Get ready for an unforgettable experience!
Join us for the premier event in education philanthropy, featuring over 100 dynamic sessions carefully curated to spark breakthrough thinking and real-world impact. From thought-provoking plenaries and immersive site visits to insightful member-led discussions and many networking opportunities, this is where ideas come alive. Come ready to (re)connect with peers, exchange ideas, forge strategic partnerships and be energized! Leave inspired, recharged and ready to shape the future of the field.

Designing Systems of Abundance and Shared Well-being:

Education at the Center

This is a pivotal moment in our living history. Against an ever-changing social, economic and political backdrop, childcare centers, classrooms, campuses and local communities have become spaces of both adaptation and persistent conflict and crisis. We gather this year to reclaim education as a true public good that affirms civil rights, ensures all learners have what they need and delivers broad societal benefit.

This year’s conference explores what it means to position education as the core infrastructure within a broader ecosystem. We will engage a mindset of abundance and examine what it takes to adopt a strategy grounded in well-being both in education systems and from the philanthropic beliefs and behaviors that support them.

Realizing this vision requires more than isolated initiatives. From cross-sector collaboration to policy alignment, and from coordinated strategy to shared responsibility, this year’s theme focuses on strengthening connection and coherence across the full education continuum – starting at birth and through the lifetime, at all times of day and year, and occurring in classrooms, on campuses and within homes, communities and workplaces.

These questions sit at the heart of the Grantmakers for Education 2026 Annual Conference:  

• What do systems of abundance and shared well-being look like with education at the center?   
• With the reality of fragmentation, how do we foster coherence across early learning and development, K-12, postsecondary education, workforce development, adult learning and community programs?   
• How is a human-centered focus maintained through rapid technological advances?  
• What are the operating structures that are misaligned with the outcomes we are working toward? And to what end must they be repaired, reimagined or replaced?

Throughout this national gathering, we’ll surface bold ideas, raise urgent questions for generative dialogue, and consider practical pathways forward. Together, we will reflect on this moment and help shape what comes next.

Meet Our

Sponsors

Premier

Delegates

Advocates

Liaisons

Contributors

We are especially grateful to the sponsors that support the conference over multiple years, providing vital stability that helps us plan for the future and continue to deliver a quality conference experience.

The New York Community Trust

Thank you also to our additional sponsors!

Event Details