After the incredible first day of Feedback+Jacksonville, the expectations for today were high. And those expectations were certainly met! There were lots of opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations, with multiple networking options as well. We had an interesting breakfast table around local journalism, the Movement Makers Lunch which – next to good food – offered great opportunities to meet new people… and so much more. Let’s recap!
As mentioned, first we held a breakfast table where attendees could join the conversation about local journalism. David McGowan, CEO at WJCT Public Broadcasting, and Circe LeNoble, Grants & Education Outreach Manager at WJCT Public Broadcasting, told us everything about their new nonprofit local journalism service ‘Jacksonville Today’ that includes a newsletter and forthcoming news website. An interesting discussion arised among the participants.
So happy to see everybody chatting and connecting over breakfast! Looking forward to having more great conversations during our amazing sessions lined up for us today at the #FBLSummit pic.twitter.com/iXJwobu7lp
— Feedback Labs (@FeedbackLabs) March 3, 2022
After that, we had our Opening Plenary about ‘Changing Mindsets, Changing Practice – how can funders listen better?’ A panel consisting of Melinda Tuan from Fund for Shared Insight, Kelley Gulley of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Veronica Olazabal of The BHP Foundation and Kathleen Shaw of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida discussed some interesting perspectives and experiences. You can rewatch the plenary here.
“If we’re not placing a value on what’s good quality feedback, then we’re doing a disservice to the [people] that have provided that feedback.” Veronica Olazabal of @BHPFoundation on the importance of collecting evidence-based #feedback. pic.twitter.com/Q8XQKMSw7M
— Feedback Labs (@FeedbackLabs) March 3, 2022
Right before lunch we had some Breakout Sessions to choose from, four in-person ones and one virtual. At the in-person session ‘The Supplier’s City: How to meaningfully engage diverse vendors for economic inclusion’ attendees got insight into the importance of building good relationships in the nonproft sector. Kisha Bwenge of Open Contracting Partnership, Pa Goldbeck of the City of Des Moines and Nia Richardson of the City of Kansas City prepared a fun activity for this session. They made attendees look for Request for Proposals (RFP’s) on a city’s website to see in how many clicks they were able to find what they were looking for. Some websites made it pretty seamless, but others didn’t, which means the accessibility could be improved.
Speakers @pollamb, @sara_lomelin and Emily Rasmussen at the Scenes from a pandemic session lay out the framework for Giving Circles as a catalyst for equity and justice. #FBLSummit pic.twitter.com/WN2rRYDkDf
— Feedback Labs (@FeedbackLabs) March 3, 2022
An excellent #ListeningforaChange session with speakers @KatieSMilway, @MelindaTuan, @sole_colombia, Ahmed Whitt, and Lymari Benitez dives into how institutional philanthropy is influencing grantmaker-grantee norms for accountability and sharing power. #FBLSummit pic.twitter.com/AWXCgwqanf
— Feedback Labs (@FeedbackLabs) March 3, 2022
During lunch break we hosted the Movement Makers Lunch. The aim was to sit at a table with people you hadn’t properly met yet, so everyone could have meaningful discussions while learning something new. Some questions were prepared to help initiate and guide the conversation. By listening to the amount of noise and laughter in the room, this appeared to be a great way to start dialogues.
In the afternoon there were some other Breakout Sessions to follow. Sessions included ‘Using Feedback to Amplify Voices’, ‘It takes a village – a journey of self-determination’, ‘Broadening Feedback and Sharpening Impact: Monitoring re-entry employment outcomes’ and the virtual ‘Data for Equity: A leading strategy to connecting equitable outcomes and with equitable feedback practices’.
“There’s a lot of language traps you can fall into that you really need to think hard about" says a participant from the Broadening Feedback and Sharpening Impact session when discussing carefully communicating intentions to communities. #FBLSummit pic.twitter.com/yk8p1aymoX
— Feedback Labs (@FeedbackLabs) March 3, 2022
To finish day 2 of the Summit, there was the Closing Plenary. Moderator Bryan Simmons of Arcus Foundation repeated a quote from Melinda Tuan of Fund for Shared Insight this morning: ‘equity is the flavor of the month’, but added, ‘it should be the flavor of the day’. Some interesting insights of the panel about feedback as a tool for advancing equity – for LGBTQIA+ communities, women and girls etc. – followed. You can rewatch the entire plenary here.
After the Summit, attendees were invited to organize ‘dine-outs’ outside of the official program since having dinner together is a great way to connect. We hope everyone had a lovely evening and enjoyed networking in the atmosphere of a local restaurant. And for our virtual attendees, we hope they had a good meal wherever in the world they were joining us from. We’re so excited to see you all again tomorrow!
