Week 3 - Keynote, Agora Live Sign-up, and prep for the Generosity Crisis
Make the most of Speaking Engagement in May
Get Week 3 Started with the Keynote
This week’s Keynote is a personal one for me. My guest is Meghan Buzby from the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), and our conversation centers on advocacy, volunteer engagement, and the challenge of building community around a devastating disease that many people still know very little about.
My mom passed away from FTD in 2012 after a long battle with the disease, and listening to Meghan describe the support and advocacy infrastructure AFTD has built made me reflect on how valuable that type of community would have been for my family during those years.
Full-Length version (54 mins) on YouTube
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation is how AFTD approaches engagement as a national organization without local chapter infrastructure. Their model is highly digital, highly flexible, and built around meeting volunteers where they are emotionally and practically.
Register for our first Agora on May 26th at 12 pm ET — (Free for all subscribers and members)
From Identity to Infrastructure: Building “Miner Nation” at UTEP with Alumni Storytellers
In this session, we’ll explore how the University of Texas at El Paso built Miner Nation as a unifying engagement framework that connects students, alumni, and supporters through shared pride and purpose.
We start with a 15–20 minute TED-style presentation
Then we shift into 40–45 minutes of active conversation. You’ll be placed into small, rotating groups to talk, react, and connect.
Order or borrow your copy of The Generosity Crisis: The Case for Radical Connection to Solve Humanity’s Greatest Challenges
Beginning in early June, we’ll be launching our Book Club with the first assigned reading. The Generosity Crisis by Nathan Chappell, Brian Crimmins, and Michael Ashley is a must-read for anyone in the philanthropic engagement space.
Nathan Chappell will be our Keynote the week of June 8.
More details how the Book Club will be organized week to week are coming soon!
Have a great week, everyone! We so appreciate you being a part of our new community here on Speaking Engagement. Tell your friends and colleagues.