Save the Dates: April 23–24, 2026
Rural Philanthropy Summit: Celebrating Innovation will take place April 23–24, 2026, at Missouri S&T in Rolla.
Presented by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Philanthropy Missouri, the event will kick off Thursday, April 23, with pre-conference activities and a welcome reception. The conference, hosted at Missouri S&T’s Havener Center on Friday, April 24, will feature a keynote address, breakout sessions and more, from breakfast until 3 p.m.
More information will be announced when registration opens in early 2026.
Call for Breakout Session Proposals
Rural Philanthropy Summit: Celebrating Innovation will be held on April 23–24, 2026, at Missouri S&T in Rolla. This year, we are featuring participant-designed/led breakout sessions. Breakout sessions will be approximately 60 minutes in length and presented once on Friday, April 24, between 9:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
Breakout sessions should:
- Present an issue facing rural communities in Missouri.
- Include examples of effective, innovative and/or promising strategies to address this issue.
- Specify steps rural funders/partners/community foundations can take to meaningfully address this issue in the communities they serve.
Submission guidlines:
We invite you to submit a breakout session proposal for consideration by emailing Sarah Moody at sarah@philmo.org by 5 p.m. CT on Dec. 5. Please include “Summit Breakout Proposal: [Your Session Title]” in the email subject line and provide the following information:
- Title of breakout session
- Names/titles/organizations of all presenters
- Session format (lecture, panel discussion, small group discussion, interactive, etc.)
- Session objectives
- Session description (3–5 sentences)
Sessions in which one or more presenters are in-person will be prioritized. Collaboration between funders/partners/community foundations is encouraged — and you are warmly encouraged to design something you would find timely, engaging and meaningful. To review prior breakout session topics, find material online from the 2024 Rural Philanthropy Summit and the 2025 Rural Philanthropy Summit.
The Summit planning team will carefully review all proposals and be in touch by Dec. 19 to advise you if your proposal has been selected.
Questions? Contact info@philmo.org.
