Participants of the Threads Chicago event discussed successful partnerships and the need for greater alignment across sectors, disciplines, and organizations. Many of the bright spots identified were examples of collaborations across a variety of players and issues. This tagline was from a description of Thrive Chicago, which is “connecting dots along the education curriculum.”
Read in-depth highlights from Threads Chicago
Threads Chicago was held on May 7, 2015, in the newly renovated Rauner Center, home of the regional Red Cross. Several themes emerged from the wide-ranging discussions. Considering the accelerating pace of change in society, leaders reflected on how nonprofits and foundations must adapt if they want to become more nimble. Governance and funding structures, they said, must shift if organizations are to develop quick-response capabilities. There were calls for structures across the sector to support effective collaboration among nonprofits and to engage individuals who want to lean in to the issues they care about. When it came time to suggest priorities for IS, participants invited IS to play a greater role in challenging the sector to improve our practices, confront “sticky issues” and, generally, help to catalyze innovation across the sector.
If you weren’t able to follow the Chicago conversation on social media, be sure to check out our Storify to see what people were sharing online using #ThreadsCHI.
