GV in almost-winter: reflecting and getting cozy

I’m listening to: Josaleigh Pollett’s new single, Radio Player WHAT it’s so good, it’s been on repeat. Also Sabine McCalla’s Don’t Call Me Baby, which Josaleigh sent me. To me, it’s a perfect record. I’m fully nourished with these two pieces of art. Yeah!

UPDATES:

A FACILITATION-FIRST ORIENTATION

I’ve been a ‘consultant’ for about six years, and though I still bring a lot of consulting-specific skills to my work, I’m really leaning into my Facilitation role over my Consultant role. I have so much more fun—and I think I’m more useful—when I come to work with more questions than answers. If you’re curious about my thinking behind this, I wrote about a recent facilitation engagement here! 

PREPARING TO SUBMIT SESSION PROPOSALS TO CONFERENCES

I’ve got some ideas rolling around in my head for workshops at conferences in 2026. (the cross-cutting theme is collaborative problem-solving) - Independent Sector and Exponent Philanthropy are top of mind since they just wrapped up—what conferences/events/gatherings are y’all attending? Do you have favorites?

LEARNING:

My brain is still a little too full for any meaningful processing, so instead of sharing my learning, I’m going to share linked to a couple of projects I learned about over the last few weeks! Please click through to learn more about them!

The Fund for Better Food Policy - I learned about these folks at Exponent Philanthropy’s annual conference. They shared their journey with participatory grantmaking, and they are very! cool!

The Interrupting Violence in Youth and Young Adults Project at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. These folks presented at Independent Sector’s National Summit and their work is so important - and successful!

QUESTION:

If you work inside of organizations, how do you engage with Consultants vs. Facilitators? I’m not thinking about “engage with” as in “contract with.” I’m thinking about how you interact with them as you work together. I have a lot of assumptions about this based on my own experiences, but I’m so curious about how other folks see these dynamics.

ABOUT GV:

Genevieve (they/them) runs GV Advisory - Rooted in play, justice, and collaboration, GV helps social impact organizations answer Big Questions and get unstuck. Reach out to Genevieve at [email protected].