Recent developments in web-based technologies have allowed the creation of new systems for measuring social impact across hundreds of organizations. These innovative initiatives carry implications for foundations beyond performance measurement and could change the way our sector views effectiveness. Participants will hear findings from research that uncovered three different types of social impact measurement systems and learn more about how a cross-sector collaboration to improve education in Cincinnati created shared goals and metrics and a platform for measuring results.

Both philanthropy and government have learned that we need a new model for making significant progress in spreading solutions to our most difficult social problems -- a pathway for funders to collaboratively and systematically engage in funding the scale up of effective initiatives. Through a series of role playing exercises, participants will examine the difficulties nonprofits face in moving to scale and the challenges of collaborative funding. Participants will learn about the components of a new capital marketplace and syndication process in which they can participate immediately to identify and finance the expansions of growth-worthy and growth-ready nonprofits.

As grantmakers continue to explore ways of increasing the effectiveness and impact of nonprofits, we need to think differently about leadership and investments in individuals. There is a growing recognition that to achieve large scale change, we need to unleash collective leadership capacity within groups, organizations and communities; leverage networks using collaborative technologies; and support individuals and organizations working across differences to develop shared purpose, vision and coordinated action. To understand what is needed to achieve this scale of collaborative action, the Leadership Learning Community has joined forces with key innovators in the field to explore the topic of "Collective Leadership" as part of Leadership for a New Era - a collaborative research initiative focused on promoting leadership that is more inclusive, networked and collective. Some of the innovators will present practical case studies and provide insights on models and tools for effectively supporting and evaluating the impact of collective leadership.

GEO 2010 National Conference: Insights on Collective Leadership: http://leadershiplearning.org/blog/natalia-castaneda/2010-04-26/geo-2010-national-conference-insights-collective-leadership

Communications are sometimes neglected activities in grantmaking organizations but can convey critical messages to key stakeholders and help fulfill their missions. Grantmakers can adopt a variety of communications capacities, decisions and strategies to support their programs and grantmaking. For example, Spitfire Strategies has developed a set of experience-based communications and strategy-building tools for social change; the FrameWorks Institute uses in depth research to structure study circles aimed at building the capacity of organizations to use communications to create lasting social change. Hear from these two different communications groups about how they frame, build and deploy communication campaigns to help further social goals.

Traditionally, philanthropic investors and nonprofit organizations have often operated in silos, rather than building greater stamina, efficiency, and impact through collaboration. Despite these historical challenges, grantmakers can improve the social impact of their philanthropic investments by engaging in a community of likeminded investors, business leaders, local government leaders, and individuals to support nonprofit organizations that have already demonstrated their ability to solve pressing social problems. For this session, grantmakers will participate in an interactive workshop to explore how to build an engaging community that enables investors and the nonprofit organizations they support to grow their social impact together. Using Boston's experience with a model developed by Root Cause's Social Innovation Forum, this session incorporates lessons learned through the implementation of a community-building approach to accelerate social impact, while exploring other ways that grantmakers can build effective, forward-thinking relationships with their grantees.