November 15, 2011
Library of Congress, Members Room
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20540
Registration & Continental Breakfast at 8:00AM
An important role of philanthropy is to provide risk capital in support of innovation – to try out new ways of meeting the many challenges that face our country and our world whether in the environment, job creation, poverty, or education. Innovation means developing new solutions; it also means finding new ways to scale what works and finding new and sustainable sources of capital. By highlighting these issues, which shaped the conference agenda, this meeting sought to spark and accelerate innovative action today.
Honorary Co-Chairs
Hon. Eric Cantor, U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader
Hon. Susan M. Collins, U.S. Senator
Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator
Hon. John Lewis, U.S. Congressman
Hon. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Senator
Hon. Patrick Tiberi, U.S.Congressman
Hon. Mark Udall, U.S. Senator
Ambassador Swanee Hunt
Background
Not long after Rep. Cantor became Majority Leader, the Alliance for Global Good asked him to consider convening a conference about the American traditions of giving and philanthropy. Recognizing that philanthropy is non-partisan, Rep. Cantor reached across the Capitol to engage additional honorary co-chairs for this bipartisan conference. Sen. Susan M. Collins, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman John Lewis, Sen. Joe Lieberman, Congressman Patrick Tiberi, Senator Mark Udall and Ambassador Swanee Hunt agreed to serve as Honorary Co-chairs.
Conference Format & Organization
Moderated by Veteran News Analyst and Author Jeff Greenfield, the conference presented an opportunity for American philanthropy to explore ways to expand its impact in solving domestic and global crises. While philanthropy alone is not the answer to all of the world’s challenges, the philanthropic sector, by virtue of its creativity and independence, has long provided fertile ground for innovative response.
The goal of the conference was to identify the conditions and underlying policies and practices that encourage, support and sustain innovation in the solution of social and economic problems.
The conference was organized in cooperation with members of Congress by the Alliance for Global Good, a public charity that seeks to expand the awareness of achievements resulting from philanthropy and to stimulate more effective solutions to some of the social, health, education and environmental problems at home and abroad.
