Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Plaza Theatre, Atlanta | 10:00am -11:30am

Presented by Purpose Possible, The Purpose of Giving is an engaging event, at the Plaza Theatre, where we will explore the latest trends and findings from the annual Giving USA report, updates since the publication, and examine how nonprofits can leverage this data in an election year and beyond. 

The Giving USA Annual Report on Philanthropy is the nation’s longest running, most comprehensive report on philanthropy. It is a 350+ page report with chapters that provide in-depth analysis of findings on total charitable giving, giving by sources, and giving to major recipient categories. In addition, each chapter provides strategic insights into the latest giving trends and facts.

This event will feature Dr. Una Osili, Associate Dean and Lead Researcher on the report, Laura MacDonald, Past Chair of Giving USA Foundation and Founder of Benefactor Group, and Susannah Darrow, Founding Partner of Purpose Possible as they share their expertise and insights on the evolving landscape of philanthropy and its impacts on the nonprofit sector. The panel will be moderated by Jennifer Jiles, Giving USA Foundation Board Member and Founder of 44 Consulting Group.

This event is free and open to anyone in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

Please register at the door

Here are a few key details:

  • The Plaza Theater address is 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta

  • Doors open at 9:30am

  • Event time is 10:00am - 11:30am

  • Parking is available in the lots directly in front of and behind the theater. Please do not scan the QR codes in the parking lot. Parking will be validated inside the venue—you will need your license plate number.

  • Please check-in with our team when you arrive

This event is presented by Purpose Possible and hosted by the Atlanta Film Society and Plaza Theatre.

Panelist
SUSANNAH DARROW

Founding Partner of
Purpose Possible

FEATURED GUESTS

Panelist
LAURA MACDONALD

Past Chair of Giving USA Foundation
Principal & Founder of Benefactor Group

Panelist
DR. UNA OSSILI

Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Moderator
JENNIFER JILES

Giving USA Foundation Board Member
Founder & Principal Consultant of
44 Consulting Group

Learn more about our guests

Susannah Darrow, CFRE
Purpose Possible Founding Partner, Vision + Strategy

Susannah has worked with mission-based organizations across the Southeast for over 15 years to support organizational strategy, program development, and fundraising for nonprofit and for-profit companies across sectors. Prior to launching her own consulting agency in 2017 (now known as Purpose Possible), she spent a decade working in arts and culture, supporting hundreds of artists and arts organizations to increase the presence of the arts in communities around the country. 

She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (VP of Membership), Kiwanis Club of Atlanta (Annual Fund Chair), CreateATL, and the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art Advisory Board. Since 2017, Susannah has worked with Councilmember Amir Farokhi as the Arts and Culture Advisor for Atlanta City Council District 2.

Susannah lives in Grant Park with her two daughters, husband, and many many books! She enjoys karaoke, team building, and cheese.

Laura MacDonald, CFRE
Past Chair of Giving USA Foundation & Founder of Benefactor Group

Laura MacDonald has earned a national reputation for her dedication to the nonprofit sector with decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and philanthropy. In 1999, she established Benefactor Group to serve the needs of those who serve the common good. 

Laura’s work with clients combines her talent for identifying innovative and practical strategies with data-driven decision-making. She has guided clients to achieve unprecedented successes: the largest contribution ever to an arts organization in central Ohio; consistent increases in annual fund revenue for a women’s fund; an innovative digital giving strategy for a conservation organization; a reinvigorated board for a literary society.  

Laura is constantly curious about trends in fundraising and philanthropy and an astute storyteller. She is a frequent speaker at local, regional, and national conferences (AFP, AAM, AMDA, Fundraising Bootcamp, etc.) and has addressed hundreds of nonprofit boards. Her articles related to advancement and philanthropy have appeared in Advancing Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, and other professional publications. A past chair of the Giving USA Foundation, she contributes to Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy, the seminal study of the sources and uses of charitable giving in the United States, and is consulted widely by publications such as TheNew York Times, Ms. Magazine, Penta Barron’s, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and was named her chapter’s “Fundraising Professional of the Year” in 2007.

Dr. Una Osili
Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Una Osili is the Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Una Osili is also the Associate Dean of Research and International Programs at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the world’s first school on philanthropy.

Dr. Osili has pioneered new approaches to using data to improve the understanding of trends in economic development and philanthropy. Her research is focused on household financial behavior across low-income and high-income environments. She has studied remittances from international migration, charitable giving, private transfers and education in both low and high income environments.

Osili leads the research and publication of Global Philanthropy Tracker and the Global Philanthropy Environment Index. The Global Philanthropy Indices are the leading source of global development and social innovation data trends and involve collaboration with more than 100 country and regional experts in 79 countries.

Osili has provided expert testimony at the Senate Finance Committee, the Joint Economic Commission and United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee on philanthropy, international development and the role of the public sector. She has led collaborative research projects with global corporations and global institutions, and various government entities. Dr. Osili is a consultant with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and has worked on cross-sector initiatives on financial inclusion. 

Osili leads the research and publication of Giving USA, the annual report on American philanthropy. Dr. Osili is the Founder of Generosity for Life – a digital platform that provides new data tools for financial decision making in the area of philanthropy and social impact. She leads the School's signature research project, the Philanthropy Panel Study (PPS). PPS is the most comprehensive study of the generosity of American families over time.

Jennifer Jiles, MA, APR, CSM
Giving USA Foundation Board Member & Founder of 44 Consulting Group

Jennifer Jiles is the founder and principal consultant of 44 Consulting Group, a 13-year-old communications and content creation company that has counted as clients DoorDash, Environmental Community Action Inc., Morehouse School of Medicine, Jazz at Lincoln Center, BET television network, Dekalb Medical Center and Atlanta Public Schools. She is also an Executive Consultant at Bridge Philanthropic Consulting, based in New York City.

Jennifer has an extensive track record in the nonprofit sector spanning several years in fundraising and development, communications, and strategic planning. She has provided fundraising communications strategies to more than 20 organizations. In her role with Bridge, she provides strategic fundraising and communications expertise to clients that have included  Pfizer/Global Blood Therapeutics, the National Resources Defense Council, The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute of Boston, The Southern Education Foundation, and the New York Department of Education.

Jennifer is an educator and serves as a 28-year instructor in the Department of Communication at Georgia State University, a major public research institution, where she teaches a range of graduate and undergraduate courses in public relations. She also serves as the co-chair of the Department’s DEI committee.

Jennifer is a member of the board of directors for the Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of the prestigious Giving Institute. She is the inaugural chair of Giving USA’s Giving USA Ambassadors Council.