Pam Foster

Pam Foster

Chief Operating Officer, Co-Impact

Pam serves as COO of Co-Impact, a global philanthropic collaborative focused on systems change efforts aiming to improve the lives of millions of people in developing countries in the areas of education, health, and economic opportunity. In that role, Pam provides strategic operations leadership including in the areas of finance, HR, strategy, learning and measurement, communications, grants management, governance, and compliance. Prior to joining Co-Impact in 2017, Pam served in various roles over 20 years for The Rockefeller Foundation, including most recently serving as Managing Director, Program Operations, and Associate General Counsel. In between two stints at the Foundation, Pam was an associate with the Wall Street law firm Cleary Gottlieb, where she specialized in employment and executive compensation. She is Chair of the Board of Safe Passage Project, a NYC-based nonprofit providing legal representation for unaccompanied minors in immigration court, and serves on the board of Philanthropy New York. Pam received a bachelor’s degree with honors from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a JD, summa cum laude, from New York Law School, where she currently serves as on the Board of Trustees and as President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Strengthening Grantees: What Funders Can Do

Marquette Ballroom I

“Capacity building” has been a buzzword in foundation circles for years. New research from CEP shows that, while there are areas of alignment between funders’ perceptions of nonprofits’ need and nonprofits’ actual needs, there are also crucial areas of disconnect. Worse, many nonprofit leaders say they fear asking for what they really need. How can funders break through and truly strengthen organizations in shared pursuit of impact? This session will feature an examination of innovative approaches to strengthening nonprofits, as well as interactive exercises to help funders reflect on how they can best strengthen the organizations they fund.

Breakout session
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