Wise Giving Wednesday: Philanthropy Experts & Leaders Gather in Cape Coral

Guest Blog by Michael Chatman, President & CEO, Cape Coral Community Foundation 

BBB Wise Giving Alliance President & CEO Art Taylor and Cape Coral Community Foundation President & CEO Michael Chatman hosted the Philanthropy Experts and Leaders Academy on April 23 – 25 at the Westin Hotel in Cape Coral, Florida.  Art Taylor gave a presentation about how the future can and should be part of thought leadership and brand strategy. Michael Chatman shared how he built #whyigive, the popular global generosity movement on Twitter with over 300,000 followers. The academy was limited to 25 people. It was a nice blend of philanthropy thought-leaders, foundation executives, social entrepreneurs, and CEOs of nonprofit organizations. 

Other highlights from the gathering of experts and leaders included: 

• Mary Wong, President and CEO, Office Depot Foundation, shared her personal story of perseverance and the lessons she’s learned through her 20-year career in corporate social responsibility.
• Henry Timms, Executive Director of 92 ^nd Street Y and Founder, #GivingTuesday, explained how to understand new power and harness its energy – and lessons learned from #GivingTuesday, a global philanthropic movement.
• Chad Barr, President, The Chad Barr Group, shared his thoughts on how to build a million-dollar web presence. During his presentation, he discussed the critical areas that can be immediately enhanced to emphasize credibility and instantly build trust among visitors.
• Val Porter-Cook, Leadership Development Advisor, explored why self-awareness is so important when coaching is the best leadership development tool, and how organizations can make strategic and outcome-based investments in that work.
• Carrie Fox, Founder and President, Mission Partners, ran the audience through a series of thought-provoking exercises designed to help distill an organization’s “why” in a way that inspires others to act. 

The Cape Coral Community Foundation, the global center for generosity, was proud to co-sponsor this event with the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and thanks the speakers and leaders who attended the academy. 

As part of our Building Trust Video series, BBB WGA is pleased to provide a video of David Snell, President and Co-Founder, Fuller Center for Housing (a BBB Accredited Charity) which is a faith-driven organization that builds new homes and repairs existing homeowner properties in partnership with families in need.  

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit  Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include: 

• International Book Project
• Marfan Foundation
• Quixote Center 

Finally, remember to let us know by going to  https://give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.