2014 Annual Meeting
October 10, 11, 12 2014 Newport Beach, CA
Highlights:
Speakers:
Jim Patell, Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB)
Known to the Class of ’80 as a brilliant if demanding accounting professor, Jim Patell is a founding faculty member of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (the d.school) where he teaches courses on Design for Extreme Affordability and Design for Service Innovation. Jim discussed some of the approaches utilized by the class, Design for Extreme Affordability (DEA), and some of the poverty-fighting projects that have been direct outcomes of the class. Project Redwood has been a long-time sponsor of many DEA projects. Jim showed the following video about a DEA project, miraclefeet, which is one of this year’s Project Redwood grantees.
Kim Meredith, Executive Director of Stanford's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS)
Stanford alumnus Kim Meredith spoke about trends in philanthropy. At PACS, she has been instrumental in encouraging nonpartisan thinking that improves the social sector, incorporating practical insights into that thinking, and building networks of professionals and policy makers to act on ideas. She provided an overview of the current thinking on approaches to delivering social value and the combinations of mission focus, scope, and time horizon that seem to work best for grant makers.
Panel Discussion:
"What it Takes to Realize Social Impact -- Implementing Successful In-Country Programs"Panelists and Project Redwood grantees:Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld from miraclefeet
Wes Meier from Compatible Technology International
Susan Whitcomb from Haitian Educational Initiatives
Dave Blenko from HOPE Worldwide
The panelists fielded a wide-range of questions ranging from how one measures social impact to the issues related to scaling projects. The panelists agreed one could measure the impact of a particular program but found it hard to answer how one weighed the value of an education project vs. that of a health-related projects. They also discussed how hard it can be to scale projects in the developing world, either due to cultural values or to the limitations in a country’s infrastructure.
Meeting Agenda:
Saturday morning, October 11:
Welcome
Brief review of Project Redwood accomplishments and summary of 2014 and strategic issues for the future.
Facilitated discussions of strategic questions facing Project Redwood:
Examining our Focus: Towards More Effective Grant-Making
How do we want to focus our efforts going forward?
Should our processes be changed?
Resource Development and Evaluation: How Best to Support PRW Grantees
What are the greatest Project Support needs?
How do we address them effectively and efficiently?
How do we measure our effectiveness and impact?
Building for Our Future: Defining our Legacy and Expanding our Base
How do we expand our resources to address growing demand for grants?
How do we engage others in this philanthropy?
Saturday afternoon, October 12:
Welcome and introduction to Project Redwood for guests
Speakers Kim Meredith and Jim Patell
Panel discussion '"What it takes to realize social impact -- implementing successful in-country programs"
Project Redwood grantees and Panelists:
Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld from miraclefeet,
Wes Meier from Compatible Technology Internationas,
Susan Whitcomb from Haitian Educational Initiatives,
the Class of 1980's own Dave Blenko from HOPE Worldwide.
Reception for all attendees
Sunday morning, October 13:
Workshops to plan for Project Redwood's future.