9:00 – 9:30 ET

Check-in, Breakfast, and Networking

Join us for breakfast and networking before the Funders Institute officially kicks off. Breakfast buffet will likely include oatmeal, crust-less quiche, fruit, and pastries. 

If you have opted for JOINT registration (Funders Institute and NAEH conference), Funders Together will have your NAEH conference registration materials. DO NOT check in at the NAEH registration desk. 

9:30 – 10:20 ET

Housing Justice is the Solution to Ending Homelessness 

Day 1 will kick off with remarks by Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness, who will talk about Funders Together’s new strategic direction and the connection between homelessness and housing justice. Participants will grapple with we can push for real transformation so that preventing and ending homelessness means that everyone is connected to the resources that will allow them to thrive.  

Ann Oliva, the new CEO of National Alliance to End Homelessness, will also offer remarks about her vision for the Alliance’s work moving forward. 

Speakers:

• Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness
• Ann Oliva, CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness

10:20 – 12:00 ET

Deep Dives on Bringing Narrative Change Research, Advocacy, and Philanthropy Together   

Narrative change has been a frequent conversation: what it is (and is not), what research is telling us, and how narrative change and policy change are linked. Funders Together has hosted several of these conversations with experts to share their research and strategies, and now it’s time to bring experts and philanthropy together for deeper conversations about how philanthropy can invest their dollars, voice, and time in supporting this work. During these roundtable conversations, funders will have an opportunity to sit down with narrative change experts and brainstorm together how philanthropy should be investing in narrative change work that builds knowledge and power among messengers and policymakers so that we can see real transformation.    

Speakers: 

• Marisol Bello, Director, Housing Narrative Lab 
• Jennifer Cossyleon, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager, Community Change
• Mike Dickerson, Researcher, Invisible People and Ktown for All 
• Mark Horvath, Founder, Invisible People 
• Lindsay Knotts, Managing Director, Impact Strategies, TheCaseMade
• Barb Poppe, Founder and Principal, Barbara Poppe and Associates 
• Michelle Thurston, Housing Justice Narrative Fellow, Community Change

12:00 – 1:00 ET

Lunch on your own

1:00 – 1:45 ET

National Conference on Ending Homelessness Opening Plenary with Ann Oliva, CEO of National Alliance to End Homelessness

Please note: the opening plenary is limited to those who have also jointly registered for the National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

2:00 – 3:15 ET

Alternatives to Policing in our Vision for Housing Justice 

Housing justice necessitates that we dismantle carceral and punitive approaches both in strategies to resolve the crisis of homelessness and in any effort to prevent it in the first place. This includes an honest reflection of our perceptions of law enforcement and movements to defund – or even abolish – the prison-industrial complex. Despite the racial justice uprisings of 2020, police violence has scarcely reduced, and recent calls to increase police presence in schools threatens further regression. But even if we could assume all funders agree we should pursue a future without policing, the role of philanthropy in the decriminalization of homelessness is all but clear. This session will dive into the complexity of criminalization and policing in the movement to end homelessness by exploring how funders have grappled with these issues and uplifting promising models.  

Speakers:

• Roshan Bliss, Principal Consultant, Bliss Collaborations 
• Katy Miller, Regional Coordinator, USICH

5:00 ET

Funder Networking Reception

Off-site, location TBA

8:30 - 9:00 ET

Breakfast available

Join us starting at 8:30 for a light breakfast before the program begins at 9am. 

9:00 – 10:30 ET

Creating New Tables for Systems Transformation: Partnerships to Shift Power to People with Lived Experience 

Please note, participation in Day 2 is limited to those who have opted for JOINT registration.

The phrase “centering people with lived experience” is everywhere and is lifted up as the way to end homelessness and achieve housing justice. However, if we don’t intentionally and thoughtfully build partnerships, people are tokenized and retraumatized, and systems remain inequitable. So, what does it mean to build authentic partnerships with people with lived experience? How do we best co-create new tables for lived experience to carry equal weight and importance? And, how can philanthropy better support new ways of working? During this conversation, systems thinkers with lived experience will share the work they are doing to build community, transform systems, and advance housing and racial justice.   

Speakers: 

• Donald Whitehead, Executive Director, National Coalition for the Homeless 
• LaMont D. Green, DSW. Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and WA State Lived Experience Coalition 
• Phoebe VanCleefe, Senior Program Officer, True Colors United 
• Moderator: Bianca Carter, Program Officer for Housing and Homelessness, Trinity Church Wall Street  

1:30 - 2:45 ET

Philanthropic Partnerships and Strategies for Systems Transformation 

Please note, this session is part of the NAEH conference and is only open to those who are also registered for the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. 

Implementing solutions to ending homelessness that are rooted in equity and justice requires true partnership and alignment of values. Though philanthropy’s roots come from racialized capitalism and the exploitation of labor and resources from Black and Indigenous peoples, philanthropy still has a role to play to change the systems and policies that result in the disproportionate number of people of color experiencing homelessness. This session, organized by Funders Together to End Homelessness, will highlight funders from across the country who are working to partner with systems leaders and policymakers to stand up public-private partnerships, advocate for policies rooted in equity, and fund systems change. This session is geared toward systems leaders and thinkers, advocates, policymakers, and funders who are ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and build new partnerships that are built on deep trust and relationships.  

Speakers: 

• Susan Thomas, CEO, Melville Charitable Trust 
• Lucky Michael, Program Officer, Arlene and Michael Rosen Foundation 
• Jennifer Olney, Senior Program Officer, Partnership to End Homelessness, Greater Washington Community Foundation 
• Moderator: Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness 

8:30 – 9:30 ET

Cross-Systems Policy Opportunities to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness

Please note, participation in Day 3 is limited to those who have opted for JOINT registration.

Join us on the final day of the Funders Institute for a conversation about policy opportunities to prevent and end youth homelessness. 

Coffee and tea will be available. We encourage those who would like breakfast to grab breakfast from the conference's continental breakfast spread and bring it to this session. 

Speakers

• Marcella Middleton, Executive Director, A Way Home America
• Kevin Solarte, Owner-Worker, Housing Justice Collective
• Casey Trupin, Director of Youth Homelessness, Raikes Foundation
• Kimberly Waller, Associate Commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services