A coalition’s ability to “transform the thinking” about how to increase education outcomes was noted as a critical success factor in a bright spot provided by the Silicon Valley participants. The comment was not only a reflection on what worked on that particular case, but also a recommendation to others hoping to achieve greater impact.
Read in-depth highlights from Threads Silicon Valley
On June 8, more than 100 leaders from the charitable and philanthropic community, the corporate sector and local government gathered for Threads Silicon Valley. Capacity and collaboration were the primary themes of the conversation. Attendees expressed deep concern that the prevalence of silos and insufficient collaboration among nonprofit organizations, as well as among the public, private and nonprofit sectors, serve as a serious barrier to solving society’s most pressing problems, including poverty, homelessness and education. Capacity constraints were identified as the primary obstacle to collaboration, with those constraints driven largely by a lack of resources – including money, staff and volunteers. Participants also expressed their desire for the nonprofit sector to become more actively engaged in conversations with all levels of government, about both funding and policy decisions. The conversation closed with an impassioned call for a national dialogue about a social contract for the 21st century.
If you weren’t able to follow the Silicon Valley conversation on social media, be sure to check out our Storify to see what people were sharing online using #ThreadsSV.
