The Chicago Area chapter typically provides four events per year in downtown Chicago that include networking and professional development. Our chapter meetings follow a set agenda:

10:00 – Board Meeting

11:00 – Registration and Networking

11:30 – Lunch

12:15 – Program

1:45 – Committee Meetings

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2019 Events

Our quarterly events are held at Macy’s, 111 N. State Street in the Culinary Studio on the 7th floor, adjacent to the Walnut Room, while our 2019 all-day conference will be at the Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Center, 400 S. State Street. Click here to read our cancellation policy.

February 15, 2019 Chapter Event: National Conference Round Up

In November, the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) held its national conference right here in Chicago!

Did you miss it?

Did you attend but just couldn’t go to all the sessions you wanted?

Good news! For our February 2019 meeting, Chicago chapter members will provide summaries of some of the hottest topics from the national conference and lead discussions on lessons learned. Presentation recaps are scheduled to include:

“How to Safeguard Your Grant Strategy Against Economic Forces”
“Developing a Multi-Site Grant System”
“Answering the Annoying Sustainability Question”
“Collaborative Grant Writing”
“Get Your Funder to Swipe Right”
“Crash Course in Donor-Advised Funds”

For more details on these presentations, click here.

Location: Macy’s on State Street
Time: 11:00am registration, 11:30-12:15pm Lunch, 12:15-1:45pm Program

REGISTER NOW!

Keynote speaker: Author Beth Buelow on “How to Communicate Across the Personality Divide”

The program will also include a funder panel and break-out sessions for beginners, advanced grant practitioners, and consultants.

Location: Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Center, 400 S. State St. (Lower Level), Chicago IL
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm followed by off-site happy hour

Registration opens March 1, 2019

August 16, 2019 Chapter Event

Location: TBD

October 2019 Chapter Event (date pending confirmation)

Location: TBD

2018 Events

We make every effort to plan our events around holidays and special events. Fridays are the best day for most attendees. Our events are held at Macy’s on State Street in the Culinary Studio on the 7th floor, adjacent to the Walnut Room. Click here to read our cancellation policy.

January 15 Chicago Chapter Board Retreat

March 9 National Conference Round Up

March 9 International Grant Professionals Day

May 18

Changing the Conversation:

Race and Equity in Grantmaking

A Donor Panel

Race and equity issues are increasingly prominent in our local, regional, and national conversations. This donor panel discussion will explore how local foundations are developing and expanding initiatives to reflect issues of race and equity in the Chicago area. Panel participants include Arianna Cisneros, Program Officer at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Heather Smith, Senior Program Officer at The Field Foundation of Illinois, and Janine Hill, President of Soar Strategies. The panel will be moderated by Kimberly Casey, Director of Member Services at Forefront. Click here for more information.

Register at this link.

August 17

Networking for Introverts

Elizabeth Kilbourne from Career Strategies will lead participants through a fun and successful approach to networking that draws on the individual strengths of introverts. After this interactive workshop, you will walk away with useful strategies, tools, and insights to help you network with ease, including: