More than 1,200 foundation officials are here in Atlanta to attend the Council on Foundation’s annual conference.

Sessions will focus on how grant makers can help charities during the recession, how to stem the home foreclosure crisis, improving access to health care in America, and how foundations can work with government to fight poverty at home and abroad.

Among the speakers will be Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; former President Bill Clinton; Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Rep. John Lewis, Democrat from Georgia.