Events
Gatherings for considered conversation and shared inquiry
The events associated with Generative Ontology are not conferences or workshops in the conventional sense. They are salons—gatherings designed for considered conversation rather than information transfer.
The emphasis is on inquiry over answers, on relationship over networking, on depth over breadth. These are spaces for thinking together about questions that matter.
Generative Capital & Organizational Ontology
Beyond Extraction, Toward Collective Resonance
Location
2 Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, California
Time
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM PST (Sessions)
5:00 PM Reception
Format
In-person salon
Approval required
Mission
To co-create, explore, and prototype new economic and organizational models that generate value — not extract it — in service of human, ecological, and cultural coherence.
Purpose
This salon series invites changemakers, funders, entrepreneurs, and systems thinkers to reimagine how capital flows through organizations built for self-awareness, relational healing, environmental stewardship, and trans-cultural learning — outside the extractive frameworks of traditional for-profit or non-profit structures.
Audience
Angels, family offices, philanthropic foundations, donor-advised funds, mission-driven VCs, catalytic capital providers, consciousness-aligned investors, and impact investors open to nontraditional return models.
Core Questions Explored
- What does "generative capital" mean — and how does it differ from regenerative, impact, or extractive capital?
- How can organizational structures be designed to embody ontological principles of resonance, coherence, and mutual benefit — rather than extraction or charity?
- What existing or emerging legal, financial, and governance models can serve as scaffolding for generative organizations?
- How do we fund organizations whose mission is not to scale for profit or to beg for charity — but to cultivate human individual and collective, and ecological coherence?
- Who are the funders — family offices, progressive VCs, mission-aligned angels, foundations — who are ready to experiment with generative capital?
The Four Sessions
Thursday, January 21, 2027
Session 1: Foundations — What is Generative Capital?
- Keynote: Defining "generative" vs. "regenerative" vs. "extractive" — ontological frameworks for organizational design
- Case Study Spotlight: 8 organizations already operating outside traditional models
- Small Group Dialogue: "What does your organization actually need to thrive — and how does that differ from what the market or donors expect?"
- Output: Draft list of "Generative Capital Principles"
Thursday, May 27, 2027
Session 2: Models — Blurring the Lines Between For-Profit, Non-Profit, and Beyond
- Keynote: Legal & financial innovation — PBCs, B Corps, L3Cs, cooperatives, community equity, tokenized stewardship
- Panel: Founders who've restructured their orgs to align with generative values — what worked, what failed, what surprised them
- Small Group Dialogue: "Which model could your organization adopt — and what would it take to transition?"
- Output: Matrix of existing models + proposed hybrid structures
Thursday, August 26, 2027
Session 3: Funders — Who's Ready to Experiment?
- Keynote: Mapping the landscape — family offices, progressive VCs, impact angels, foundations, and alternative capital pools
- Funder Roundtable: 3–5 funders share their thesis, criteria, and appetite for generative capital experiments
- Small Group Dialogue: "What would make you invest in or fund a generative organization? What's your red line?"
- Output: Master List of Generative Capital Partners
Thursday, November 11, 2027
Session 4: Prototyping — Designing the Next Generation of Generative Organizations
- Keynote: From theory to practice — how to design governance, capital flows, and accountability for resonance, not ROI
- Workshop: Small groups prototype a new generative org model — including legal structure, funding mechanism, stakeholder map, and success metrics
- Closing Circle: Commitments — what will you build, fund, or change after this series?
- Output: Draft "Generative Capital Playbook" + invitation to Series 2 (2028)
Featured Organizations
Ontologies of Flourishing
A Dialogue Between Matthew T. Lee and Carson Kelly
Date
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST
Format
Virtual via Zoom
90 minutes
The Inquiry
What do we mean when we talk about flourishing—and what meanings are hidden in the ways we define it? This dialogue explores the many ontologies + epistemologies—the underlying ways of being and knowing—that shape our understanding of what it means to flourish as humans, communities, and systems.
Topics Explored
- Competing and complementary definitions of flourishing across science, philosophy, and lived experience
- The nervous system as a foundation for human coherence, meaning-making, and ethical action
- Flourishing as both an individual and collective process—embedded in systems, structures, and relationships
- The role of love, awe, and moral beauty in transformative human experience
- How different ontologies of flourishing influence our design of technology, institutions, and futures
Speakers
Matthew T. Lee, PhD — Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University
Director of the Flourishing Network, exploring the science of human well-being, moral development, and transcendent experiences
Carson Kelly — Compassion 2.0
Founder of Compassion 2.0, integrating nervous system science, systems thinking, and organizational design
As the world contends with accelerating complexity and fragmentation, this conversation invites a pause—a chance to re-examine the assumptions beneath our metrics, models, and aspirations. What if flourishing isn't just an outcome, but a paradigm shift in how we understand human life?