Forum 2008- Philanthropy Remixed: A New Generation In Motion

On November 13, 2008, on the heels of one of the most important elections of this century, despite a troubling world economic condition, Full Circle Fund gathered over 500 of the Bay Area’s brightest stars for one dynamic evening of civic engagement and networking.

With colorful records flanking every corner of the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel and neon orchids emerging from electric blue water, Full Circle Fund set the stage for an unforgettable evening. At the 2008 Forum, new talent mixed and mingled with legends and leaders such as keynote speaker Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. Host Committee Member Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House welcomed the crowd with a video address.

Guests made connections, met innovative organizations doing cutting-edge work at the Action Expo, and learned about community leaders' groundbreaking work in the focus areas of Environment/Energy, Education, Technology, and Global Economic Opportunity. It's Full Circle Fund's hope that this event will continue to add momentum to the engaged philanthropy movement and will drive a new model of philanthropic change: a REMIX of the best practices of the past with the latest innovations of the future.

Investor Reception

For the second year in a row, an esteemed Nobel Laureate addressed our Forum guests. In honor of the new Global Economic Opportunity Circle Launch, a select group of Full Circle Fund investors and board members attended a private Investor Reception at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel with Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Dr. Yunus is widely regarded as the father of microfinance and continues to challenge conventional thinking and identify new ways to unleash the entrepreneurialism of the world’s poor.

Dr. Yunus spoke passionately to the guests about the importance of investing in both time and money into social enterprises in developing regions.

"Philanthropy - the giving [money] away part is good; I'm not denying that. But if you can somehow manage to bring it to the social business level, what happens? Its power becomes multiplied several times. Because in philanthropy, you give the money, it goes, achieves its objective, but money never comes back. But if you can take that objective, build a social business around it, money recycles. It continues, it grows, and you learn and create an institution out of it, and it is replicable."

After congratulating Full Circle Fund on its new Global Economic Opportunity Circle, he highlighted the positive impact individuals can have when using their time, talent and resources to solve the world's most pressing problems.

"Funding is important, but at the same time when you personally can get involved with the business itself, in using your talent, your creativity, your connectivity to that business…and then you feel good that you have helped something which changes people’s lives in the world."

Bauer's Intelligent Transportation provided complimentary transportation for all the investors up the hill to the Mark Hopkins where guests were gathering at the upstairs VIP Reception and hundreds of other guests had a chance to check out the Action Expo, a collection of innovative organizations ready to get them involved in the community.

VIP Reception

More than 150 VIP guests enjoyed mixing and mingling with speakers, award winners and sponsors during the Forum's VIP Reception on the exclusive mezzanine level of the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Dwayne Jones, representing Mayor Gavin Newsom's Office, spoke passionately to the VIPs about the importance of volunteering and community, as well as Full Circle Fund's important role in helping San Francisco build successful civic engagement programs.

Mayor Newsom, a long-time Full Circle Fund supporter, was not able to attend the event due to a trip to Asia, but served as a member of the Host Committee with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House again this year.

VIPs were treated to the exotic rhythms of live global guitar music by Christopher Kilday Productions while they sipped hosted award-winning wine by Mfinity Wines. Deliciously rich and creamy dark chocolate gourmet fudge was served by Jeanne's Fudge. Gift bags for the Investors and VIPs- donated by Clif Bar, GOOD, Green Zebra, Heart of Silicon Valley, Participant Media, Samovar Tea - made guests feel truly appreciated.

Action Expo and Partners

Meanwhile, our other guests enjoyed the Action Expo, a collection of innovative organizations showcasing their unique missions. It was a chance for each Forum guest to meet dozens of amazing nonprofits at one time and learn more about their community work. Guests could sign up for volunteer opportunities, find out more about serving on non-profit boards, and begin making a difference. This year, the Action Expo featured several present and former Full Circle Fund Grantees, as well as a select group of organizations with a global focus. There were so many connections being made, guests didn't want to leave the Action Expo to make their way into the ballroom for the main program. Check out the following 2008 Action Expo Partner Organizations for more ways to get involved:

Bay Area Council Ella Baker Center Global Lives Project Hamilton Family Center Juma Ventures

Niroga Institute Room To Read ISIS Inc. / SexINFO Silicon Valley Microfinance Network Spark

Taproot Foundation TechSoup Global UniversalGiving The Volunteer Center Young Nonprofit Professionals Network

Keynote Speaker

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook

It was an honor to have Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg as our esteemed 2008 Forum keynote speaker. Sheryl, who was just featured as one of Fortune magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women, is a proven thought leader in finding sustainable solutions to the problems of poverty, energy and the environment. Sheryl was instrumental in launching Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org and prior to that, served as the Chief of Staff for the United States Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton, where she helped lead its work on forgiving debt in the developing world. Sheryl's insightful address drove home three powerful observations about philanthropy.

"The first and, I believe the most important, is to focus our philanthropy on need...But one thing I believe we’ll have to do in this time of need is really increase the percentage of our charity that actually goes to help those who are disadvantaged. This is hard to do…because your kids’ school needs money too, and your friends call you for your alma mater, and you go to your synagogue or your church. But remember that those dollars do not leave your community and that we are the wealthy of the communities. It’s really our responsibility to transfer more of our time and resources outside of our own communities, which is why I have been such a long-term supporter of Full Circle Fund."

Sheryl went on to point out the importance of seeking out and supporting the invisible victims, not just those who are featured in major news stories or highly publicized disasters such as the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia in 2004. She implored guests to focus on less appealing but highly critical issues such as safe water in Africa.

"Work on systematic problems, and find the invisible victims. Studies show over and over that the visible victims: the one we can see, feel and identify gets the majority of our contributions. A great example of this is the horrible tsunami of December 2004. We watched in horror in front of our TVs as 225,000 people lost their lives. The outpouring of generosity from the United States was incredible. $6 billion raised in less than two weeks. Forty-five percent of Americans gave something to the effort. That was tremendous and all of those efforts should be applauded but I note that every six weeks that many people die in this world, mostly children, of unsafe water. You can feed a child all day long and when they're drinking unclean water they never gain any weight because of dysentery. But fixing the water problem in Africa....that's harder, it's less measurable, therefore it's less appealing. Finding ways to work on the long term, the immeasurable, the systemic is what we all need to do and once again, something that I think Full Circle Fund has done truly well."

Sheryl's final point touched on the importance of building great philanthropic institutions and supporting their infrastructure and management team as well as their programs. She challenged guests to write an un-earmarked check in order to allow organizations to sustain operations as well as programs.

"It's not just about starting institutions, it's about helping them continue. One challenge I have to you, and I’ve seen Full Circle Fund do this already- is think, as you’re in your circles, not just about what you can start, but what you can continue. About continuing the work that others have done, because most of these organizations need ongoing support and it’s such an important part of the problem."

Just before receiving a standing ovation by the captivated crowd, Sheryl shared a final statistic and encouraged Full Circle Fund to continue to leverage its engaged philanthropy model.

"A child born in Sub-Saharan Africa has a one-sixth chance today, of not living to their fifth birthday. With the opportunities we’re all given, with the opportunities I’ve been given and everyone in this room, come tremendous responsibilities to give back."

"I really believe in what Full Circle Fund does. I really believe in the model of taking people’s (not just their money but their) time, taking not just their ideas but their energy, and getting them involved in a supported way of building organizations that do everything I think philanthropy needs to do. Build sustainable organizations, help the needy, and find and support the invisible victims that really need our help each and every day."

Award Winners

Exemplary Community Leadership - Tom Steyer
and Kat Taylor

Full Circle Fund Outstanding Member - Greg Nelson

Full Circle Fund proudly presented the Member of the Year award to Greg Nelson. In the nearly four years Greg has been a member of Full Circle Fund, he has provided tremendous energy and leadership, first in the Education Circle and more recently, as the Vice Chair of the Environment Circle. During Greg’s tenure, the Environment Circle exploded onto the scene with the Ella Baker Center grant project in 2007. In 2008, as acting Circle Chair, Greg was instrumental in increasing the Circle’s membership to 45 members and leading the grant cycle which resulted in four incredible new projects. By day, Greg is the CEO of Green Harvest Technologies, a green product development and marketing company developing sustainably-produced, biobased consumer products. Most recently, Greg has accepted a position in President-Elect Barack Obama's Transition Team.

Education - Phil Halperin, Silver Giving Foundation

Phil has devoted abundant time, energy, and resources to the policy and operational issues facing public education in California. Along with Warren Hellman, Phil co-chaired the $450 million 2006 School Bond and the 2008 Proposition A School Parcel Tax campaigns for the San Francisco Unified School District. Similar to Full Circle Fund’s Alt Comp Dialogue project, initiated in 2006 to foster and support substantive and collaborative local conversations about alternative compensation models for teachers, Prop A provides resources for attracting and retaining quality teachers and staff by increasing salaries and providing teachers with additional compensation for extra work at hard-to-staff schools and in hard-to-fill subject areas. Phil currently serves as President of Silver Giving Foundation and Chair of the San Francisco School Alliance Foundation Board.

Environment/Energy - Tamin Pechet, Imagine H20

Tamin currently serves as Chairman and Executive Director of Imagine H20, a 2008 Full Circle Fund grantee, and nonprofit organization dedicated to solving the world’s water crisis through competition, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Tamin has spent the past seven years as an entrepreneur and investor and is a great example of a social innovator who saw a need and created a vehicle to draw investment and attention to a critical issue. Previously, Tamin was a principal investor at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he founded and co-managed a $200 million energy investment group. The Imagine H20 – Full Circle Fund partnership aims to be a conduit for new innovations in water to reach market.

Technology - Rebecca Masisak, TechSoup Global

Since 2001, Rebecca's leadership has been instrumental in launching TechSoup Global's product donation service and later guiding its global expansion. The service has distributed just under three million donated and discounted technology products to close to 120,000 organizations in 19 countries, freeing up more than US$832 million. With seed funding and strategic advice from Full Circle Fund, Rebecca also orchestrated the launch of the Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI), which distributes unwanted corporate IT equipment to nonprofits and low-income families, turning used computers and office equipment into effective corporate green philanthropy. In 2008, the initiative was awarded a generous $500,000, two-year grant by the California Emerging Technology Fund, enabling it to scale up at a statewide level.

Video | 20/20 Productions

Global Economic Opportunity Circle Launch

At the 2007 Forum, Nobel Prize Recipient Vice President Al Gore helped Full Circle Fund launch the Environment/Energy Circle, and declared that the next circle must have a global focus. Just a year later, we launched our new Global Economic Opportunity Circle at the Forum. Many supporters asked, in light of the floundering economy, "Is this a good time to launch a new initiative?" which is a question we didn't take lightly. The answer is, the Global Economic Opportunity Circle is actually a reinvention of the former Housing Circle.

Just as the state of the economy remains a pressing concern for all non-profits, including Full Circle Fund, housing will remain a concern of the circle and will be woven in with other critical issues that affect the quality of life on a global level. Circle Co-Chairs Pamela Hawley and Sarah Wigglesworth invite anyone interested in becoming a member of Full Circle Fund and working on global issues to attend a meeting of the Global Economic Opportunity Circle. See the Full Circle Fund calendar for upcoming meetings.

Video | 20/20 Productions

Launch Party and Networking Reception

Photo | Keith Lewis Photography & Imaging

After the close of the speaker program, guests celebrated the Global Circle Launch at our Networking Reception. Guests were treated to the eco-minded spirits of 360 Vodka, beer from Lagunitas Brewing Company and Trumer Brauerei Berkeley, and a wide variety of treats from Edible Love Chocolate and Cold Stone Creamery. Guests also sampled complimentary organic wine from Frey Vineyards and Clif Bar Family Winery while enjoying while enjoying the ambient sounds of global electronica created by Bay Area musician Saul Stokes. As guests exited the event, they received their choice between two brand- new, hardcover, bestselling books: either The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones (generously donated by SWIRL), or Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus.

Sponsors

VISIONARY

INNOVATING

MEDIA

SUPPORTING

GENERAL

CLIF Bar and Clif Family Winery Frey Vineyards Hint Water

Lagunitas Brewing Company Magnolia Floral Design St. Francis Winery

Swirl Threshold Trumer Brauerei Berkeley

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Craigslist Foundation
Hands On Bay Area
World Affairs Council

IN KIND

Cold Stone Creamery Edible Love Chocolates GOOD Green Zebra Heart of Silicon Valley Jamie Reese Photography

Jeanne's Fudge Jeremy Sutton Keith Lewis Photography & Imaging Lora O'Connor Productions Mfinity Wines Mona Brooks Photograpy

Orange Photography Participant Media Samovar Tea Saul Stokes Music TCHO Thomas Minczeski Photography Video Madness

Thanks

The Forum would not have been possible without the support of many amazing people. Thank you to all our members, staff, hosts, partners, sponsors, donors, speakers, award winners, and vendors.

To name everyone that helped would take another webpage, but in particular the event would not have been possible without the time and commitment of these individuals: Constance Adamoupoulous, Cynthia Silva, Kirstyn Bay, Maria Hermanussen Marcus, Eva Camp, Cameron Jones, Ulrike Steinbach, Christigale Fernandez, Mark Edmunds, Juliana Deans, Diana Blanda, Rick Batia, Robin Evans, Gary Fortney, Julia and Kevin Hartz, Darla Migan, Regina Starr Ridley, Peter Werner, Tom Van Ess, Chris Eyre, Russ Hall and the rest of the Legacy team for all of their support, Mike Anders and the other members of the Speaker Committee: Josh Becker, Kuji Chahal, Melanie Nutter, Jack Oswald, Rahul Prakash, Sanjay Wagle, Brian Weinberg, and Peter Werner. Thank you to Grgich Hills Estate, Avatar Restaurant, National Holistic Institute, and Global Exchange for generously donating survey prizes.

Photos

If you cannot see the photo slide show above, view the photo set on Flickr.

To purchase selected photos from the Forum, visit Keith Lewis Photography & Imaging.