Come together! Navigating Conference Season

Like many of my colleagues in philanthropy & impact investing, I find myself in the thick of conference/event season, feeling a bit overwhelmed and overextended. To help wrap my head around it, I've put together a quick, subjective round-up of spring conferences in the social innovation & impact investing world ranging from super cool to old school, pretty much all on the "if you could go to 'em all you would" list.
Skoll World Forum, World Economic Forum on Latin America Global Youth Leadership, Clinton Global Initiative University, The Global Engagement Summit, Global Philanthropy Forum, Global Health & Innovation Conference, Social Venture Network, Investor's Circle, Wall Street Green Summit, Slingshot Day, Sustainatopia. And that's just March-April.

What are your top conference/gathering picks? What's missing? What's not happening that you'd like to see? How do you manage conference fatigue/burnout?

FAST FORWARD @CGIU

Looking forward to connecting with commitment makers at Clinton Global Initiative University! Here are some tips of essential things to carry you through an intense gathering like this. Be sure and bring:
* business cards
* cell phone & charger
* I.D.
* pre-CGIU information (agenda, logistics, etc.)
* material/info about your commitment (if appropriate)
* sense of humor, humility, and wonder
* intellectual curiosity and open-mindedness
* unbridled passion for your commitment
* willingness to be bold & take risks
* more questions than answers
* endless energy & indefatigable stamina
Be yourself, enjoy the experience, and know that it's a pretty awesome thing to commit yourself to changing our world for the better!

Fast Forward Core Beliefs

Just re-read my previous post from a year ago reaffirming Fast Forward Fund's core beliefs as we move to complete our 1st phase of start-up and our 3-yr-commitment to Clinton Global Initiative University. Except for the notable absence of snow, virtually everything rings true today.
I stand by Fast Forward's core beliefs:
* Investment activism. We all make a difference with our daily financial choices. Investing is action.
* Leveraged impact. Investing in a collective social fund allows young people to leverage relatively small individual resources into large-scale impact.
* Accelerated change. More inclusive, expansive philanthropic models enable youth to accelerate, or fast forward, their participation as social investors advancing innovative solutions to global challenges.
* Lifelong Giving. Cultivating philanthropic social investment among young adults creates lifelong givers and engaged global citizens.

Generous Prompts

What prompts you to live and give generously? To explore what I call "abundant living, mindful giving," check out this blog post by Britt Bravo, one of my fave fun-loving do-gooders, Big Vision guru and Juicy Blogger: "12 Prompts for Generous Living & Blogging". Pick and choose from these prompts, come up with your own, or try 'em out over the next 2 weeks leading up to Valentine's Day!