We Gather

Before strategy, there's relationship. We open with an evening of reconnection to remind ourselves who we're building alongside, and why we started.

No panels. No presentations. Just us in curated space.

REMARKS BY: Councilman Aaron Polkey

Breakfast

Wellness Experiences

Start your day off with a curated Meditation + Sound Bath Experience

Curated by: Esprit Oree - Somatic Practitioner and Holistic Stretch Therapist

Morning Assembly:

Why the Long Game - A Reckoning and a Resolve

This session opens the convening by naming what's real.

The landscape for collective giving has shifted. Funding is contracting, equity is under attack, and the infrastructure so many of us spent decades building is being tested in ways we didn't anticipate. This isn't a moment for talking points. It's a moment for honest witness and for the kind of strategic clarity that only comes from people who have been here before.

Session 1 brings the full community together to look directly at what we're facing: TRUST, Values, the rollbacks, the pivots, the quiet losses and the emerging opportunities that sit inside of crisis. Through a story segment, a grounded panel conversation, and framing remarks that root us in why this work matters, we leave this session not with false reassurance, but with shared sight lines and the beginning of a plan.

SPEAKERS:
❍ Dr. Amber Banks, Center for Trust and Transformation
❍ Darrin Goss Sr., Coastal Community Foundation
❍ LaTisha Vaughn, Chief Programs Officer, E3 Educate, Empower, Elevate Foundation
❍ Linetta Gilbert , Gilbert & Associates
❍ Shawn Dove, Managing Partner, New Profit
❍ Tobi Shannon, Community Investment Network
❍ Tyeshia "Ty" Wilson, Philanthropy Together
❍ Tobi Shannon, Community Investment Network

Breakout Sessions:

Building for the Long Haul: How to Choose the Right Fiscal Sponsor - Presented by: Yvonne Moore, Moore Philanthropy = Laurens Room

The Long Game: Building the Relational Infrastructure for Enduring Collective Action - Presented by: Natasha Marshall + ANYANWU The Human Root = Carolina A Ballroom

The Vocabulary of Home: Building Community, One Word at a Time - Presented by: Heather Infantry, Giving Gap = Rutledge Room

Brightside Conversation with Congressman James E. Clyburn and Dr. Tonya Matthews, President and CEO of the International African American Museum

You don't want to miss this!

Networking Lunch

Let's Explore!

During this time we'll be taking a few tours around the city to see the rich history of Charleston

Meet in the Carolina Ballroom B for instructions

Afternoon Assembly:

The Diaspora Has Always Given - What We Can Learn from Each Other

Collective giving didn't start in America. It has never been confined to it.

From susu networks in the Caribbean to harambee gatherings in East Africa to the rotating savings traditions of West African communities, collective giving is woven into the fabric of Black diasporic life across the globe. Yet our conversations about this work often remain anchored to one geography, one framework, one funding ecosystem.

This session cracks that open. We'll hear from practitioners building collective giving infrastructure across the African diaspora, from the U.S. to the Caribbean to the African continent, and ask the harder questions:

- What systems exist that we don't know about?
- What can we learn from communities that have been doing this without institutional validation for generations?
- And what does it look like to build a global collective giving movement that doesn't replicate the hierarchies of the philanthropic sector we're trying to transform?

SPEAKERS:
❍ Amina Doherty, Clara Lionel Foundation
❍ Imani Missouri, Philanthropic Leader & Learner at IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
❍ Ineza Mutimura, Funders of African Descent
❍ Rowena Estwick, Ten Years Time
❍ Susan Taylor Batten, ABFE

Explore Charleston!

Breakfast

Wellness Experiences

Wellness Experiences

Start your day off with a curated Meditation + Sound Bath Experience

Curated by: Esprit Oree - Somatic Practitioner and Holistic Stretch Therapist

Morning Assembly:

Tell the Story, Build the Movement

The work is exceptional, yet it remains largely unrecognized.

Collective giving organizations have moved millions of dollars, transformed neighborhoods, and established a philanthropic model based on trust, proximity, and shared power. However, these achievements are often confined to impact reports and annual summaries, which rarely capture their full significance. As a result, the movement's impact exceeds its narrative.

This session confronts that gap head-on.

We will look at the real challenges to telling stories in this field, like limited resources, worries about overstating impact, a culture of humility, and not having the right tools for storytelling. We will also talk about how to go beyond numbers and share stories that connect with people, like the giving circle that helped keep a family business going, the first-time donor who found their own power, and the community that funded its own future.

A key question is: who should be part of this conversation? We will hear from people in this community and from storytellers in fields like journalism, publishing, film, and performance. These guests know how real stories about collective power are told, shared, and remembered.

This is not just about making individual organizations more visible. It is about using stories to build a movement and making sure the next generation of leaders, donors, and members see themselves in this work and feel inspired to join. The story we tell now is what we leave behind. In this session, we will start writing that story together.

SPEAKERS:
❍ Hali Lee, Founding Partner, Radiant Strategies
❍ Noel Didla, As Goes the South
❍ Herb Frazier, Author and Journalist
❍ Linsey Mills, Foundation Fundholder, NGAAP
❍ Michelle Serrano-Mills, Foundation Fundholder, NGAAP

Breakout Sessions

Next Wave - Presented by Tracey Washington, CoThinkk= Laurens Room

Every Dollar Has a Story: Narrative as Infrastructure for Giving Circles - Presented by Hali Lee, Asian Women Giving Circle = Rutledge Room

Building a Culture of Generational Philanthropy Through the F.L.O.W.™ Framework - Presented by Aliyah Cook and Elycia Cook Authentic Ascension Collective = Carolina A

Networking Lunch

Afternoon Assembly:

The Long Game Is an Intergenerational Moment
Who is this work being handed to? And are they already in the room?

Every movement that has lasted has figured out how to move across generations, not just by mentoring youth, but by genuinely sharing power, learning from younger leaders, and building structures that don't depend on any one person's longevity. Collective giving is no different.

This session centers a conversation that often stays at the edges of our convenings: What does it look like to build a truly intergenerational movement? Who is being invited in, who is being heard, and who is being prepared to lead? We'll bring together voices from across the spectrum — a college student currently building a giving circle, a practitioner working at the intersection of youth development and community philanthropy, and a seasoned leader who has been in this work long enough to know what it takes to stay, to have an honest, cross-generational dialogue about power, trust, and the future of this field.

Let's Explore!

During this time we'll be taking a few tours around the city to see the rich history of Charleston

Meet in the Carolina Ballroom B for instructions
Attendees will be able to secure their spots for these after registering.

The Community Investment Network (CIN) will present its national recognition awards live

The purpose of CIN Honors is to:
- Celebrate creative solutions emerging from communities of color in CIN-member giving circle cities

- Encourage and elevate donor-of-color initiatives within the broader philanthropic field

- Recognize excellence, longevity, and emerging leadership in collective giving