Written By: Kelly Weiss

On October 29-30, 2009, Chicago Global Donors Network (CGDN) held its 6th Annual Conference on International Giving. With the goal of encouraging, serving, supporting and informing international giving efforts, CGDN focused this year’s conference on how to maintain the momentum of current projects and how to build new opportunities given today’s global recessions. With keynote speakers ranging from Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World to Paul Rusesabagina, President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesagaina Foundation, this two day event also featured 16 break-out sessions with a wide-range of topics and panelists, all relevant to global giving.

I was privileged to attend this conference on behalf of ammado as a part of CGDN’s “Giving Technology Space.” In 2009, CGDN committed itself to using technology to “enable CGDN members to use technology to network with each other, support each other’s causes and learn more about global giving.” As a part of this effort, they have chosen facebook, twitter, and ammado as their platforms of choice. On Friday, October 30, from 8am- 5pm, I manned the technology table along with the Global Philanthropy Partnership. With several hundred attendees, our table allowed us the opportunity to meet with dozens of people from the international giving and fundraising community as they asked questions about global online resources. It was a lovely experience and a great chance to meet some of the people that make the biggest difference in today’s global nonprofit sector.

As a part of CGDN partnership with Chicago Public Radio, all of the event’s speakers and sessions will soon be available on Chicago Amplified for anyone who is interested. This is a great opportunity for attendees to hear the sessions that they were unable to attend, and for everyone around the world to partake in the conference and to learn from global giving experts on “Opportunity in Tough Times.”

If this is your first exposure to Chicago Global Donors Network, it’s the tip of the iceberg of the wonderful programming that they provide for Chicago, the Midwest and our global community. They hold several annual events and workshops throughout the year, and within the next few months they plan to launch a brand new website to make their online resources and information even more dynamic and informative. If you’re interested in international giving, keep checking back with CDGN and take advantage of all that they have to offer.