Each year, Forefront hosts our Annual Summit, a full day of programs to provide a space for education and collaboration among community leaders, grantmakers, and many other colleagues across Illinois social impact sector.

This year’s theme: united and thriving focused on our collective commitment to building social impact sector that promotes equity and economic security for all communities across Illinois.

Here are some of the highlights of the Summit’s breakout sessions:

• Advocacy in the Nonprofit Sector: Why We Need a Unified Voice and How to Get There

  • The purpose today isn’t to celebrate that we’ve arrived in terms of being totally unified as a sector, but rather to work on developing a shared understanding about why it’s in all of our interests to work together, and some strategies for coalescing around a unified agenda.
  • Things happen at the speed of trust; collaboration takes time and isn’t “finished” nearly when a grant contract begins and ends.
  • Practitioners are the experts, need to share that with philanthropic leaders; practitioners in the field can inform philanthropy.
    

    Roberto Valdez, Midwest Policy Director, Hispanic Federation
    Niya Kelly, Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
    Lawrence Benito, Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
    Carrie Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA)
    Anita Banerji, Senior Director, Strategy and External Relations, Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP)

• Business Model Innovation Through Collaboration

  • The needs of the partnership can help determine the form. A partnership about reducing redundancy in similar activities might look different than one that is focused on developing resources.
  • Sharing experiences can help other organizations understand the benefits and pitfalls of collaboration, the various shapes it can take, and what they need to look out for in the process.
  • Creative efforts, benefit from collaboration, so building a culture of ongoing collaboration can enhance those benefits. These benefits can include better knowledge of navigating fundraising landscapes, finding new outlets and venues, and building new relationships. 

From left to right: Kate Piatt-Eckert, Forefront’s MSI Director, and included Dara Munson, Family Focus; Greg Peterson, Keystone Alliance; Aina Gutierrez, Rebuilding Exchange; and Jason Matsumoto, Full Spectrum Features.

• Court Rulings’ Impact on Our Sector

  • Fearless Fund settling is a strategic decision that averts a ruling on the merits from the court and applies to the US Court of Appeals 11^th circuit encompassing Florida, Georgia, and Alabama only.
  • Lean into trust-based philanthropy and consider risks of contract-based grant-making.
  • Curate and inform boards and leadership who are excited to stay the course and accept the risk.

50th Anniversary Honors

This year’s Summit also served as part of the celebration of Forefront’s 50th Anniversary. Forefront was so excited to honor some of the people who have helped Forefront evolve into the robust organization it is today.

Creating Award: Valerie Lies, long-time CEO of Donors Forum

Sustaining Award: Unmi Song, President of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation

Reframing Award: Angelique Power, President of the Skillman Foundation

Igniting Award: Kristen Mack, Vice President. Communications, MacArthur Fellows, and Partnerships for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

We celebrate four honorees who mark moments in Forefront’s history and reflect our mission and vision.

Hosting the Annual Summit is a great honor. We look forward to gathering with our central Illinois colleagues in Springfield for Annual Summit 2025!