Centering Nonprofit Resilience
The Center’s 12th annual nonprofit sector conference, held May 9 and 10, was themed ‘Resilience at the Center’ and included talks by LA Mayor Karen Bass, LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, and notable others. See the full list of conference speakers here.
“The theme of resilience is really close to my heart,” said LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell in remarks to this year’s 501(c)onference attendees. “Every day here in LA County, we’re working to ensure that our nonprofit sector not only survives but thrives.”
CNM’s annual convening is the largest regional gathering of nonprofit, business, and philanthropy leaders. More than 400 leaders from across the region came together over two days to the address role of the nonprofit sector in fueling a transformative recovery and what it will take for the sector to thrive.
“By fortifying nonprofits for the future and strengthening relationships with government, philanthropy, and business, we can transform nonprofit impact and in turn, ensure that our communities are resilient as well,” said Efrain Escobedo, CNM’s President & CEO. “This conference centers nonprofit resiliency by bringing together leaders to share strategies and collaborate with cross-sector peers.”
“The nonprofit sector is the glue,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass observed during afternoon remarks. “Our city’s problems are so huge. If we’re ever going to address them, we know that the fundamental problem is income inequality. The most extreme manifestation of that is people on the streets. These are issues we can all work on together.”
Gathering in person in the California Endowment’s Bea Solis conference room, participants heard inspiring stories of local resilience in action along with insightful perspectives from speakers and panelists. Over morning coffee, a midday lunch, and periodic breaks, colleagues and peers connected with each other and built new relationships. The second day’s format was entirely virtual, with participants joining an online platform to focus on strengthening individual and collective resilience. Day Two’s schedule included practical sessions on accessing public funds, working with the media, forging strong partnerships, and resilience in the workplace.
Extending the spirit of the conference, CNM will continue to amplify nonprofit sector voices in calling for recognition of the sector’s role in our region’s transformative recovery and for fair and equitable partnerships across government, philanthropy, and business sectors.
The date of CNM’s 501(c)onference for 2024 will be announced later this year. Get news and updates by joining our mailing list, and follow @cnmsocal on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
We are grateful to the amazing organizations that sponsored this year’s conference.