unDavos Webinar: Alternative Resourcing for Advocacy NGOs
Welcome to the inaugural session of our community-hosted webinar series, sparked by the energy of unDavos 2025. We’re continuing the conversation with bold topics—from AI and finance to sustainability, storytelling, and beyond.
Each session is your chance to engage, contribute, and shape what’s next with the unDavos community.
15th October Session Overview
Title: Alternative Resourcing for Advocacy NGOs
Description: With Nicolette Naylor of Ubuntu Consulting, we are launching a global community of practice to strengthen the resilience of social justice and human rights NGOs for the long-term by bringing together key voices and minds to reimagine sustainability for the sector and proactively design and navigate the transition to new models of resource mobilization.
This community of practice will inspire innovation and fresh thinking around monetization opportunities and diversification of financial support, moving beyond traditional models of foundation funding. We will also apply a more expansive definition to ‘resourcing’ to include an analysis of multiple forms of non-financial support moving beyond money to resources, such as, leadership strengthening, sanctuary and security, convening spaces, connectivity, communications, allyship, and public support. Members will share actionable insights, best practices, and concrete advice about alternative revenue/resource models.
Format: Fireside Chat (An informal in-depth conversation)
Host:
Louis Bickford CEO at MindStory and Memria
With nearly three decades of experience in NGO funding and sustainability, Louis Bickford has established himself as a respected authority at the intersection of philanthropy, social enterprise, and sustainable organizational development. His unique perspective has been shaped by hands-on experience as a grantmaker, academic, consultant, board member, and social entrepreneur. As a senior portfolio manager at the Ford Foundation, Louis oversaw $50 million dedicated to institutional strengthening for human rights organizations, exploring innovative funding approaches that would later influence Ford's prestigious BUILD program; he is an adjunct professor at Columbia University, where he teaches courses on NGO management and leadership; and has launched two successful social enterprises which actively deploy alternative revenue models.
Be Part of It – Apply to Host a Webinar
Do you have a conversation the world needs to hear? Are you ready to lead a session that sparks ideas and drives change? We’re inviting community members to host a webinar—solo or with a panel—as part of our official unDavos series.
To apply, share:
A proposed title and short description
Your speaker list (or indicate if it’s a solo session)
Your preferred format (e.g., panel, fireside chat, keynote, debate, etc.)
Topic: Can include finance, AI, sustainability, storytelling, longevity, health, policy innovation, and more.