Conference overviews, sessions, and speakers from previous events
Join a live conversation with Sarah Cone, author of our Summer 2026 cover story “Why Don’t Philanthropists Build Anymore?” She will discuss differences between Gilded Age and contemporary philanthropy, why billionaires have stepped back from building institutions, and her vision for a new Gilded Age of philanthropy.
Join a live conversation with Ari Simon, author of SSIR’s Spring 2026 feature story, “What Else Can I Do? The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy.” He will critically examine the prevailing norms of philanthropic practice today and explore a more pluralistic model for understanding the reasons for giving.
Join a live conversation with education researcher Isabelle Hau about her Spring 2026 SSIR cover story “Welcome to the Era of Relational Intelligence.” The author will talk about her vision of developing and expanding human capacities for flourishing in the age of AI.
Join a conversation with Mark Dobosz about his Spring 2026 SSIR feature story “Beyond the Mega-Gift.” Mark will talk about the decline in the nonprofit sector’s small-donor foundation, how an overreliance on mega-donors threatens the viability of social innovation, and how some organizations are working to buck the trend.
In this live event, SSIR will speak with Laura W. Brill, author of cover story, “Getting Youth Engaged in Democracy,” about her research on US voting patterns and legislature, voting interventions that target youth, and how this issue intersects with other challenges to democracy.
Watch Video conversations with social innovators, including presentations and interviews from SSIR conferences
In this live event, SSIR Editor Aaron Bady speaks with two authors of SSIR’s Fall 2025 Issue story, “The Nonprofit Sector Has an RCT Problem,” who take a sociological approach to the issue, exploring how mandatory RCT adoption shifts the priorities, structures, and funding of social change organizations, not always for the better.
Under the theme “Reimagining the Digital Future: Harnessing AI for Social Good,” a world-class lineup of speakers examined how AI technologies can accelerate progress in education, climate action, business, economics, and beyond—while addressing the risks they pose.
The future is uncertain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for it, or help to shape it. NMI 2024 will feature a series of thought-provoking plenary sessions, workshops, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities over two days of professional learning and development.
This year’s convening will explores pragmatic and tactical approaches to emerging challenges and opportunities. Over two days of learning, development, and inspiration, nonprofit leadership and staff will learn enhanced skills for agility and adaptability, and emerge newly equipped to thrive in evolving circumstances.
Stanford Social Innovation Review and Ford Foundation present Data on Purpose 2023: “Making Tech Work for Workers.” This two-day open-access virtual conference brings together some of the sharpest minds in the social impact field to explore the risks of tech innovation that fails to serve labor, and envision what is needed to build a better, more worker-centered digital economy.
Listen to audio talks by leaders of social change, including sessions from SSIR conferences.
