This year's Council on Foundations (CoF) Annual Conference was held in Philadelphia. I was in town for the annual board and membership meetings of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) but am again blogging about the Conference as a virtual attendee through the blogs and tweets of others.

Saturday, April 9

• Congratulations to the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) on its 40th Anniversary Celebration.  You can read about the event on the Philanthropy 411 Blog: Promoting Intergenerational Leadership & Racial Justice in Philanthropy.

Sunday, April 10

• Congratulations to Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) on its 10th Anniversary.  See Letter to COF Conference Attendees.
• Opening Plenary – Are You Meeting the Challenges of Today's Philanthropy.  See The Chronicle of Philanthropy article: Grant Makers Discuss How to Meet Today's Challenges.

Monday, April 11

• Morning Plenary – In Decline or Just Shifting? The News Media and Philanthropy, Arianna Huffington.  See The Chronicle of Philanthropy article:  Huffington Post Founder Says People Crave Involvement, Ability to Take Action.  Her closing message:  get enough sleep!
• Face, Tweet, Link Your Way to a True Social “ROI”, Beth Kanter.  See Social Media and Grantmaking Session at Council on Foundation’s Conference.

Tuesday, April 12

• Morning Plenary - Philanthropy and Pluralism: Diversity that does not Divide, Amb. James A. Joseph.  See Diversity That Does Not Divide.
• Lunch Plenary – Philanthropy on Trial (video to be posted shortly – can't wait to see this!).  See also Philanthropy on Trial: Are We Living Up to Our Mission?  From Twitter: quoting Gara LaMarche – "We are too focused on charity instead of systemic change. We avoid risk."

Some Great Tweets (MTs):

• Often we congratulate ourselves for collaborating. Must keep in mind: collaboration is a means, not an end.  Shawn Dove
• With no one else to hold us accountable, who in the end will? – LaMarche
• Most social movements, like the LGBT movement, have nothing to do with big philanthropy – LaMarche
• The problem is systemic, not individual. So the remedy must be systemic. – LaMarche
• In the things that matter, philanthropy has been present and engaged, not MIA.  - Ralph Smith
• Diversity of viewpoint for foundation funding priorities should be protected.  - Smith
  
• As a manager I prized order. As a leader I risked chaos. It is time to risk again. – Joseph
• When process is more important than people, we lose the diversity battle – Joseph
• Diverse communities don't just happen, they require planning and then action from those plans – Joseph
• The first rationale for diversity is its role in strengthening democracy.  - Joseph
• Growth of philanthropy driven by middle America, donor-advised funds and community foundations.  - Steve Gunderson
• There are twice as many donor-advised funds as foundations today.  - Gunderson
  
• The importance of telling story supported by data not the other way around – Rinku Sen
• Moving from view of racism as individual, intentional, explicit to also being social, unintended, structural – Sen