12th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits

To 2024 and Beyond: Public Policy Recommendations for the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy

September 22, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00PM ET | Convened Virtually

Watch 2023 recording

Theme

The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Independent Sector, and Nonprofit Policy Forum invite proposals for the 12th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits, which will focus on surfacing promising public policy recommendations to strengthen the nonprofit sector and philanthropy.

In order to enact public policies that support nonprofits, philanthropy, and the communities they serve, policymakers must first hear from nonprofit leaders and researchers about nonprofit and community needs and policies that will address these needs. One of the best opportunities to educate policymakers is during campaign season when candidates are out in communities, visiting nonprofits, talking to constituents, and receiving ideas from researchers. As the nation looks forward to the 2024 elections and beyond, what public policy recommendations related to nonprofits and philanthropy should be considered by policymakers and others who care about the important role these institutions play in our society? This year’s Nonprofit Public Policy Symposium will feature both researchers and practitioners presenting their research and experience-based policy ideas for discussion.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline - April 28th
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection - Early June
Fulls Paper Due - August 18th
2023 Virtual Symposium - September 22nd
Honoraria Payments - End October
Revised Papers Due - February 1, 2024

Speakers

Andrea Hill

Momentum Nonprofit Partners

About Andrea

Andrea Hill has received her Bachelor of Science in Human Services Management from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and her Master in Public Administration from Kennesaw State University. She is certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) through the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. She is also a Certified Fund Raising Professional (CFRE). Andrea’s career include 17+ years of experience in capacity building, programming, volunteer management, project and event management, fundraising, and resource development. She is a connector for the greater good of our community. Andrea serves as the Chief Program Officer (CPO) for Momentum Nonprofit Partners in Memphis, TN. As the CPO, Andrea works in partnership with Momentum’s CEO, COO, and programs staff to design and implement Momentum’s programs and services to expand outreach and business development efforts. As the CPO, Andrea builds strategic partnerships and develops special projects and initiatives with external partners. Andrea is meaningfully engaged in her community as a member of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis- GIVE 365 member and on the national level as a member of the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (former Board member). She currently holds various community leadership positions. She served as the 2022 President of Directors of Volunteers In Agencies (DOVIA) and has been re-appointed to the Volunteer Tennessee board. She is also a Leadership Memphis Alumni (FastTrack Program) and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Andrea is also a proud supporter of WKNO.

Janet Lo

Shelby County Nonprofit Committee

About Janet

Janet Lo developed and runs the Shelby County Nonprofit Committee. After working over 20 years in the nonprofit sector, she moved to the public sector in the Division of Community Services where she manages community partnerships and works to align the work of nonprofits and government to better meet the needs of residents. Prior to working in local government, Janet has served as the Director of Special Projects for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Director of Education at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, and has worked in various capacities at the Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, and American Folk Art Museum. In all of these environments, she has worked to bridge communities with opportunities by widening accessibility and increasing engagement. Janet has a Masters in Education with a focus on Policy Reform from Mills College and a BA from Tufts University in Anthropology.

Sherry Rout

Community Leader and Public Policy Consultant

About Sherry

Sherry Rout, a native Memphian, has worked in nonprofit advocacy, lobbying, and government relations for over 25 years. Though she started her career in the private sector, she always knew her calling was to use her talents in the nonprofit sector. She has worked as a consultant, contract lobbyist, and in-house lobbyist for large national nonprofits, state nonprofit sub-sector associations, and nonprofits in her own community. Sherry has been a presenter at local, state, and national conferences on a wide range of advocacy and government relations topics and spent many years as a guest lecturer on animal law and lobbying at the University of Tennessee’s Schools of Law and Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville, TN. Sherry graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts in English with additional concentrations in Political Science and Art History. She supports PBS/WKNO public television, local food pantries, animal welfare groups, and organizations focused on survivors of domestic violence and their pets. Sherry and her mate of 28 years, Kristopher Taylor, are Jeep enthusiasts and avid tent campers in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They live in Memphis, TN, with three beloved rescued pit bulls and a feral cat turned spoiled lap kitty named Tigerlily.

present

"Case Study: Government and Nonprofit Sector Partnership Model: The Shelby County (TN) Nonprofit Committee"

Angela Eikenberry

University of Nebraska at Omaha

About Angie

Angela M. Eikenberry is D.B. and Paula Varner Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). Her research focuses on the social, economic, and political roles of philanthropy and nonprofit and voluntary organizations in democratic governance. She is recipient of the UNO Award for Distinguished Research or Creative Activity and a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration. In recent years, she co-edited a textbook, Reframing Nonprofit Management: Democracy, Inclusion, and Social Change (Melvin & Leigh, 2018), and served as President of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).

Nuri Heckler

University of Nebraska at Omaha

About Nuri

Nuri Heckler, J.D., Ph.D. focuses his research on Whiteness and Masculinity in public organizations including nonprofits, social enterprise, and government. Using experimental, qualitative, historical, and theoretical research methods, he examines the mechanisms that reinforce inequities and inefficiencies in public organizations. As a Maryland barred attorney, his research also examines the role law plays in the work of public administrators. His research can be found in Administrative Theory & Praxis, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Administration & Society, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Urban Affairs Review, and Public Integrity among others. He has been selected as the incoming co-Editor-in-Chief of Administrative Theory & Praxis, and won the CPACS Alumni Teaching Award in 2023. He is an avid commuter cyclist who spends his free time with his two children and baking award-winning cookies.

present

"Forever is a Long Time: Limiting Charitable Trust Perpetuity and Making Reparations"

Gretchen Vanderveer

Fair Chance and the Coalition for Nonprofit Equity

About Gretchen

Gretchen Van der Veer currently serves as the CEO of Fair Chance, a social change organization that strengthens and scales nonprofit organizations to achieve life-changing results for communities impacted by racism, discrimination, and poverty. In this role she has tripled revenues, established a racial equity framework, replicated in new locations, and worked with hundreds of nonprofit organizations. She currently leads the Coalition for Nonprofit Equity in DC, collaborating with other nonprofit and philanthropy leaders to advocate for fair compensation in grants and contracts and more equitable partnerships between government and nonprofit service providers. Prior to Fair Chance, Van der Veer served in several leadership roles with the federal AmeriCorps Agency including Director of the National Service Leadership Institute; Director of Leadership Development and Training; Acting Executive Director of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation; and Director of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

Van der Veer received her PhD from the University of Maryland in Education Policy, Planning and Administration and for the past several years, has served as an adjunct professor in George Washington University’s Human Service and Social Justice Program and as a facilitator for Georgetown University’s New Strategies Program in the McDonough School of Business. She has edited a book and written chapters and articles in several publications including most recently Nonprofit Quarterly.

Michelle Jackson

Human Services Council of New York

About Michelle

Michelle was appointed Executive Director of HSC on May 2020 after serving as Acting Executive Director since January 2020, and previously served for many years as the Deputy Executive Director and Deputy Director. HSC advocates for the nonprofit human services organizations that provide critical services for New Yorkers such as programs for seniors, youth, those experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities. Currently, Michelle leads the #JustPay Campaign, which seeks equitable pay for human services workers; the first year of the campaign resulted in $560 million in funding to increase human services wages.

During her tenure as Executive Director, Michelle has overseen the COVID-19 response within the human services sector, coordinating with government and other external partners to ensure that human services providers are equipped to address the profound social, economic, and public health challenges facing communities and the human services workforce. Under her roles as Deputy Executive Director and Deputy Director, Michelle coordinated HSC’s government relations strategy and has led revolutionary policy changes, leading both City and State campaigns to improve the nonprofit sector’s ability to maximize social impact in communities, most notably in securing over $200 million in cost-of-living adjustments for NYC human services workers and $120 million in nonprofit infrastructure investments. She also represented HSC at public hearings and relevant government taskforces on these issues.

present

"Nonprofit Power Building to Address Structural Inequities"

Wil Alston

Office of Nonprofit Engagement - City and County of Denver

About Wil

Wil Alston is the director of the Denver Office of Nonprofit Engagement (D-ONE), an office in the City & County of Denver’s Human Rights and Community Partnerships (HRCP) Agency. Prior to starting at D-ONE in January 2020, Wil served as a senior communication advisor for the Hancock Administration, as the executive director for the Five Points Business District, and was a key staffer for former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter. He is also the founder and lone principal of the Wil Alston Group, a versatile Denver-based boutique firm specializing in marketing & public relations, civic engagement, government relations, and event production.

Wil also has a long history of working with area nonprofits that have included: My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver, the Five Points Business District, The Spirituals Project, The Porter-Billups Leadership Academy, Regis University, the East Denver YMCA, the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Stadium Baseball District.

He is a veteran communication strategist/executive and has close to 40 years of professional experience in entrepreneurship, networking, fundraising, marketing, and strategic planning; and he gained those experiences in a variety organizational structure including: all three branches of government including federal, state, and local; nonprofits, and in private business.

Wil shares more than two and a half decades of marriage to Rosalind “Roz” Alston and they are new residents in the Reunion development in Commerce City. Wil is also an established local jazz/soul vocalist that can be found performing around town with his two bands.

Julia Mahoney

Office of Nonprofit Engagement - City and County of Denver

About Julia

Julia Mahoney is the Senior Program Manager for the Office of Nonprofit Engagement, housed within the Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships. Julia has been with the City for two years serving as an evaluation specialist, project coordinator, and program manager.

Julia has a Master’s degree from the University of Denver in Global Mental Health, and a Graduate Certificate in Program Evaluation from Michigan State University. During her Master’s program Julia traveled abroad to Bosnia and Herzegovina to study collective trauma, program evaluation and mental health systems. After her master’s program Julia worked as a Crisis Clinician. It was from this job Julia found her passion for program evaluation and policy work which eventually led her to the City and County of Denver.

Julia has volunteered with several Denver nonprofits, and still volunteers for Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families. This nonprofit provides weekend camps where adoptees and their families learn about their heritage and what it means to be adopted. This camp is especially meaningful for her as she herself was adopted from India. Currently Julia is a Co-Director for the Indian Nepalese Heritage Camp and is on the Heritage Camps Board of Directors. Julia currently lives in Denver with her partner, and in her free time enjoys golfing, travel (especially international!) and spending time with her friends and dogs.

Ken Seeley

Office of Nonprofit Engagement - City and County of Denver

About Ken

Dr. Ken Seeley serves as a collaboration and evaluation specialist for the Denver Office of Nonprofit Engagement of the City of Denver and the Office of Financial Empowerment. Prior to his work with the City he served for 20 years as the President and CEO of the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, a nonprofit partnership with five Colorado state agencies. He is a researcher and cross system leader having extensive background with at-risk and vulnerable populations. Ken was a tenured faculty member at the University of Denver, College Of Education in the areas of Education Leadership and research design. He has broad social policy experience as a policy analyst and consultant for the Center for Study of Social Policy in Washington, and many foundations including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the Colorado Trust and the Piton Foundation. In addition to his City of Denver job, he has served as senior evaluation consultant to Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mayors Challenge and has specific experience in evaluating innovation and acceleration projects in city governments. He is also a cross-site evaluation consultant for the Pueblo City County Health Department.

present

"A Commentary on Policy Development and Reform:
The City and County of Denver’s Investment in the Wellbeing of the Nonprofit Sector"

Tamara Keshecki

AINOK Consulting LLC / UMass Amherst School of Public Policy

About Tamara

Tamara Keshecki, MMP, MM is the founding principal of AINOK Consulting, LLC providing organizations with research, policy, funding, and advocacy strategy. An ardent advocate, arts researcher, and accomplished professional musician, she is also a Research Associate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Policy collaborating with Dr. Brenda Bushouse and Dr. Eric E. Griffith on arts policy research. She is the Vice-President of the New York Independent Venue Association, a former longtime Board Member of the Broomfield Council on the Arts and Humanities in Colorado, and the co-leader of the fundraising affinity group for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP). As the Director of Grants and Government Relations for the St. George Theatre Restoration in NYC, she secured over $14 million in program and capital grants since April 2020. She was a 2020-21 policy research fellow at the Howard J. Samuels State and City Policy Center, Baruch College's Marxe School of Public and International Affairs and an invited speaker at SXSW 2023 in March 2023 on the topic of “Why Live Entertainment Matters to Local Economies.” A professional flutist, Ms. Keshecki was the Founding Executive & Artistic Director of Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, Inc. and curated hundreds of community-based art and music events and classes. In 2014, she received a NYC Council Citation for her contribution to NYC’s cultural community.

Brenda Bushouse

University of Massachusetts

About Brenda

Brenda K. Bushouse is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research reflects her deep commitment to expanding understanding of nonprofit organizations, public policy processes, and contributions to the public good. Her work can be found in the Policy Studies Journal, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Voluntas among others. She has a forthcoming Cambridge University Press edited volume (with R. Christensen and B. Never) that establishes the Philanthropy Commons as a new area of research.

Eric Griffith

Duke University

About Eric

present

"Pandemic relief for nonprofits? What the government needs to know for next time"

Tiana Marrese

University of Pennsylvania

About Tiana

Tiana Marrese is a third-year PhD student in the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Her training is in mathematics and economics with a current lens towards Social Welfare. Her research focuses on volunteerism and nonprofits at the macro level. The core of her work is interested in understanding how and why communities engage in prosocial behavior and this behavior’s relation to the market. Her current projects include analysis on the international variation in volunteer characteristics across the last three decades and U.S. wage inequality between sectors. Her research on wage inequality spans the spheres of theory, empirics, and policy implications and considers unique environments such as the American healthcare system.

presents

"Nonprofit Wage Disparity and the Call for Accessible Childcare"

Schedule

(3 hours) 1:00pm- 4:00pm E.S.T.

Welcome, Opening Remarks, Logistics - (1:00-1:15)

Strong Nonprofit Infrastructure - (1:15-2:35)

“Nonprofit Wage Disparity & the Call for Accessible Childcare”
- Tiana Marress
“Nonprofit Power Building to Address Structure Inequities”
- Gretchen Vanderveer and Michelle Jackson
“Pandemic Relief for Nonprofits – What the Government Needs to Know for Next Time”
- Tamara Keshecki, Brenda Bushouse, Eric Griffith

Discussant – Ronda Jackson

Effective Partnerships - (2:35-3:55)

“Case Study: Government & Nonprofit Sector Partnership Model: The Shelby County (TN) Nonprofit Committee”
- Andrea Hill, Natalie Jones, Sherry Rout and Janet Lo
“Forever is a Long Time – Limiting Charitable trust Perpetuity & Making Reparations”
- Angela Eikenberry and Nuri Heckler
“Critical Policy Analysis from the Denver Office of Nonprofit Engagement”
- Julia Mahoney, Will Alson, Ken Seeley

Discussant – Heather MacIndoe

Closing, Thank You, Survey- (3:55-4:00)

Watch 2023 recording

About our partners for this event:

Visit IS Website

Visit NPF Website

For further information about the symposium, please contact Fatima Hussain at fhussain@arnova.org or Emily Rogers at emilyr@independentsector.org.

View reports from previous Symposiums

12th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits

To 2024 and Beyond: Public Policy Recommendations for the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy

Theme

Important Dates

Jump to:

Speakers

Andrea Hill

Janet Lo

Sherry Rout

"Case Study: Government and Nonprofit Sector Partnership Model: The Shelby County (TN) Nonprofit Committee"

Angela Eikenberry

Nuri Heckler

"Forever is a Long Time: Limiting Charitable Trust Perpetuity and Making Reparations"

Gretchen Vanderveer

Michelle Jackson

"Nonprofit Power Building to Address Structural Inequities"

Wil Alston

Julia Mahoney

Ken Seeley

"A Commentary on Policy Development and Reform:
The City and County of Denver’s Investment in the Wellbeing of the Nonprofit Sector"

Tamara Keshecki

Brenda Bushouse

Eric Griffith

"Pandemic relief for nonprofits? What the government needs to know for next time"

Tiana Marrese

"Nonprofit Wage Disparity and the Call for Accessible Childcare"

Schedule

(3 hours) 1:00pm- 4:00pm E.S.T.

About our partners for this event:

Get In Touch!

Quick links

Stay Connected!

12th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits

To 2024 and Beyond: Public Policy Recommendations for the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy

Theme

Important Dates

Jump to:

Speakers

Andrea Hill

Janet Lo

Sherry Rout

"Case Study: Government and Nonprofit Sector Partnership Model: The Shelby County (TN) Nonprofit Committee"

Angela Eikenberry

Nuri Heckler

"Forever is a Long Time: Limiting Charitable Trust Perpetuity and Making Reparations"

Gretchen Vanderveer

Michelle Jackson

"Nonprofit Power Building to Address Structural Inequities"

Wil Alston

Julia Mahoney

Ken Seeley

"A Commentary on Policy Development and Reform: The City and County of Denver’s Investment in the Wellbeing of the Nonprofit Sector"

Tamara Keshecki

Brenda Bushouse

Eric Griffith

"Pandemic relief for nonprofits? What the government needs to know for next time"

Tiana Marrese

"Nonprofit Wage Disparity and the Call for Accessible Childcare"

Schedule

(3 hours) 1:00pm- 4:00pm E.S.T.

About our partners for this event:

Get In Touch!

Quick links

Stay Connected!

"A Commentary on Policy Development and Reform:
The City and County of Denver’s Investment in the Wellbeing of the Nonprofit Sector"