philanthropic sector scan


 

Regional Association Perspective

What are we seeing?

 

“New” philanthropies flock to web 2.0 tools to increase engagement from all parts of the grantmaking community, flourishing in the paradigm of user-generated content.

 

 

 


 

 

“Traditional” philanthropies are slowly adopting web 2.0 tools to reach new levels of transparency and effectiveness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

People want to get a handle on this.

 

 


 

What’s not happening?

 

The “shared space” of grantmakers and grantees in partnership for change is not widely evident

The adoption of web 2.0 is of course about technology and more of course about culture change. How do we reconcile philanthropy’s culture of individualism with the wisdom of crowds? [ Grantmaking in a Web 2.0 World ] Is the web -- many small pieces loosely joined -- making old grantmaking practices in advocacy and democratic engagement obsolete? What does grantmaking in an interactive world look like? Remember that Web 2.0 moves extremely fast. Is that compatible with reflective practice?

 


 

Why Be There?

 

Mars Needs Wisdom. As these new tools for giving emerge, a new cohort of givers is participating, with different perspectives on what makes change, and what philanthropy can accomplish. A review of the top Facebook Causes reveals that priorities are very top-level, and don't appear to scratch the surface of understanding of how giving catalyzes long-term change. And while "WidgetGiving" increases participation and spurs innovation, it is preserving a traditional weakness in philanthropy: creating a landscape of unconnected efforts about what’s going in and what’s coming out.

 

Regional associations, as premiere providers of grantmaker education, can play a vital role in bringing grantmaker experience into the Web 2.0 landscape.

 


 

How to Get There