Post-Holiday Gratitude to All Who Made Our 2024 Policy Conference a Day to Remember
We are deeply grateful to all who attended, supported, and shared their expertise at the recent 2024 CalNonprofits Policy Conference in Los Angeles. The energy in the gorgeous Audrey Irmas Pavilion was palpable as more than 300 of us – representing the nonprofit, philanthropic and government sectors – engaged with presenters, networked with enthusiasm, and together reflected the strength and resilience of California’s nonprofits at what was our first in-person conference since 2018.
For those of you unable to attend, a few stand-outs from the day:
- CA Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas honored us as our opening keynote speaker. He stressed the importance of strong nonprofit-government partnerships as the surest path to a more resilient future for the communities that need us most.
- An ambitious and thoughtful post-mortem of the election focused on the economic and policy concerns of voters along with the role of nonprofits in addressing and communicating them to government. It concluded with encouragement from moderator Chet Hewitt (Sierra Health Foundation) that “the answers to the things we’re confronting today (are directly related to) what actions you in this room take tomorrow.”
- “We are not and do not wish to be a cheap alternative to public services,” was the bold pronouncement by Jennifer Fearing, CalNonprofits’ Sacramento advocate, speaking on a panel about our ongoing efforts to improve contracting with the state.
- Lynne Thompson, the 4th Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles, brought attendees to their feet with her soaring language and unique California perspective.
- Keynote speaker Anand Giridharadas brought an ease and sharp wit to his engaging conversation with CEO Geoff Green, ending the day on this note: “Let’s not tell a story of our own subjugation,” he said. “What we are experiencing is a revolt against the future. And the future generally wins.”
The 2025 Conference will be in Los Angeles, tentatively set for November 5th. More 2024 conference photos here.
