WELCOME KEYNOTE BY ELLIE HOLLANDER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA
Each year, Ellie's address serves as a Meals on Wheels "state of the union" including reflections on the past year and the future outlook for the network. Ellie focused on what it means to reach Our Tipping Point – what it will look like when we've reached it, why it's important that we reach it now and what we can all do to get there there. Major themes centered around the critical need to be "one Meals on Wheels," both as we look to capture the hearts and minds of all Americans and also as we create sustainable success in the healthcare arena. Watch her full remarks below.
"By definition, a tipping point is the moment at which a series of small changes or incidents become significant enough to cause larger and more impactful change. It is achieved when a group of people rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice. It’s the point in time at which real change takes hold and enables a new future. It is our time—a pivotal time—to achieve Our Tipping Point. And what we need now to reach that point is to create a critical mass of local programs, all focused and aligned in solidarity, to secure a sustainable future for us all. We’ve already experienced glimpses of what Our Tipping Point looks like, when we rally as a movement and, together, successfully drive change that makes our whole greater than the sum of our parts."
"Embedding Meals on Wheels into the healthcare system is vital to the future of our network—not only because it provides the largest available revenue stream, but also because if we aren’t there, our competitors will be. And, guess what? They won’t be doing it with the compassion, social connection, safety-checks and peace of mind that we do."
OPENING KEYNOTE BY DAN PALLOTTA, FOUNDER & CEO, CHARITY DEFENSE COUNCIL
Dan Pallotta is a builder of movements. He invented the multi-day charitable event industry. He created the Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and the multi-day AIDS Rides, which raised in excess of half a billion dollars in nine years. Known for his compelling TED talks, he is also the author of
Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential and
Charity Case: How the Nonprofit Community Can Stand Up for Itself and Really Change the World – two books that are redefining the nonprofit sector. Who better to inspire us as we reach
Our Tipping Point than the founder and Chief Humanity Officer of Advertising for Humanity, an agency dedicated to the expansion and transformation of high-impact humanitarian organizations. Dan is also the founder and President of the
Charity Defense Council, a national leadership movement dedicated to transforming the way the donating public thinks about charity and change.
Watch the highlight video below to hear more about how nonprofits are hindered with a societal bias that denies programs like ours the critical tools and permissions that the for-profit sector can use without restraint. Dan encourages us to look at and talk about overhead, impact and investments differently.
"If you prohibit failure, you kill innovation."
"Don't ask a charity if it has low overhead, ask if it has big impact."
AD COUNCIL UPDATE BY HEIDI ARTHUR, TOM GIBSON AND KATRYN GEANE
Representatives from our incredibly talented and devoted “America, Let’s Do Lunch™” partner trifecta – the Ad Council, Anomaly and Situation – joined us once again to share how our volunteer recruitment PSA campaign is marching us toward Our Tipping Point. They walked us through the impressive results from the first full year of the campaign, including how it generated nearly a billion exposures for our cause and brand, sent more than half a million people to americaletsdolunch.org, increased both brand awareness and favorability, and inspired 60,000 people to sign up to volunteer with their local program.
Check out the First Year Recap Infographic and learn more about how you can put the campaign to work in your own community by visiting the Ad Council Resource Center.
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About Heidi Arthur
As Head of Campaign Development for the Ad Council, Heidi works with federal government agencies, leading nonprofits and advertising industry partners to guide the strategic and creative development of all programs based in the Ad Council's New York City office. Heidi oversees the development of over 25 public service programs, including initiatives for UNCF, Autism Speaks, Feeding America, Goodwill, the American Heart Association and the Ad Council's iconic Love Has No Labels campaign. She serves as a longstanding industry judge for Effie GoodWorks and AICP Creative Awards for Public Service. Heidi joined the Ad Council in 2000 after spending 10 years in the ad industry at Grey and Wells, Rich, Greene.
About Tom Gibson
After studying Chemistry at Oxford University, Tom decided to forego the periodic table for analysis and understanding of consumer behavior and brand building. Before joining Anomaly as Group Planning Director, Tom spent five years at Saatchi & Saatchi London working across HSBC, Kerry Foods and T-Mobile. At Anomaly, Tom has worked across multiple brands including Johnnie Walker, Google, Squarespace and Meals on Wheels. When not immersed in the world of advertising he spends his free time surfing, running and exploring the US. Originally from the North of England, Tom now lives in Manhattan.
About Katryn Geane
As Director of Client Services at Situation, Katryn oversees the agency’s nonprofit division, including The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Meals on Wheels, among others. Before joining the team at Situation, Katryn managed marketing and new media efforts at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and, in a nod to her past, she is currently chair of the Junior Board of Doug Varone and Dancers. When she’s not developing digital strategies for her clients, you can find Katryn searching for new craft breweries.
KEYNOTE BY JOHN GORMAN, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, GORMAN HEALTH GROUP
John Gorman is Founder and Executive Chairman at Gorman Health Group (GHG), one of the nation's leading solutions and consulting firms for government-sponsored health programs. GHG is made up of seasoned experts who have served at the top levels of leading health plans and state and federal agencies, with experience in every functional area of a health plan. John's work focuses on government health programs strategy, cultural transformation within health care companies, governance, and turnaround of distressed health plans. In his time working closely with Meals on Wheels America on its health care integration initiatives, John has fully immersed himself in the Meals on Wheels value proposition. His insights provide a window into the health care industry – a perspective the Meals on Wheels network needs to grasp in order to effectively position our offerings as sustainable solutions.
"You have the best brand in all of social services."
"The more you know about Star Ratings and Risk Adjustment, and the variation in payment that it causes to these plans and your role in improving it, the more you will secure your own steady lifeline of financing and funding from these companies going forward. That in-home visit and safety check are everything."
COOKING DEMO BY CHEF SCOTT SKOMAL, SHERATON DENVER DOWNTOWN HOTEL
As Executive Chef of Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel since 2011, Chef Scott Skomal believes that the ingredients he sources locally have the greatest impact on the quality of the food the kitchen produces. Chef Skomal helped close this year's Conference with an interactive lunch and live cooking demo sharing fresh ideas and techniques.
Spiced Pepita Brittle Recipe
Yield: 2 thin sheets (16” x 24”)
Ingredients:
28 oz (790g) Sugar
12 oz (340g) Water
20 oz (570g) Glucose Syrup
18 oz (500g) Pepitas
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 oz (60g) Butter
0.5 oz (15g) Vanilla extract
0.5 oz (10g) Baking Soda
Method:
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the glucose and continue cooking without stirring to 239F. Add the pepitas and cook to 311F over moderate heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add spices, salt butter and vanilla extract. Add baking soda and stir well to incorporate. Pour mixture onto oiled marble slab and spread with an offset palette knife. If desired when the brittle cools to a plastic consistency pull into thin sheets to make a more delicate candy. When cooled completely break into pieces and store protected from humidity.