Quality Over Quantity: Lessons From The Clinton Global Initiative

As I looked out over the sunset on the Hudson River shortly after pulling out of Penn Station yesterday, I reflected on why I felt something different about the Clinton Global Initiative compared to other conferences I've attended this year.

Then it hit me. There's only one other event that gave me similar feelings: the National Council of Nonprofits Confab conference.

Quality over quantity and a focus on inclusion were hallmarks of both events. Here's what I liked about CGI:

• A cohesive narrative that connected big problems with practical solutions
• A commitment-making process that pairs awareness with accountability
• A venue and design that was engaging to anyone in the room, with a flattened hierarchy in many ways

There's a lot that can go wrong with Polished Philanthropy, and I still feel that these conferences gloss over the nuances and critical scarcity mindset-driven issues that are baked into the sector's infrastructure at this point. Still, there are a lot of exciting things that came out of the work itself.

I was there to interview different folks making commitments. The basic process to be part of the event is that your organization needs to make publicly accountable commitments that are meaningful, not just marketing spin.

There were numerous discussions that, of course, featured celebrities, including one unplanned encounter with Hollywood actor Liev Schreiber that threw me for a loop, but what was exciting is how open and honest everyone was about the problems we are facing.

It gave me the same vibes as Confab, my favorite conference of the year. When the state associations gather, the role of sponsors is to shut up and listen and take it in. That's what I did for the first day while my Untapped Philanthropy co-host Kerrin Mitchell and I got the lay of the land.

By day two, we felt much more at ease and started setting up some interesting interviews that I can't wait to share. We touched on:

• The reason why CGI exists in the first place and its unique role in driving world wide conversations around important topics like climate change and women's rights
• Website accessibility and digital access, including why those little circle widgets can hurt and not help in making your website a better experience for those with disabilities
• The growing movement of values-conscious venture capitalism that is explicitly looking to support BIPOC companies
• Equitably and ethically training the future workforce on how artificial intelligence can augment their work

I also connected with folks like Susan Schaefer and Kelley Hecht , while the event staff was amazingly accommodating and supportive while I stumbled through figuring everything out.

I'm thrilled I could go and look forward to sharing more about the event when we work through our special episodes.

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