WhoIsComingAndWhy

A Sample of Who's Coming... And Why

My organization is dedicated to connecting those who can help with those who need help, using the internet as a meeting place and connecting point. We use GIS maps to show where poverty is most concentrated in Chicago, and where tutor/mentor programs are most needed. At http://www.tutormentorexchange.net a Program Locator feature enables anyone who wants to volunteer or be a donor to find contact information for specific tutoring/mentoring programs in various neighborhoods of Chicago and its suburbs. -- DanBassill

I'm the director of [Faith in Place], which draws the faith community of the Chicago area into conversation, reflection and action about the meaning of faith in the modern ecology of the world. We work with participants to help them understand their own agency in applying the teachings of the faith they claim to modern ecological and economic conditions, so that a world of greater economic justice and ecological sustainability can come about. Our work in the Chicago region is growing - it's exciting, it's full of potential and it feels as if it's about to jump to a much higher level. The conference looks like a place to get our needs and our gifts together with the needs and gifts of others and see where we can help each other. -- ClareButterfield

I am a Aboriginal facilitator and consultant in organizational and community development, living on Bowen Island which is just off the coast of south western Canada. Most of my work forcusses on First Nations in Canada, engaging in a set of practices I am increasingly calling "practical decolonization." These include collective and individual strategies for opening space and freeing our cultures, communities, organizations and selves from the legacy of colonization - not just Aboriginal organizations either: all people and groups that have found it hard to breathe in the shadow of scientifc materialism.

I work a great deal with First Nations youth, services organizations in the non-profit sector and First Nations governments.

My interest in the Giving Conference stems from an abiding interest in connecting action to resources, whether those are financial, human, philosophical or cultural...I am interested in the actions that spring from conversations, Open Space and opportunities to connect people in forums based on passion and bounded by responsibility.

I'll be working with MichaelHerman to facilitate this gathering and also to participate and look forward to seeing what kind of results spring out of our deliberately diverse and generous gathering of souls. -- ChrisCorrigan

Chief of Staff and "Charitable Cheerleader" for the Nautilus Group (http://www.thenautilusgroup.com) Volunteer for Dallas Social Venture Partners (http://www.dsvp.org/index.asp). Blog at Gift Hub (http://www.gifthub.org)/

I hope the conference and gifthub.org will help connect "givers," rich in spirit, to create a better and more inclusive society. -- PhilCubeta

Our intention in attending this dialog is to share, partner with, strengthen and grow sustainable wisdom-centered philanthropy, to make "it" happen (whatever is collectively valued, needed and wanted) with individuals, a diversity of cultures and a sensitivity to global interdependence. -- JulieEvansCaldwell and LaureDillon

In my day job I run a housing program for youth aging out of the Illinois child welfare system. My volunteer job is with the Humanist Movement, working to create a world with the human being as the central value. I like the idea of a giving conference because it implies that we all have something to give. Sure, the funders can give, but I'm more interested in what each person can give, without delaying action until approved by funders. Let's get to work on our individual passions, together! -- TedErnst

TomMunnecke had a 30-year career as a software architect (as one of the lead designers of both the VA and DoD? Hospital Information systems, the two largest in the world) in order to ask himself, "What is the simplest thing I can do which will have maximum uplift for humanity?" After a trip to India, he retired from his position as a vice president and chief scientist at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to start an informal think tank called [GivingSpace], became a visiting scholar and fellow at Stanford's Digital Visions Program, and has been developing some ideas for a web-based infrastructure for a scalable, web-based mechanism for discovering and replicating patterns of uplift called the [Uplift Academy]. He is particularly interested in the notion of "trustraising" - a way that non-profits could thrive by performing on their vision in a more trustworthy manner - as an alternative to traditional forms of fundraising.

I work to support sustainable farmers in the Midwest and to increase the market for sustainably raised local foods in Chicago. Currently I'm facilitating the set-up of drop sites for local organic produce at churches, temples, mosques, etc and would LOVE to move these efforts forward in new directions. -- SundeeWislow

I am an inventor, entrepreneur, consultant and catalyst. I'm looking for new opportunities to apply my talents to capital-W Work that has deeper meaning for myself and the world. In addition to serving as board president of a co-operative with 300 employees and $52 million in sales, I have started several businesses and seem to have an innate ability to help others achieve their goals. My wife and I have developed a presentation and group game for young adults called "Earn From The Heart(tm)" that's currently in beta. -- MichaelYacavone

There is a new and larger work to be done in the world and it will take a new and larger people. I want to be among these people.

Little flashes on the

surface of the pond

as the wind makes

its way remind me

that people

have a brilliance too

when breath touches them.

Now something has surfaced--

I saw it not--

but its rings go out.

I invite people when they are thinking of life after their death to see the larger good they can do; in communities I invite people to make change. Specifically, I help people envision and write their larger Wills and Trusts, and I organize and facilitate change-making retreats. http://www.FootprintsintheWind.com

Our very biggest and best is service. I am interested in non-checkbook philanthropy.

I want to duplicate this conference in my home area in and around South Bend, Indiana, and then take it in wider circles from there. DougGermann