On January 22-23, 2026, join a select number of fellow travelers who, like you, are working in complex spaces and seeking to make a real difference in their communities and society for the Second Annual Safe Haven for Funders. You will leave feeling refreshed, regrounded, and re-energized.
This gathering is especially important in these challenging times. So many of us feel hunkered down, even turned inward. Our communities are increasingly fragmented and siloed. The question is how can we find a new civic path forward.
At a time when we can feel stymied, we’ll examine what it really takes for communities to transform themselves and how we can actively support those efforts in ways that go beyond financial capital.
Come ready to take challenges head-on and have real conversations. This safe haven is designed expressly for philanthropic leaders. Hear from other funders. Explore what it really takes to create meaningful, sustainable change.
Open up. This event is a rare opportunity to process the challenges you’re personally facing. When you’re grappling with a lot, how do you make choices? How do you stay centered and hopeful?
Who Should Come
Funders (including Presidents and CEOs of funding organizations, vice presidents for programs, impact or strategy, board members, and other key high-level leaders) wrestling with any or all of the following issues:
You are doing good work, but want to know how deepen and accelerate it
You are not seeing the results you want because of changing conditions in society and increasing resistance
You are thinking about the direction of your work
Your organization or community are simply stuck—you need to find a way to jump start things
You are trying to find alignment with yourself, your board and/or your staff team
Come on your own or increase the event’s impact by bringing a small team made up of other leaders from your organization, board, or community. Experiencing the event together will give you new ways to work together and help you move in a shared direction in your community.
WHEN AND Where
Beautiful, warm, welcoming Sarasota, FL. The event will begin at 2:30 pm Thursday, January 22 and end midday on Friday, January 23, so you have the opportunity to stay in town for the weekend. This space is being convened by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation with generous support from The Patterson Foundation.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Embassy Suites Sarasota. Make your reservation online or call 941-256-0190 and reference “The Harwood Institute” by 12/23/2025 to get the group rate.
“This space was marked by honesty, vulnerability, and an unwavering sense of purpose.”
What to Expect from the agenda
This is not another conference. We place a premium on deep, real conversation, which we will generate together through large and small group discussion. The event will be led by Rich Harwood.
Key topics will include:
What it takes to productively engage people in this environment
How you can set realistic expectations about who is willing to run with you and under what conditions
Finding the sweet spot between your organizational priorities and what it means to grow your community and meet people where they are
How to move forward in a catalytic way when you don’t know where everyone stands
How to be catalytic in the way we fund things in our community
Fees
Thanks to generous support from The Patterson Foundation, there is no registration fee for this meeting. We will only collect a small fee of $199 to cover session expenses.