Independent Sector Kicks Off Unprecedented Initiative to Strengthen the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Community

Washington, D.C., July 28, 2009 — Today Independent Sector kicked off an innovative, collaborative initiative focused on strengthening the future of America’s 1.4 million charitable organizations. Drawing on people with wide-ranging nonprofit expertise, this effort is designed to empower individual organizations and the charitable sector as a whole to make a greater impact on lives and communities.

Over the next six months, the Envisioning Our Future initiative will bring thousands of people together in a national conversation to analyze the challenges and possibilities that will shape the ability of nonprofits and foundations to improve lives for years to come. An extensive series of in-person meetings and online conversations will invite nonprofit and foundation staff and stakeholders to contribute their insights to develop high-impact strategies that advance the common good.

“Envisioning Our Future is a bold, inclusive, creative way to help our community better understand the trends that will profoundly affect us and, more important, the missions we serve,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector. “This process will identify innovative ways for nonprofits and foundations to create a better future for all.”

The initiative stands out in three ways. First, it takes an integrated approach to considering the complexity of our changing environment. It will carefully analyze the trends and interconnectedness of developments within the nonprofit sector, such as organizational sustainability, as well as a broad range of societal trends, such as economic change, demographic shifts, evolving views of government, and technological developments.

Second, it will employ an iterative process for problem solving, using a number of highly participatory activities that encourage interaction among those with different perspectives. Its creative methods will be facilitated for Independent Sector by an innovative Italian firm (also with offices in New York) whose members have already produced exceptional results at Fiat and the World Economic Forum at Davos.