Philanthropy Massachusetts’ 57th Annual Conference began not with a presentation or panel, but with poetry.
Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson opened the day with an original poem created for our gathering. In it, he played with the idea of the Commonwealth itself—reminding us that Massachusetts has always had an ambition to be something more than common.
To be “unCommon.”
It was funny, provocative, and exactly right for a conference titled In a Commonwealth of Firsts: Shaping What Comes Next.
Because the day was not really about celebrating Massachusetts’ history. It was about asking what this place, with all of its talent, institutions, resources, contradictions, and possibility, is capable of now. And what role philanthropy should play in helping shape it.
In his keynote address, MacArthur Foundation President John Palfrey challenged us to think expansively about Massachusetts’ opportunity to lead—from strengthening journalism and supporting science to investing in the institutions and practices that sustain a healthy democracy. His message was also about courage: the willingness to use philanthropy’s resources, voice, relationships, and independence at a moment when many of the institutions we depend on are under strain.
The dialogue continued through a fireside conversation with Ali Noorani, President and CEO of the Barr Foundation, who challenged philanthropy to engage with more curiosity—to ask better questions, resist arriving with predetermined answers, and remain open to what communities, partners, and people with different perspectives can teach us.
That is a deceptively powerful charge. Philanthropy has resources and influence, but we do not always have the whole picture. Curiosity requires listening before deciding, understanding before prescribing, and entering partnership with enough humility to be changed by what we learn.
The conversation also reinforced something we believe deeply at Philanthropy Massachusetts:
Philanthropy is an act of civic engagement.
The decisions funders make help shape communities and influence what becomes possible.
Thinking Bigger Together
The morning program featured two concurrent sessions focused on our strategic priorities: economic competitiveness and democracy and civic life.
In a panel exploring Economic Competitiveness, Secretary of Economic Development Eric Paley joined leaders from Eastern Bank Foundation, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and BECMA to explore how Massachusetts can remain competitive and also ensure that the state’s prosperity reaches more people and communities, enabling the conditions for people to build a life here.
During a conversation on Building Capacity for Democracy in Massachusetts, leaders from Harvard University, the Hyams Foundation, and Philanthropy Massachusetts’ Democracy Senior Fellow Ira Jackson examined what a healthy democracy requires: participation, trusted information, strong institutions, community voice, and the ability to work across difference.
In the afternoon, five flash talks surfaced opportunities and questions related to artificial intelligence, pressures facing nonprofits, impact investing, civic engagement across Massachusetts, and the changing charitable-giving environment.
Throughout the day, these conversations highlighted the role each sector plays in shaping what comes next. Government, business, nonprofits, community organizations, universities, and philanthropy each bring different tools, resources, and expertise. Philanthropy’s role is to understand what we uniquely bring, and to work collaboratively towards something larger than what the sector can do on its own.
Celebrating Impact
The Conference also featured the 55th anniversary celebration of the Summer Fund, a reminder that helping funders move from common concern to shared action has long been part of Philanthropy Massachusetts' role. At the
LEAP Awards, we highlighted four inspiring examples of funders putting Learn, Engage, Act, Partner into practice.
Throughout the day, funders, nonprofit leaders, and partners did what strong networks allow people to do: reconnect, encounter new ideas, challenge assumptions, meet people outside their usual circles, and imagine possibilities together.
There was curiosity, candor, laughter, and a genuine appetite to think bigger about what philanthropy can contribute.
What Are We Willing to Do Next?
At the end of the day, Regie Gibson returned to the stage. He reflected our own words back to us through poetry as he wove together the language, ideas, humor, questions, and tensions he had heard throughout the conference.
We weren't simply hearing his interpretation of the day; we were hearing ourselves, a fitting reflection of Ali Noorani’s reminder earlier in the day that good work often begins with listening.
As I said in my closing remarks, Massachusetts has long taken pride in being a Commonwealth of Firsts. Our conference was not an invitation to look backward at those accomplishments; instead, it was a challenge to think about what leadership requires of us now. The most important question is no longer what Massachusetts did first. It is: What are we willing to do next?
Perhaps that is what it means, in this moment, to be a Commonwealth—and, as Regie reminded us, to be a little unCommon. That is the question we are carrying forward in the work ahead.
— Mary Skelton Roberts, CEO, Philanthropy Massachusetts