(Washington, DC) On Thursday, October 24, Mayor Anthony A. Williams and the Mayor's Office of Partnerships and Grants Development hosted the fourth annual Public Private Partnership Conference at George Washington University's Marvin Center. The conference, held in partnership with the Washington Council of Agencies, is a component of the Mayor's strategic priority to promote the development of common goals through collaborations among multi-sector partners.

"Participation and coordination among many sectors will help our city thrive and grow," said Mayor Williams. "We need to find more and more ways to work together, and this conference provides participants with the chance to receive information on critical tools that are needed to form vital partnerships."

Sponsored by Citibank, with assistance from Raffa, the partnership conference offered a number of workshop sessions. Topics included government engaging citizens as partners, fundraising on the Internet, nonprofit social enterprise, and partnership success stories. Cheryl Apline of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives spoke on navigating the federal funding system. Charles Havekost of the US Department of Health and Human Services discussed the new e-Grants system for federal grant applications.