Leaders who think about "becoming a learning organization" in a conventional sense may drive their organizations toward investing in ad hoc activities that do not ultimately improve grantmaking results. Creating a culture for learning that improves impact starts with leadership. This session, designed for foundation leaders and senior staff, will present new research findings on grantmaker learning practices. Participants will assess their own attitudes and practices toward learning and will have an opportunity to explore with peers what they are doing to increase impact through their culture and practices. Attendees will leave the session with a draft self-assessment they can use to stimulate a dialogue with their staff, and specific ideas for how they can improve their organizations' learning culture. (Pre-session. Advanced registration required.)

Streamlining your grants application and reporting processes takes more than technical fixes -- there are often challenges related to organizational culture too. Through this highly interactive session, grantmakers will explore the phases of streamlining and develop their own pathway. We will a) explore current systems of application and reporting and consider whether they place unnecessary burdens on nonprofit partners; b) surface and check assumptions about the kinds of information necessary for effective and responsible grantmaking; c) identify cultural challenges to streamlining and ways to overcome them; d) share stories and lessons-learned about efforts to streamline grantmaking practices; and e) create action plans for beginning or advancing streamlining work. Available to download: "Making Streamlining Stick". (Pre-session. Advance registration required.)

The for-profit sector has a set of sophisticated financial instruments that have proven outcomes -- not so in the nonprofit sector. While the nonprofit sector has grown increasingly sophisticated in many dimensions of organizational effectiveness, the financial tools for managing operations, sustainability and growth have lagged behind. This is beginning to change. Grantmakers in search of best practices seek answers to basic questions: What is the right type of money to provide grantees in specific situations? How can funders support the long-term sustainability of their grantees? This workshop, based on GEO's "On the Money" publication, offers an opportunity for grantmakers to reflect with colleagues about how to do a better job supporting nonprofit success. Session content will focus on key financial challenges nonprofits face, promising financial tools grantmakers are using, and changes grantmakers can make to better support grantees. (Pre-session. Advance registration required.)

GEO is a vibrant community of more than 350 grantmakers focused on supporting nonprofit effectiveness through investments in leadership, learning, appropriate financial structures and stakeholder engagement. In this session, participants will learn more about GEO's philosophy on smarter grantmaking and GEO's agenda for change. Through networking and small-group conversations, participants will meet like-minded peers and explore questions and challenges together. While this session is designed with new GEO members or first-time conference attendees in mind, anyone is welcome to come to meet new colleagues and dig deeper on issues related to smarter grantmaking. Available to download: "Getting to Know the GEO Community" (Pre-session. Advance registration required.)

Increased empathy and understanding can help close the distance between grantmakers and grantees, strengthen program quality and maximize bottom-line results. When grantmaking staff see the world through other people's eyes, they forge deeper community connections, identify new opportunities to advance their missions and acquire the courage to take risks. Dev Patnaik, author of "Wired to Care", will offer innovative ideas for how grantmakers can build empathy for the communities they serve, bring stakeholders into the center of their work and shape more effective collaborations.