About
The “cut and paste” version
Peter Deitz is a blogger, microphilanthropy consultant, and the founder of Social Actions, a nonprofit that helps people find and share opportunities to make a difference. He has presented at several venues, including the Nonprofit Technology Conference, the NetSquared Conference, Connecting Up Australia, Semantic Technology Conference, and My Charity Connects. Peter holds a BA in History from McGill University and an MA in History from the University of Toronto. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.
The longer (more personal) version
Hello and thanks for visiting my website. You’re probably here to familiarize yourself with my work and writing. Below is a first-person account of the journey that’s led me to where I find myself in 2010. I’ll update this story from time to time to reflect new developments.
Part I: Microphilanthropy
In early 2006, I found myself living in NYC and working for a nonprofit as an IT consultant. The ambitions of my employer were macro in scale and hyper-institutional, everything from setting up a global parliament to trying alleged war criminals for crimes against humanity. An interest in international justice had led me to this job. But two years into the work, my passions were shifting toward micro and citizen-led forms of social change.
I wanted to discover what grassroots projects and activities could achieve, if connected together in new ways and amplified by thousands of engaged supporters. My interest in what I started referring to as ‘microphilanthropy’ led me to the work of the Uplift Academy, Omidyar.net, TechSoup Global, the Stanford Social Innovation Review and a host of other inspiring communities.
Frustrated with my work and New York, I decided to change course. I quit my job and moved back to Montreal, where I had studied as an undergraduate and still felt a deep connection.
Part II: Social Actions
With my new found freedom, I resolved to launch a project that would advance the cause of small-scale giving. I had only the vaguest idea of what the project would entail and what would be required of me to see it through. The project came to be known as First-of-its-kind (Foik for short), and later Social Actions.
Initially, I wrote blog entries about a collection of budding websites that had been launched to facilitate person-to-person fundraising campaigns. My writing also focused on the emerging strategies for launching successful person-to-person fundraising campaigns. To support myself financially, I worked as remote web manager for the nonprofit in New York as well as for several Quaker organizations based in Philadelphia.
Overtime, my writing transformed into a call for greater collaboration among the online platforms I was writing about. Without a mechanism to connect and distribute the opportunities listed on these platforms, fewer people would know about and act on the full range of opportunities available to them to participate in small-scale giving. My work and the mission of Social Actions became increasingly focused on building that mechanism.
In 2008, Social Actions received a major boost. First, Christine Egger decided to join me as a full-time co-creator and super-fan of the project (and more recently, as co-director). Second, Cameron Booth of Zazengo volunteered to build a functional prototype of the technology we envisioned. And third, Social Actions received a number of awards, grants, and recognition in quick succession for its early accomplishments.
With resources and affirmation in hand, our call for greater collaboration among online platforms became a big green light to deliver on Social Actions’ vision for the field. Over the next 18-months, countless people and organizations helped to advance the initiative as sponsors, partners, donors, volunteers, mentors, contractors, consulting clients and fans.
Part III: A New Decade
My passion for microphilanthropy and commitment to the initiative I started in 2006 have come through the last four years in tact and stronger than ever. With the excitement of a new decade in the air, I am curious to see where this journey will take the field of microphilanthorpy, Social Actions, and me next.
To complement my presence on Social Actions and across social networks, I have launched this website. PeterDeitz.com is a place for me to share my thoughts on fundraising, microphilanthropy, nonprofit technology, and social entrepreneurship; as well as to provide microphilanthropy consulting (as time permits) to organizations, companies, and foundations that seek to use the web to engage more people in making a difference.
If you see opportunities to collaborate and exchange ideas, don’t hesitate to contact me.
