The AmerisourceBergen Foundation (the Foundation), an independent not-for-profit charitable giving organization dedicated to supporting health-related causes, announced a recent gathering of more than 50 nonprofit partners to identify best practices, share resources and learn from one another at the inaugural AmerisourceBergen Foundation Conference. The Foundation said that the two-day summit focused on developing strategies to address two of the most pressing challenges in health today: access to healthcare and prescription drug and opioid safety.
"In the face of today’s most complex issues, we believe the best way to achieve sustainable change is through long-term, strategic partnership. Communities benefit when businesses and nonprofits share skills and resources while working towards a common goal,” said Gina Clark, President of the AmerisourceBergen Foundation in the statement.
During the conference, attendees participated in a series of panels, networking activities, and skill-building workshops. Clark moderated a discussion on the power of community-based collaboration with leaders from Eluna, Family Reach and Southeastern Guide Dogs, during which panelists shared insights into their work, the challenges and opportunities available to nonprofits and how their organizations continue to collaborate to drive progress.
Attendees that are a part of the Foundation’s Opioid Resource Grant Program discussed ways to navigate the specific challenges of addressing opioid misuse and educating stakeholders on associated risks and resources. Additional collaboration on how to best solve access issues for both human and animal health took place among attendees. Creating connections between grantee partners, building programs that create shared value for all, and building formal tools and resources to support grantees’ collaboration and skill sharing were the major themes developed during the conference.
“It’s not about charity anymore. Traditional philanthropy is just one element of the Corporate Citizenship spectrum,” said keynote speaker Kathryn Traver, Vice President of the U.S. Chamber Foundation. “Businesses today want to be a part of the solution, and that means being active partners in the success of their community yielding shared value. The AmerisourceBergen Foundation is a great example of an organization that’s moving in this direction, and we’ve seen that collaboration first hand through our work with them on our Sharing Solutions program.”
