4th Haiti Funders Conference Brings Together 82 Organizations and Philanthropists

Breakout session attendees discuss effective strategies in the education sector in salon led by Nedgine Paul of Anseye Pou Ayiti.

The 4th Haiti Funders Conference was held on June 5-7, 2019 in Miami, FL and was a great success!  The conference attracted 126 attendees representing 82 organizations as well as individual philanthropists. It featured 36 speakers and breakout session leaders, and several more facilitators who assisted in small group sessions.

Large portions of the conference program were devoted to facilitated salons or studios where all attendees were encouraged to participate in discussions and workshop activities.  Sessions were led by leaders of successful nonprofits, philanthropic actors, academics and civil society leaders.  Ample translation coverage fostered accessibility and inclusivity for Haitian voices.  Ample “breathing space” was incorporated to facilitate important networking and relationship building among participants. It was a gathering of experienced peers, united in their commitment to improving the lives of the Haitian people, to reflect and problem-solve together.

The event kicked-off with a welcoming reception and dinner featuring celebrity guest speaker Jimmy-Jean Louis and performances by Haitian star singer Emeline Michel and NSL, a Miami-based Haitian folklore dance troupe.  This evening served to bring all participants together at the outset of the convening to create an atmosphere of community and celebration of the culture and promise of Haiti that motivates our work. The full program and speakers can be seen at www.haitifundersconference.org.

We know anecdotally that many connections were made and information shared about initiatives that attendees would not otherwise have known about.  Linkages were made between official development assistance and philanthropic actors in particular.

Participant evaluations were extremely positive. Attendees liked the program, the participatory nature of the sessions and the opportunities to network. To track these positive outcomes and results achieved from them, HDI intends to poll participants between six months and one year after the conference.

We continue to build off of the momentum from the conference and move toward collective action. We heard from participants that a desired next step was to develop communities of practice to facilitate continued collaboration by implementers and funders on strategies to advance impact on Haiti’s most pressing development challenges.  We plan to work with sector-leading implementers and our community to pilot 2-3 communities of practice to demonstrate what thoughtful partnership looks like in Haiti.