Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn't mean mattered. -Seth Godin
In March 2010, I had the honour of presenting at Social Venture Partner Toronto’s panel discussion on, “How Microphilanthropy Is Changing Giving.”
Below are my ’slides’ from the presentation…
And here’s a description of the event…
Microphilathropy is an approach to philanthropy based on smaller, more direct interaction between those who are in need and those who can give. Platforms such as Kiva, DonorsChoose and Facebook Causes have the ability to aggregate thousands of relatively small donations to make a big difference. To date, Kiva has distributed over $119 million to 297,000 small business entrepreneurs in developing countries, with an average loan size of $400 and a 98.27% repayment rate.
Come hear from three Canadian leaders as they describe how their initiatives are changing how, why and where people give:
- Peter Deitz is the founder of Social Actions, a social enterprise that curates open source and collaborative projects to make it easier for people to take action on the causes they care
about.
- Ruth Richardson is the co-founder of the Small Change Fund, which enables social change at the grassroots level and helps Canadians invest in local actions that make a difference for the planet.
- Anil Patel is the Executive Director of the Framework Foundation, which empowers Canadians to ‘get in the picture’ to participate in volunteering and philanthropy.
In October 2008, I participated in a panel discussion on the future of micro-philanthropy. The discussion was part of Online Social Marketplaces 2008, a closed event organized by and for grantees of The Omidyar Network.
The Omidyar Network is the philanthropic arm of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam. Over the last several years, the Network has made significant investments in many of the websites that facilitate micro-philanthropy. Grantees include GlobalGiving, DonorsChoose.org, Modest Needs, and a host of other philanthropic marketplaces. The Omidyar Network-supported philanthropic marketplaces meet up each year and invite a few non-grantees (this year, myself included) to reflect on the state of micro-philanthropy.
The 2008 meet up was followed by a one-day public conference called Online Giving Markets, hosted by the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Below is a draft of the introductory remarks I shared during the panel. I was asked to help the “participating organizations step back and consider the larger ecosystem that we’re all operating in.” Read the rest of this entry »
During the lead up to the Iraq War—for good reasons, a subject overlooked in conversations about social innovation—I found myself marching through the streets of Montreal, New York, Toronto, and Washington DC. The people I was protesting alongside had many chants. The one that stirred my emotions every time went, “This is what democracy looks like; this is what democracy feels like.”
Digital natives like me are inclined to cut and paste any number of lofty terms and subject them to the same reality check we challenged democracy to in the lead up to the Iraq War. The phrase that I belted as loud as I could in 2002-03 passed judgment on more than just the political events of that moment. It confronted directly the television and glossy magazine culture I was born into. In hindsight, it seems to have anticipated the citizen advocacy, citizen journalism, and now citizen philanthropy movements that emerged in the years since.
Before 2002-03, democracy for me was no more than the provider of political entertainment, be it Bill Clinton playing the saxophone or parodies of George H. W. Bush saying it wouldn’t be prudent. In practice, it consisted of my parents stepping into a poll booth once every four years, just to cancel out each other’s vote for U.S. president. The emaciated version of democracy in which I grew up asked simply that people vote and laugh (See Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death for more insights on television and democracy). Read the rest of this entry »
On Tuesday evening, the famed cartoonist Milt Gross made an appearance at the Council on Foundations annual conference. In a session called Strategic Philanthropy: Theory and Practice, the speaker Paul Brest, President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, flashed on the monitor a cartoon of howling wolves gathered at the edge of a cliff. One of the wolves had taken a break from howling to ask his companions, “My question: are we making a difference?”
The attendees at this week’s philanthropy summit in Washington DC met up to ask themselves the same question. As a blogger, I wasn’t privy to many of the intimate conversations among colleagues and close friends in the foundation world. I didn’t hear the uncertainties that were no doubt expressed in whispered voices between conference sessions and at the gala events. Instead, I heard bold proclamations on what it takes to make a difference: namely, the right combination of vision, leadership, and partnership.
In his presentation about strategic philanthropy, Brest presented an outline of his foundation’s approach to all three points. For vision, Brest said a foundation must first establish a viable theory of change. “If your theories of change are incorrect, your interventions will only be right by accident,” warned Brest. Read the rest of this entry »
I find myself on the edges of what could easily be called the “Davos of Philanthropy.” Roughly three thousand attendees have flown in from across the globe to discuss the current and future states of global philanthropy.
A few phrases from the opening statements of Steve Gunderson, the Council on Foundations executive director, jumped out as worth noting:
- “Philanthropy must become a movement, more than an institution”
- “Our greatest power is not in the checkbook but in our vision.”
- “Either we frame the conversation about philanthropy, or our detractors will.”
- “Market economies are best when joined with a strong philanthropic movement.”
- “If we do not believe change is possible, we cannot be philanthropists.”
Gunderson’s remarks were followed by a video essay from Roger Rosenblatt, contributor to the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. Rosenblatt’s vision of the future of philanthropy jives 100% with the potential I see in micro-philanthropy to transform traditional philanthropy into a vibrant, inclusive and very public force for good. Read the rest of this entry »
