2026 Annual Conference
Conference Program
Monday, May 11th
PRE-CONFERENCE
8:30 - 10:00 a.m. Breakfast Discussion for WWC Learning Circle
Castle, King James Dining Room
12:00 - 2:30 p.m. PCP Board Meeting
Pink House, Board Room
2:15 p.m. Optional Hike for Early Arrivals
Meet at the Carriage House, outside the Carriage Room
2:30 - 4:00 p.m. CPM Discussion with David Garrison
Carriage House, Coachman's Lounge
David Garrison is the author of Inside Church Planting
Movements: What 25 Years of Assessments Reveal
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Meetup for Solo Grantmakers' Cohort
Carriage House, Tack Room
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. Meetup for New ED Cohort I
Castle, Den
CONFERENCE
3:00 - 5:15 p.m. Conference Registration and Guest Room Check-In
Carriage House, Carriage Room
4:30 - 5:00 p.m. Jump Start for First-Timers
Castle, The Tower Room (4th Floor)
For conference first-timers and anyone else eager to start
connecting with new and old friends
5:00 – 5:45 p.m. Welcome Reception
Castle, Terrace
5:45 - 8:30 p.m. Opening Program
Castle, Great Hall
Jeffersonian dinners
ED & VP welcomes
Facilitated networking
8:30 p.m. Learning Community Meetups
Castle, meet in the Library
ETC Learning Circle
New ED Cohort II
New to Philanthropy Cohort
Seasoned Leaders' Cohort
8:30 p.m. Optional After Parties
- Popcorn and soda, meet outside the Castle Library
- Drinks, meet by Carlos the Knight in the Castle Foyer
to head to Red Leg Brewing (2323 Garden of the Gods Rd.)
Tuesday, May 12th
7:00 - 8:15 a.m. Executive Directors’ Breakfast Meeting
Carriage House, Carriage Room
Topic: Leading from a Renewed Center
7:30 - 8:30 a.m. Come-and-Go Breakfast
Castle, King James Dining Room
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Opening Worship
Castle, Great Hall
Worship Team
- Shanda Agricola, Jackson Family Foundation
- De Wet Spies, Mergon Foundation
- Ty Stakes, 7 Silos
Reflection
- Anna Koons, Dovetail Impact Foundation
9:00 - 9:45 a.m. Session I - Prayer: Grantmakers' Highest Calling and Most
Potent Tool
Castle, Great Hall
- Pete Greig, 24-7 Prayer
Description
9:45 - 10:15 a.m. Session II - Table Discussions
Castle, Great Hall
Description
10:15 - 10:25 a.m. First Person Talk
Castle, Great Hall
The Philanthropy Collective: Powering Impact through Partnership
- Laura Blackburn & Phil Lane, The Lane Foundation
10:25 - 10:40 a.m. Snack Break
Castle, Oriel Hall
10:40 - 11:10 a.m. Facilitated Networking
Castle, Great Hall
11:10 - 11:55 a.m. Session III - Navigating and Influencing Organizational Change
Castle, Great Hall
- Thad Austin, Moderator, Every Age Foundation
- Kate Lingbeek, Matthew 6:3
- Kerri Lopez-Howell, Neighbor Company
- Jason Zylstra, De Vos Family Foundations
This session explores a persistent tension in philanthropic work:
the gap between conviction and authority, where practitioners feel responsibility to strengthen the work but operate within real constraints of boards, family dynamics, and legacy priorities. Through lived experience and honest conversation, participants will discern not whether to pursue change, but how and when to do so with wisdom, integrity, and courage.
11:55 - 12:15 p.m. First Person Talks
Castle, Great Hall
Beekeeping and Grantmaking
- Randy Kennedy, Maclellan Foundation
The Challenge and Gift of Collaboration
- Vanessa Jerome, The Harold C. Smith Foundation
12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Table Discussions
Castle, Great Hall
Grab lunch, then pick a discussion topic and join that table.
Or, sit at one of the open tables for unstructured conversation.
Topics & Table Assignments
1. AI
2. Veterans
3. Principal and Board dynamics / generational
4. Capacity building
5. M&E
6. Collaboration / co-funding
7. Navigating Polarization and Pluralism
8. Staffing, HR, & Organizational Infrastructure
9. Travel Hacks & Tips
10. Working for "The Family"
11. Open table
12. Open table
Prayer slots with 24-7 Prayer team available until 12:15
1:30 - 1:50 p.m. First Person Talks
Castle, Great Hall
Pilgrim's Progress
- Fred Smith, Buford Foundation
Keep Climbing: Leadership Lessons from the Mountains
- Jeremy Taylor, Tyndale House Foundation
1:50 - 3:15 p.m. Session IV – Breakout Workshops
1. Philanthropy in Transition: Key Trends Shaping the Field
Castle, Tower Room
- Jon Beighle, Stewardship Foundation
Foundation philanthropy is evolving rapidly: organizing for
collective impact, planning foundation lifespans, leveraging
data in decision-making, prioritizing indigenous organizations,
engaging the next generation, and more. It is imperative that
foundation leaders are aware of current trends, understand the
implications, and are proactive This session will explore the most
relevant trends and help foundation leaders plan for the future.
2. Funding for Scale: A Peer Discussion on Strategy, Trade-offs, and
Lessons Learned
Carriage House, Granary
- Chris Munson, Matthew 6:3
This interactive peer discussion explores what it really means to
fund for scale versus depth or steady growth in philanthropic
grantmaking. We will draw on practitioner experiences with funding journeys, trade-offs, and lessons learned. Participants will leave with fresh perspectives on balancing quality and cost-effectiveness, and a clearer framework for thinking about scale and impact in their own giving strategies.
3. Disciple-Making Movements: Promise, Pitfalls, and Perspective
- With Wes Watkins, Motus Dei Network
Castle, Tower Room
- Matt Castagna, R.B. Nordick Foundation
- De Wet Spies, Mergon Foundation
Description
4. Environmentally-Informed Philanthropy: Why Creation Care
Matters for Christian Mission
- With Ben Low, A Rocha USA
Carriage House, Tack Room
- Kate Lingbeek, Matthew 6:3
This breakout explores why creation care has been neglected
among Christian communities and what that gap means for mission-aligned philanthropy. Together we'll examine how climate concern fits at the heart of Christian mission and consider practical frameworks for discerning your own role, engaging boards and principals, and connecting this work to existing priorities like theological formation and poverty alleviation.
5. When Giving Isn't Enough: The Power of Prayer in Philanthropy
- With Pete Greig, 24-7 Prayer
Bighorn Lodge, Bighorn Upper
- David Denmark, Maclellan Foundation
Description
6. Embodying a Trauma-Informed Philanthropy: Practical
Frameworks for Grantmakers
- With Beth Cossin and Kadeem Massiah, Arrabon
Carriage House, Coachman's Lounge
- Kate Sedgwick, PCP
Description
3:15 - 5:15 p.m. Free Time
3:15 — snacks available
Carriage House, Hayloft
3:30 - 4:15 — Optional Fireside Chat with David and Nancy French
Carriage House, Hayloft
- Fred Smith, Moderator, Buford Foundation
4:45 - 5:45 — Optional Visit to The Philanthropy Collective
315 E Pikes Peak Ave. Meet at 4:30 at the Carriage House
Courtyard for rides
- Laura Blackburn, The Lane Foundation
The group will walk over to our dinner at 6:00
5:30 p.m. Bus departs for dinner
Oaks Lodge Parking Lot
6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Dinner and Evening Fun
Phantom Canyon Brewing Company, 2 East Pikes Peak Ave.
Casual dinner
Trivia
The Choir Room Experience
Wednesday, May 13th
7:00 - 8:15 a.m. Executive Directors’ Breakfast Meeting
Carriage House, Carriage Room
Topic: Faithful Leadership & Effective Board Relationships
7:30 - 8:30 a.m. Come-and-Go Breakfast
Castle, King James Dining Room
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Opening Worship
Castle, Great Hall
Worship Team
- Shanda Agricola, Jackson Family Foundation
- De Wet Spies, Mergon Foundation
- Ty Stakes, 7 Silos
Prayer
- Pete Greig, 24-7 Prayer
9:00 - 9:45 a.m. Session V – Stories of Truth-Telling and Costly Courage
Castle, Great Hall
- Nancy French, Author, Storyteller, Journalist
Description
9:45 - 10:15 a.m. Session VI – Table Discussion: Truth-Telling in Grantmaking:
Risks, Rewards, and Calling
Castle, Great Hall
10:15 - 10:45 a.m. Snack Break & 7th-Inning Stretch
Castle, Oriel Hall
10:45 - 11:15 a.m. PCP: What We're Hearing and What's Ahead
Castle, Great Hall
- Steve Mayer & Kate Sedgwick, PCP
11:15 – 12:00 p.m. Session VII – Stewarding Power: When to Wield,
When to Yield, and How to Understand
Castle, Great Hall
- Ted Chen, Moderator, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
- Dana Doll, Micah 6:8
- Katie McCoy, VistaOne Group
- Peter Roebbelen, The Charis Foundation
This session will explore power multiple angles, including the
dynamics between funders and grantees, the power grantmakers
hold, and what the exercise of power does to those who wield it
and those on whose behalf (or against whom) it is wielded. We'll
consider history, theology, and practice, and wrestle together with
the deeper discernment questions of how, why, and whether to use it.
12:00 - 12:15 p.m. First-Person Talk
Castle, Great Hall
Individual Generosity Plans
- Claudia Witte, The De Vos Family Foundation
12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Session VIII – The Seductive and Malforming
Possibilities of Our Professional Roles
Castle, Great Hall
- Steve Mayer, PCP
Grantmakers have unusual proximity to wealth, power, and hubris
in ways that can put both subtle and overt pressure on our
Christian formation. In this session, we'll consider some of the
seductive and malforming possibilities of our professional roles
and workshop with peers how we might faithfully respond.
1:30 – 1:45 p.m. Closing & Opening
Castle, Great Hall
- Steve Mayer & Kate Sedgwick, PCP
Snacks available in Oriel Hall
POST-CONFERENCE
2:30 p.m. West Africa Collaboration Community of Practice Meeting
6:00 p.m. Optional Dinner Out
Restaurant TBD; meet in the Carriage House, Courtyard