting, and cost-effective solutions that enable people with the least resources and biggest barriers to success to reclaim their lives. And where solutions have not yet been identified we support exploration and innovation to find the most promising approaches.
Our grantmaking dollars are roughly split between efforts to end homelessness in our home state of Connecticut and in creating a better policy environment at the national level. Connecticut is our proving ground–the place where we support, test, and promote approaches and innovations in ending homelessness. We use this experience to inform our investments in organizations that support the expansion of scalable, cost-effective, and empowering solutions to end homelessness.
Our grantmaking is grounded in three simple beliefs:
1. Homelessness in the wealthiest democracy in the world is scandalous.
2. Ending homelessness is within our reach. All we need is the political will to make it happen.
3. Safe, healthy, and affordable housing is key to ending homelessness.”