About the Convening

We’ve made the case for equitable grantmaking for years. Now is the moment when we push forward, put our ideas into practice, and make progress.

GSP’s 2023 Biennial Convening: The Forward Moment will take place August 30 – September 1, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. Our programming centers on four key focus areas: Climate, LGBTQ+, Immigrant, and Criminal Justice. Our goal is to offer a space for our network to better understand the South, its tradition of resistance, and to move resources into the communities that need them most. We will also host our annual membership meeting and a Learning Tour of local partners working to build power in the greater Orlando area.

What You Can Expect

The Forward Moment offers an array of sessions, skills labs, celebratory events, and learning tours aimed at educating participants about the cultural, geographic, and political context of the South while grounding our learnings in central Florida. We are finalizing our agenda and will provide updates soon. In the meantime, check out our session descriptions below:

Session Descriptions

Reformation and Abolition: Building a Collective Vision

How do we move away from punishment towards justice within the criminal-legal system? Expand


Disenfranchisement and Criminalization: Tools for Voter Suppression 

In the last two years, more than 130 bills have been introduced across the nation that would increase the involvement of law enforcement in the voting process. Expand


Centering Black, Brown, & Indigenous Communities: Building Community Resilience Against Climate and Environmental Warfare 

Explore the long history of environmental and climate-based warfare against communities of color and its impacts on their health, wealth, and resiliency. Expand


Investing in the Infrastructure of Climate Justice: The Long-Term Strategy 

The persistent rhetoric of our current political climate seems to fall on the extreme sides of a spectrum, with climate change denial on one end and the fear that we are doomed and beyond saving on the other. Expand


Safety & Security: Building a Collective Strategy for Supporting Undocumented Organizers and Community Groups 

In the face of a sunsetting DACA policy and newly introduced asylum bans, we must ask: who is keeping immigrant communities safe? The answer is: each other. Expand


Funding and Organizing for Immigrant Justice Beyond the Border States 

In recent years, we’ve seen immigrant communities in border states infiltrated and separated by ICE, but they were not the exception. Expand


Meeting the Moment of anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation: Progressive Organizing and Advocacy Strategies 

We envision a South where every LGBTQ+ person can thrive, with full lived and legal equality. Expand


The Inherent Queerness of Southern Movement Work 

Queer and trans leaders are on the front lines of every facet of social justice work in the South, especially queer leaders of color. Expand

Registration & Cost Information

 

Attendee TypeEarly Bird Rate
Non-Member$900
Member$750
Non-Member Intermediary $450
Member Intermediary$300

Intermediaries with an Operating Budget over $500k pay GSP’s regular member or non-member rate. Intermediaries with and Operating Budget under $500k pay the Intermediaries rate. Sponsorships include complimentary registrations according to level. Register on Whova today! 

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are grateful to our sponsors for supporting The Forward Moment. These contributions help cover the costs of hosting a 3-day convening, including ensuring that vendors are equitably paid and sustaining GSP’s practice of gathering funders and practitioners in community in an effort to advance structural change in the South. You make our work possible. Thank you!

  • Heising-Simons Foundation
  • Casey Family Programs
  • Kolibri Foundation
  • Four Freedoms Fund / NEO Philanthropy

Download the full Sponsorship Packet here.

 

COVID and Community Care

GSP recognizes that we are in a new era as the COVID-19 pandemic transitions to endemic and safety guidelines begin to shift. As an organization working to build a just and livable South, we know that we must prioritize community care in all that we do. We ask participants to do their part in helping us ensure the accessibility of this event for as many of our community members as possible, especially for folks who are immunocompromised.  

Our recommended safety guidance may increase according to COVID prevalence at the time of the Biennial Convening. GSP reserves the right to change these guidelines and will notify attendees in advance of the Convening.  

We ask that participants adhere to the following guidelines:  

  • Personal care: If attendees feel unwell or are unable to comply with our health and safety precautions, we ask that they please refrain from attending the Convening. This includes having symptoms related to COVID-19 within 48 hours prior to attending. Please notify the GSP team at info@g4sp.org if you are feeling unwell before or during the Convening, or if you test positive during the Convening or up to ten days after the Convening. 
  • Pre-Event Screening: All attendees will be asked to upload proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test to our third-party verification platform. Tests must be taken within 48 hours prior to the Convening. 
  • On-Site Testing: Conduct a self-administered rapid test on site each day, starting with your arrival day. GSP will provide tests for all attendees. Continue to rapid test at least once, and as needed over the next ten days after you leave the Convening.  
  • Masking: Wear a N95, KN95, or KN94 mask covering your nose and mouth whenever indoors (including hotel common spaces like halls, elevators, and stairwells), unless actively eating or drinking. GSP will provide suitable masks for all attendees. If someone asks you to wear a mask, please do so.  
  • Social Distancing and Prevention: Refrain from physical contact without consent, including hugs and handshakes. Whenever the weather permits, we encourage attendees to spend time in well-ventilated, spacious areas or outdoors. We will provide ample breaks during our time indoors and have access to outdoor space for informal time together. Please wash your hands and use hand sanitizer frequently. 

While GSP cannot guarantee that participants will not be exposed to or contract COVID-19 or its variants, we will do our part in making the Convening as safe as possible. Thank you in advance for doing your part to make this event more accessible. We look forward to sharing space with you.  

Questions?

If you have questions related to the convening or would like to sponsor The Forward Moment, reach out to our Operations Manager, Eboni Brown at ebrown@g4sp.org

About GSP

Founded in 2010, Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP) is a network of funders who are committed to fostering thriving communities in the Southern United States, by advancing structural and cultural change that result in equitable outcomes. GSP’s overall goal is to help achieve significant and sustained progress in the economic, social, and political outcomes of those who are least well off economically, politically, and socially in the South.