Connect + Reflect
A space where values-aligned donors gather to build power and strategize about how to advance racial justice
The Connect + Reflect Experience
An Intimate Gathering Too Powerful to Miss
“It was a special and historic gathering for so many reasons. A week later, and I am still buzzing with excitement and hope. Just knowing this community exists is giving me a boost to think and dream bigger… I’m fired up to take my work to the next level!”
Connect + Reflect Attendee
Connect with other donors who share your desire to drive systemic change.
Celebrate your power from a place of joy and abundance.
Learn how to use your power and privilege for racial justice.
Reimagine philanthropy’s role in shaping a new world and fostering change.
Gain new insights and resources to encourage strategic giving.
A Look Back at 2024 Connect + Reflect
Planting the seeds of powerbuilding
Our most recent Connect + Reflect gathered us on the ancestral land of the Coast Salish: the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot people. We centered donors of color and their desire to drive systemic change, providing a space to connect with values-aligned peers and shape their giving strategies to make the biggest impact.
2024 Speaker Highlights
Mele Miller
CFO/COO, Denkyem
Margaret Huang
President, Southern Poverty Law Center
Maxim Thorne
CEO, Civic Influencer
Imara Jones
Media Producer, Journalist & Creator of TransLash Media
Isabel Wilkerson
Prize-Winning Journalist & Author
2024 Conversations
Philanthropy and Reparations
Experts in the field of reparations examined how philanthropic wealth was gained at the expense of Black communities. They also shared new practices for foundations to acknowledge and rectify historical injustices in collaboration with the community.
Giving Strategies Power Pod(‘ing)
This hands-on session engaged members in Implementing a strategic giving framework that considered their goals and pushed donors to make the biggest impact.
Faith Matters: Bridges to the Possible
In this interfaith panel, thought-leaders explored how faith can help us navigate internal and external tensions and build a bridge toward a greater sense of community and belonging.
What We’re Up Against: How Racist Forces Are Dividing Our Communities
This panel dissected the strategies that opposition forces use to divide us and discover what we can do to combat these attempts at division.
Keynote with Isabel Wilkerson
Isabel Wilkerson delivered a powerful keynote and engaged us in a conversation about race, interlocking systems of oppression, and the effects of a caste system that was designed to divide our power.
Join us this year for more unforgettable conversations that will inspire you to cultivate change.
Gratitude to our sponsors
We’d like to express our sincere gratitude to our sponsors for investing in our vision to create this important event.
Intereted in sponsoring the 2025 Connect + Reflect Retreat?
by invitation only
Connect + Reflect is an invite-only retreat for people who share these three traits.
Identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a person of color.
Possess a deep desire to advance racial equity and racial justice.
Have the capacity to give at least $50,000 annually personally, or have the authority at your organization to move at least $50,000.
If this describes you, we hope to see you at the next Connect + Reflect.
Are you ready to experience joy, power, and solidarity with your DOCN member community?
You'll be directed to your member portal to register.