GHC Conversation 2012

What is GHC Conversation?

• Gary Hubbell Consulting's Conversation is an ongoing search for innovative thinking and true collaboration to re-frame philanthropy as a lever for lasting change, pursued in a way that fuels the mutual well-being of philanthropists, organizations, and entire communities of people.
• This gathering is a thoughtful, reflective time for a select group of leaders who want to feel renewed and enriched and are less interested in a discussion of techniques and best practices.
• Held annually, GHC's Conversation is a facilitated exchange of insights and ideas around issues of common interest to organizational and sector leaders.

How is it different and why is it important?

• Small group size (not more than 18) assures deep personal engagement.
  Participants are hand-picked and personally invited.
• Each participant writes and submits an original essay (1,500 word maximum) prior to the gathering. Unlike conferences and workshops where expert presentations are the norm, your writing is part of your contribution to a new type of exchange among colleagues. Each participant offers his/her best thinking on paper in advance, then brings their blended experience and suspended judgments to foster a deep dive into understanding our sector, philanthropy, and the future in a new way.
• Participants co-design the discussion.
• We blend deep discussion, generative listening, artful graphics, and moments of inspiration to create an experience that is both challenging and nourishing.

How is Conversation 2012 Different from Earlier Conversations?

• Conversation 2009 examined four key elements of philanthropy and the social sector: new perspectives on leadership, philanthropy in a systems context, interpreting & communicating impact, and the future of philanthropy.
• When we reconvened for Conversation 2010 we realized we were stuck in a mandorla, seeking new paths through to a future that, at the time, was clouded and uncertain. We felt loose from our moorings, recognizing that much of what we had presumed was foolproof and certain was anything but.
• Building on those earlier discussions, we framed Conversation 2011 as an attempt to learn from the future. Our far-reaching discussions centered on personal journeys to open our minds to new ways of seeing and, therefore, to realign our intention and attention.
• From the fabric of those earlier discussions, we asked where Conversation 2012 should go if we were to continue to add value. We concluded that we are now more poised to emerge from the mandorla and seek to embrace the discipline of scenario thinking to help us imagine distinct images of possibility and further valuable perspective on the work of social change and philanthropy. That is the framework of this year's gathering.

Who participates?

Because of the uncommon nature of the gathering, we are most interested in creating a rich exchange among very gifted and experienced professionals. Those who get the most out of each gathering are those who are open to seeking new ways of thinking about the world and our sector's response, those who bring great insight and experience, and those who are willing to check their egos at the door in order to foster a deep and equitable exchange among participants.

Participants are social sector and organizational leaders and philanthropy executives in North America. Leaders from the following organizations have previously participated (some for multiple years):

What gets discussed?

• Broadly, we discuss philanthropy, community, and society. We are future-focused, working to understand change-both positive and disruptive. We see philanthropy as a catalyst for change. It is fueled by a genuine concern for community and the impulse to act. Sustaining and disruptive forces are at work and must be explored to be better understood. Constantly evolving and reinvented by each generation, social sector organizations and philanthropy (both as an expression of personal hope and as a managed profession) are going through a period of fundamental shifts. This is the general context of Conversation.
• Examples of past discussions and essays are shown at the bottom of this page.*

What do I have to do?

1. Register today to confirm your space in this gathering.
2. Upon registration, we'll provide you some of our advance thinking on core questions and driving forces of change in the coming decades. You'll indicate to us what you believe to be THE two key drivers, which will subsequently help us frame the scenario thinking.
3. Consider past GHC Conversation essays.
4. By January 1, 2012, write and submit an original essay (not previously presented or published) that explores your thinking about these drivers.
5. Before the gathering, we'll provide you the compilation of participant essays, thereby preparing you to collaborate with and engage other participants to shift your thinking and open new ways of sense-making.
6. Consent to having your essay published as part of the collective work of Conversation.

Location & Logistics:

• Registration Deadline: September 15, 2011
• Dates: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 (noon) through Saturday, March 31 (noon)
• Where: Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort, Hilton Head Island, S.C. Registrants are strongly urged to consider two requests: 1) plan to stay for the entire Conversation in order to maintain the important group dynamic and the rich discussion continuity; 2) stay on-property at the Omni, rather than elsewhere. We are a very small "conference." As such, we've negotiated this advantageous room rate for GHC's Conversation 2012 participants. Those who choose to stay elsewhere unintentionally erode a very special environment of peer trust and idea exchange.

Registration:

• Participation: $895 (US dollars)
  Conversation 2012 Registration Form
  (Please save completed form locally prior to returning by email)
• Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort Room reservations: Please make your room reservations directly through this link or by calling: 1-800-THE-OMNI (843-6664). The following special rates have been secured for GHC's Conversation 2012 participants, so please indicate the purpose of your stay:
  • $169/night + tax - Island view
  • $189/night + tax - Courtyard view
  • $209/night + tax - Ocean view
  • $269/night + tax - Oceanfront Suite
• Payment - Full payment is due at the time of registration, payable by credit card or check. Your registration is not confirmed until we have received the registration fee. Please note on the registration form whether you're paying by credit card or check.
• If paying by credit card (preferred), we'll provide you a link to do so.
• Checks should be should be made payable to Gary Hubbell Consulting and sent to:

Prime Financial Credit Union
c/o Frank Olson
1010 N. Water Street
Milwaukee, WI  53202

Cancellation Policy

GHC Conversations are highly personalized experiences, where a hand-selected community of leaders/learners come together for a deep exchange of insights. The mix of participants is essential to its success, as is the advance exchange of original essays among participants. This requires us to have the table set well ahead of each Conversation. Yet, we also understand that schedules change. Therefore, we have adopted the following policy for all GHC Conversations:

• If after paying your registration you find you must cancel, the following policy applies:
  • 9 months or more prior to the Conversation start date = 90% refund
  • 7 to 9 months prior to the Conversation start date = 50% refund
  • Fewer than 7 months prior to the Conversation start date = No refund

Thanks. See you on Hilton Head Island.

*Examples of previous Conversation essay content and discussion starters:

FUTURE OF PHILANTHROPY:

• How individuals and organizations will shape the future of philanthropy.
• Questions we have never before (or seldom) asked about philanthropy; why they must be asked now and imagining how we will respond.
• The role philanthropy will play in the future continuum of alternatives like fee for service, government contracts, philanthrocapitalism, social venture philanthropy, microfinance, etc.
• Engaging philanthropists that are also social entrepreneurs.
• The possibility (likelihood?) that institutions seeking charitable support will no longer be the primary attraction for philanthropists, being replaced by self-motivated individuals, social networks, etc. as the mechanism for change.
• Younger generational attitudes about social entrepreneurism will shape the practice of philanthropy. Will this be a temporary or a permanent, fundamental shift?
• What the recent recession taught us about the future of philanthropy.
• Can philanthropy adopt a long-term and "place based" approach to partnering with the social sector instead of a short-term and relational transaction approach?
• Will dynamic and awesome humanitarian, ecological, political crises across the globe alter the philanthropy landscape in ways that minimize local and regional issues or causes?

LEADERSHIP LEARNING:

• Leaders as catalysts to replicable local leadership development communities - the "biology" of leadership renewal and seeding the future.
• How can organizational philanthropy executives shift their internal conversations to the long view, outside-in thinking, and simultaneously embrace multiple perspectives?
• Leading from the future requires the synthesis of three investigative angles: science (data); active research (let's tinker with the data); and a deeper consciousness of self (intuition). [O. Scharmer]

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS:

• The ecology of organizations can drive their leaders to focus on survival more than on impact, thereby making them reticent to change.
• Can we truly evaluate social change brought about by philanthropy?
• The assumptions about philanthropy at large organizations (foundations, colleges, hospitals, etc.) that may have outlived their usefulness and the assumptions that may have replaced them.
• Who should be developing the institutional voice in large, complex, multi-institutional organizations or systems?
• Will governments control or collaborate with the philanthropy community to tackle pressing issues like education, social justice, food security, energy, natural resources-or will it remain handcuffed by fiscal constraints?

TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION / OTHER

• Will technological innovations transform giving to a transactional rather than a relational interaction?
• Does anybody really control "the message" anymore?
• Relationships have moved online, fundamentally changing the way we interact with one another on a personal level.
• Regaining our ability to engage in thoughtful civil discourse.
• Advances in more widely shared communication technology fosters a new rising consciousness