Grantmakers for Education's (GFE) 24th annual conference will be held virtually under the theme, “Keeping Our Promises to the Next Generation: Education and Democracy.” This supports the healing of American democracy in the context of education.

The Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) 48th Annual Conference theme is Building Inclusive Environments: Together on the Journey, taking place October 19-22 and October 26-29.

CASEL will be hosting a one-day Virtual Summit on October 15, 2020, to convene global SEL advocates to discuss why SEL matters and the urgency of taking action now. The Summit will focus on the most pressing issues with equity as a primary theme. The Summit will be a unifying and re-energizing call to action as the school year gets underway to make education work better for our students and our society.

Support for a placed-based engagement with the WK Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) program and, specifically, its local partner, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. This project focuses on two, inter-related, and highly aligned areas: • Racial Healing Circle Practitioner Cohort Leadership and Development • Community Racial Healing Programs

A research collaboration with the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) seeks to accomplish three inter-related objectives: 1) research and test a set of messages for resonance with white mainline Christians to encourage them to connect the issue of racial justice to their deeply held religious beliefs; 2) in the next two months, arm and activate these tested messages with mainline Christian thought leaders; and 3) conduct long-term public opinion research at the intersection of racial justice, faith, pluralism and democracy.

A sponsorship of the International Leadership Association (ILA) for their Global Conference in November 2020. The Institute will co-host a featured session on democracy and leadership during the event.

The Fetzer Institute has a rich history as a convener and holder of sacred space. This project will develop and share expertise on creating sacred space in the online environment. The work will include ongoing learning through additional online convenings and dissemination of learnings to external stakeholders through virtual trainings, an online toolkit, an eBook, and other writing.

Creating Change attracts as many as 3,500 LGBTQ leaders, activists, and supporters from the worlds of business, non-profit and government. Over the four-day virtual event, the Conference will feature dozens of workshops, caucus sessions and several large plenaries, where movement leaders will share their insights about our progress and what needs to be done to achieve full liberation.

This project is part of a three-year sponsorship of the iBme Teen Retreats.

Collaboration with Reimagine to provide a multi-faceted, relevant COVID-related response to supporting individuals and communities in coping and living fully through the experience of illness, death, and grief. Specifically, the collaboration will enable Reimagine to strengthen its capacity to convene community organizations and changemakers to support constituents through illness, caregiving, death, funerals, grieving, and anxiety in new ways and virtual spaces, with a particular focus on black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.