Partnerships, Philanthropy...and a Pigfish

“You in government are looking to the foundation sector to do more. We in foundations are looking for government to do more. And people across this country are looking to both foundations and government and telling us that we both have to do more.” With those words, Carol Larson, President and CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, summarized the keynote discussion by Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, at the 60th annual Council on Foundations conference in Atlanta, Georgia today.

Ms. Larson’s comments underscored central questions that have played out through the course of the three days of the annual conference:

What is the appropriate role of government in partnering with foundations and non-profit agencies in meeting the unprecedented socio-economic crises facing our country today?

How do we ensure that traditionally underserved communities and populations are not further marginalized in the rush to develop immediate, tangible answers to these issues?

How can non-traditional philanthropic tools like social media/networking, open source technology, SROI and mission-related investing practices, and creative public/private partnerships help shape new answers to these questions?

What is a pigfish?

 With President Obama’s economic stimulus package serving as a constantly recurring theme being woven into each of the first three of these questions, participants spent much of their time in breakout sessions and in casual hallway conversations debating “what is a shovel ready project?”, “What type of data, projections, and outcomes does the government REALLY need from us to make stimulus grants?”, and “Who do we as foundations need to partner with in order to create truly viable, sustainable, effective stimulus proposals, or – if we ourselves are not applying for stimulus funds – how do we facilitate effective proposal partnerships amongst our grantees and community-based colleagues?”

In this brave new world of reduced foundation endowments, increased social service needs, and a new presidential administration actively dedicating time, resources, and a call for innovation to address systemic societal problems, the role of technology has taken a newly high prominence in this year’s conference.

From sessions entitled, “Taking Philanthropy Online: Social Networks Redefining Community and Igniting Impact,” “Connecting Communities for the Common Good: Organizing Online,” “New Technologies for Grassroots Community Empowerment,” “Creating Documentaries for Impact on Poverty, “ and “Technology and 21st Century Philanthropy,” technology-based solutions have been heavily integrated into the program matrix.  Sonal Shah, former Google executive and newly appointed director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, has been a highly-sought after participant throughout the conference, speaking out on the importance of reliable data aggregation to create effective civic programs, and the pivotal role of technology in developing these data sets.

But 1,300 foundation executives can only discuss such weighty issues for so long, so Monday evening offered the opportunity to meet and mingle on a more informal basis at the Georgia Aquarium, the country’s largest such facility.

The aquarium served as the perfect reinforcement of technology’s growing ubiquitous presence in every aspect of our work, educational, and social lives. Next to each of the eye-popping exhibits such as the 63 million gallon “Ocean Voyage” tank (complete with underwater glass tunnel which visitors can walk through to watch whale sharks swimming around and above them),swimming with the sharks an active tidal coral reef with waves crashing overhead, and the unexpected x-rated show of spontaneously mating beluga whales, the aquarium provided interactive touch-screen technology terminals providing information about the aquarium, its inhabitants, and the conservation issues facing protected species.While there was no specific information available about the sex lives of the mating beluga whiles, it would be interesting to log onto Utube right now to see how many COF participants have already posted their iphone-recorded whale mating videos.

I randomly touched the video image of a swimming pink and yellow striped fish on the multi-media technology screen in “Ocean Voyage,” and an enlarged still image of the fish immediately popped up and froze on the screen. Touching the still image again brought up another box which told me that the very long Latin name (orthropristis chrysoptera) associated with the very small fish essentially translated into “Pigfish,” and that this little critter gets its name from the fact that it will basically eat anything, anywhere, anytime.

But that exhibit demonstrated to me both the fascination and the limitations of technology. While touching a photo of the pigfish was fun, it was nothing compared to what awaited us in the next room. Turning the corner, we found ourselves in the aquarium’s version of the Petting Zoo – with sharks, sting rays, shrimp, and sea anemones to touch and pet. The sea anemones were amazing – their soft balloony tentacles hide hundreds of tiny paralytic stinging barbs that latch onto your skin when you bush against them. Luckily humans have skins that are too thick for the barbs to penetrate, so it just feels like sticky sandpaper adhering to your skin. 

Making friends with a stinging anemone

So I left the aquarium having learnt what a pigfish likes to eat, and having felt what it would be like to be a sea anemone’s dinner.  The first from a virtual media interaction, the second from a much more up close and personal encounter.  Both illuminating and educational, and each made better because of the presence of the other.  The virtual Pigfish and the live (and hungry) sea anemone each with a lesson to teach me!