Top Foundations Convening on “Next Narratives” for High-Impact Philanthropy

MIAMI, July 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Many of the nation’s top philanthropic foundations including Robert Woods Johnson, Annie E. Casey, McKnight, Prudential, New Commonwealth Fund, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Comcast Foundation, and Omidyar Network are cosponsoring a summit for 200 of their peers to share replicable strategies that have united people across political and social divides and raised billions for social causes by appealing to aspirations rather than to pity or fear.

Hosted by nonprofit leadership network, BMe Community, the Next Narrative Summit aims to showcase why modern philanthropic initiatives that use social psychology create far greater Power, Opportunity, and Community to transform lives and systems than their traditional peers.

“Foundations often rely too heavily on worn tropes of crises, pity, and fear,” says Trabian Shorters, Co-founder and CEO of BMe Community. “This aging practice inevitably breeds resentment and underinvestment in the very communities that we aim to help. Philanthropies that take much more dignifying approaches are experiencing breakthrough successes that are replicable.”

This shift from solely focusing on deficits to starting with people’s aspirations and contributions before highlighting their challenges is called Asset-Framing. Though it sounds simple at first blush, Asset-Framing elegantly applies breakthroughs in cognitive and social psychology that prove human decision-making is narrative-driven, not fact-driven.

At the Summit, leaders from Robert Woods Johnson Foundation to Prudential Insurance Co. will share how they are using Asset-Framing and other modern tools and tactics to inspire new audiences and win major victories for economic mobility, racial equity, public health, and dozens of causes.     

McKnight Foundation CEO, Tonya Allen, will share how, in 2023, her Groundbreak Coalition‘s “next narrative” approach raised $ 1 billion regionally to create “a racially equitable and carbon-neutral” future in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Allen regards the $1 billion as just a beginning. The coalition plans to raise $4.3 billion more and may replicate the strategy in coming years.

Blue Meridian Partners President and CIIO, Jim Shelton, will share their analysis of why economic mobility has declined for all Americans and what we can do about it.

Nobel Prize Nominee Desmond Meade will share how, in 2018, his “next narrative” approach persuaded 5 million Florida Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to change the state constitution to allow freed people to vote following incarceration.

“Imagine if every local, regional, or national foundation knew how to apply social psychology to get greater engagement and results like the leaders at this Summit,” says Shorters.

Other featured speakers include:

Soledad O’Brien, Owner and CEO, Soledad O’Brien ProductionsDavid Bornstein, Co-Founder and CEO, Solutions Journalism NetworkJohn Powell, Director, The Othering and Belonging InstituteSheena Meade, Chief Executive Officer, Clean Slate InitiativeAnd representatives from sponsoring organizations listed earlier

The Next Narrative Summit is invitation-only, September 4-7, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida but foundation leaders and heads of their communications firms can still submit their names for consideration through July 12th at www.BMeCommunity.org/NNS

About BMe Community
BMe Community is an award-winning nonprofit leadership community dedicated to expanding Black people and all people’s freedoms to live, own, vote, and excel. BMe Community runs incredibly high-trust, high-impact leadership communities including the BMe Vanguard Honors for Black leaders, and the Next Narrative Summit for leaders improving philanthropic culture and impact. In 2024, The Bridgespan Group found that BMe was the #1 leadership community in its national comparison group for attention to positively impacting members, communities, and systems. www.bmecommunity.org.

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SOURCE BMe Community