On October 21-23 over 80 members of Impact100 Philadelphia joined more than 200 more women from around the country for the national conference of the Women’s Collective Giving Grantmakers Network (WCGN). This was no small commitment. Our Impact members paid a significant registration fee to attend the conference and gave three days of their time to learn more about the women’s collective giving movement and how to increase their philanthropic impact in Philadelphia.

The WCGN conference, held at The Logan in Philadelphia, included collective grantmaking organizations from 26 states and Australia. The theme of the conference, We the Women: Changing the Face of Philanthropy, reflected the increasing diversity within our organizations and the catalyzing influence the women’s collective giving movement is having in the field of philanthropy.

Impact100 Philadelphia proudly hosted the conference, which exceeded all expectations thanks to the tireless work of the Conference Steering Committee, co-chaired by Sue Dubow and Ellan Bernstein (pictured above), and numerous Impact100 Philadelphia volunteers. Among the over 80 Impact100 Philadelphia members in attendance, five of our members, Allison Schapker, Emily Biscardi, Julie Orts, Stephanie Taylor, and Katie Mueller, were breakout session leaders.

Conference participants learned from colleagues about new and effective approaches in the areas of Communications & Technology, Governance, Grantmaking, and Membership during collaborative and interactive breakout sessions. We were inspired by plenary speakers, including Uneeka Jay, president of Rewrite 365; Katherina Rosqueta, founding executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania; Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking; Marsha Levick, co-founder, deputy director, and chief counsel of the Juvenile Law Center; Jane Golden Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia; Liz Scott, co-executive director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, and Kristina Wahl, president of the Barra Foundation.

We were also present for the reveal of WCGN’s new name—Catalist and tagline, Women Accelerating the Power of Collective Giving, developed to better reflect its role in raising the profile of and serving as a resource for collective grantmaking organizations in a changing world. Stay tuned for the new website, www.CatalistWomen.org. All participants left the conference energized about the collective giving movement and took away new perspectives to inform their work.