The Patterson Foundation to attend Grantmakers in Aging annual conference

The Patterson Foundation is attending the 2010 Grantmakers in Aging Annual Conference Oct. 20-22 in Chicago.

Why?

Because that is where the leading foundations in the aging space will be (and where we can learn from some of the best and brightest)!

This will be an active conference for Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation and me.  Because of Debra’s leadership in Southeastern Council of Foundations (SECF)  and the EngAGEment Initiative - a partnership between GIA and SECF to introduce grantmakers to the many needs of our aging population -  we will be attending a session on Wednesday morning to learn and discuss EngAGEment in the Southeast.

Debra will also be leading a breakfast roundtable session with GIA Fellow Alexandra Zaleta on Thursday morning entitled Mental Health: Dementia?? Did you say dementia?  Now what do I/we do? We invite all who have some insight into this terrible disorder to attend (7:30am) and share your thoughts and ideas.  We want to learn from you.

As a New Realities foundation with a blank charter, The Patterson Foundation has the flexibility, opportunity and responsibility to seek out and work with entities from which it can learn. Three of TPF's inaugural initiatives relate to aging: Dementia, Arthritis and Aging with Independence and Dignity. We are attending GIA to meet those who are active in this space, learn from them, and provide support to GIA via our active participation.

Throughout the conference we have meetings scheduled with old friends, new friends and people who have experience in the areas in which we are focusing.  In addition, we will be attending a number of sessions which have been scheduled and which create an opportunity for learning.

We are using the flexibility of having a blank charter as an opportunity to identify areas in which we can make a unique difference and to do so from a collaborative perspective.  At GIA, we want to begin and continue to establish relationships with other foundations.  We believe this flexibility gives us a responsibility to approach philanthropy differently, and at GIA we are hoping to learn what has worked and what hasn’t from other foundations.

Finally, we have an obligation to learn and share with others so that “the sum is greater than the parts”.  Our involvement in GIA is one way in which we are accomplishing this.  (We also share our learnings via TPF blogs, TPF Facebook pages and TPF Twitter.)

Please stay tuned for a blog update from the conference and twitter updates. Follow #GIA2010 to monitor tweets from the conference.

Are you going to GIA?  We hope to see you there.