Northwest Global Donors Conference

Mission:

A group of leaders and donors co-created the Pacific Northwest Global Donors Conference starting in 2010 in order to inspire donors based in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. to initiate or deepen their commitment to international philanthropy.  Over the course of five years, hundreds of donors participated in an annual conference and various special events. Eventually they renamed the enterprise the Global Donors Exchange (GDX) Northwest.

The purpose of GDX was to build and strengthen a space for donors to connect — as well as to increase the depth and breadth of global grantmaking from the Northwest, a five state region encompassing Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

The conference, the first-of-its-kind in the region, gathered a growing number of international philanthropists in the Northwest to learn, plan, network and engage. The conference aimed to inspire and offered useful tools and resources to those interested in giving globally – to increase connections, knowledge and enthusiasm for global grantmaking.

Channel Grants:

2014: Channel made a grant to support the renamed Northwest Global Donors Exchange (NW-GDX) (via the fiscal sponsorship of the World Affairs Council). NW-GDX envisioned creating a community of more engaged global philanthropists and increasing the Northwest region’s impact around the world.  NW-GDX collaborated with others to host events and provide learning opportunities for donors from the Northwest to learn about global issues and become more engaged in global philanthropy. Channel helped organize events focused on rapid response grantmaking in Africa, funding in the Democractic Republic of Congo, and funding environmental justice.

2013: Channel made a grant (via the fiscal sponsorship of the World Affairs Council) to support the 2013 Pacific Northwest Global Donors Conference which took place on May 17, 2013.

2011: Channel made a grant (via the fiscal sponsorship of the World Affairs Council) to support the 2012 Pacific Northwest Global Donors Conference which took place on May 4, 2012.

2010: Channel made a grant (via the fiscal sponsorship of the World Affairs Council) to support the second Pacific Northwest Global Donors Conference, “Giving for Sustainable Change,” which took place on April 1-2, 2011 in Seattle, WA. Channel helped to plan the conference via participation on the Conference Steering Committee and helped organize and facilitate sessions on “Technology Tools for Grassroots Advocates ” and “Funding Peacebuilding.” The conference (as you can see via archived conference agenda) featured Gregory Carr, noted philanthropist, as keynote speaker.

2009: Channel made a grant to support the first-ever Pacific Northwest Global Donors Conference, “Pathways for Strategic Giving,” via the fiscal sponsorship of the World Affairs Council.  The conference aimed to:

• Provide information to increase confidence in global grantmaking;
• Provide education on many of today’s most significant global issues;
• Identify best practices that address the root causes of global poverty and fundamental human rights issues; and
• Link participants to the growing community of global philanthropists in the region

On March 19-20, 2010, over 180 participants, speakers and volunteers gathered in downtown Seattle for the conference which included, as you can see via the archived conference agenda, plenary sessions featuring Kavita Ramdas, then-President of Channel grantee partner the Global Fund for Women, and Bill Gates Sr., Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Participants shared strategies with their peers in lively workshops ranging from “Conflict Resolution, Peace and Human Security” (which featured Channel grantee partner Sanam Naraghi Anderlini from the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and “Building Sustainable Assets for the Poor” to “Pathways for Global Giving” and “Monitoring and Evaluation Strategies that Make a Difference.”  Channel also helped plan the conference via participation on the Conference Steering Committee and facilitated a session on “Gender and Empowerment.”

Impact:

Over the course of five years, GDX featured many Channel Foundation grantee partners with speakers from the following: Digital Democracy, Disability Rights Fund, Fund for Global Human Rights, Global Fund for Women, Global Greengrants Fund, Global Press Institute, International Civil Society Action Network, Urgent Action Fund, and World Pulse.