Four Trends Democratizing Philanthropy

Democratizing philanthropy. Isn’t that a simply wonderful concept? The notion that giving—of your time, talent or treasure—isn’t something just for an elite class of individuals, but for all individuals. That the idea of an “every person” giver and “every day changemaker” has the potential to accelerate social impact. At the Case Foundation, as we celebrate 20 years of changemaking, this very idea has been at the core of our approach. Our anniversary call to action to Get in The Arena is a call to everyone, everywhere to engage as a community of social change agents in any way you can.

From early experiments testing the power of technology to drive more financial donations to social causes, to creating alliances of private-public partners to drive talent and time donations to the nonprofit sector, we’ve been pushing against the status quo of what it means to be a “philanthropist” and how to maximize resources to improve the social condition.

So we were thrilled to see the Giving USA 2017 Report find that charitable donations from America’s individuals, estates, foundations and corporations increased to an estimated $390.05 billion in 2016. That represents a 3.5 percent increase in foundation giving from 2015, a 3.5 percent increase in corporate giving and a 3.9 percent increase in individual giving! And how about this fun fact as evidence that individual giving is democratizing philanthropy—more people give than vote.

Against that history and mission, it was such a pleasure to explore trends in “microgiving”—the opportunity for more individuals to give with small donations—with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for a piece on how, with time and technology, more people are turning into philanthropists.

Expanding on what I was able to share in that article, here are my thoughts on four trends that are driving that movement and catalyzing the democratization of philanthropy.

Trend #1: Going mobile and frictionless

In order to truly make giving ubiquitous, donating must be frictionless and easy for people. This quote from Aaron Strout at W20 Group sums it up for me: “The new “Holy Grail” for any business should be to make it as easy as possible for any customer to buy a product or service whenever and wherever they like, with as few clicks as possible. With the evolution of location-based technologies, mobile payment systems and a continual decrease in technology costs, this concept of true ‘frictionless commerce’ is quickly becoming a reality.” And the “business” of giving is no exception. In 2016, online giving increased by almost eight percent, and 17 percent of all online donations came through mobile. I see this trend only growing.

Why? In part because of who is driving online giving: Millennials. The Case Foundation sponsored Millennial Impact Report found that 84 percent of Millennials made donations in 2016. Blackbaud’s Next Generation of American Giving report also found that 62 percent of Millennials expressed interest in making donations on their phones. With Millennials surpassing Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation, their habits and preferences will inevitably drive the future of philanthropy.

We’re also seeing a surge of entrepreneurship and innovation in online platforms aimed at maximizing a seamless experience for users. Check out platforms like Goodworld, on a mission to make it easy to donate in the moment by using a hashtag on social media, or Spotfund or Google’s One Today, all aimed at easing in-the-moment donations when you’re thinking about moving your interest in a social causes to action. And last year’s exciting news from Facebook that users could choose from a list of over 750,000 charities to support by building their own fundraising pages or linking donate buttons to Facebook Live videos. All of these are part of a trend toward simplifying and democratizing philanthropy.

Trend #2: Creating “communities of giving” through crowdsourcing and crowdfunding

In general, people want to belong. To a club, a tribe, a social network, a church, a movement…something bigger than themselves. The beauty of microgiving is that all of the smaller individual donations become part of a larger social cause community driving collective impact.

And technology and tech platforms have made it easier to find your tribe, engage and see your impact. Who can forget the viral activation of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? Clever concept meets social media sharing capability meets information awareness and donation surge. And these “everyday philanthropists” became part of tribe that resulted in the discovery of a new ALS gene, NEK1, known to be among the most common genetic contributors of the disease, and impetus for a new target on drug development. Crowdfunding sites allow people to donate to social ventures year-round. GlobalGiving, Kickstarter, Kiva, Crowdrise and Indiegogo have all gained popularity in recent years, especially among Millennials.  We’ve seen this trend play out through our partnership launching #Giving Tuesday, which hit a record donation sum last year of $168 million from 1.6 million donations around the world.

Trend #3: Conscious capitalism is taking hold

The notion of “conscious capitalism”—aligning your values with your spending, investing and business operations—is moving from niche to mainstream and putting individuals at the core of driving social change alongside profits. Consumers are paying attention to brands that put social impact at the core of their business operations. In fact, 66 percent of global consumers are willing to spend more on products if they’re from a sustainable brand. 73 percent of Millennials express the same preference. That buying behavior is driving profits alongside purpose at companies like Patagonia, Method and Warby Parker.

Similarly, as Impact Investing—investments into companies, organizations and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside financial return—has taken hold with the high net worth investor community, large institutional investors and foundations, we are also seeing a trend toward making it more accessible for everyone. Check out Benefit Chicago, an initiative to put $100 million in nonprofit investments in the city to work with investors with as little as $20, or Calvert Community Investment Notes, similarly putting $20 investments to social good, while getting a bond-like return. These kinds of vehicles enable everyday people to be everyday impact investors.

Trend #4: It’s more than money

Money matters, but so does time and talent when it comes to driving social change. Finding ways to tap the extraordinary talent across the nation and “donate” it to social service has opened the aperture of philanthropy and allowed many more people to give. The Case Foundation’s early experiment in this arena—A Billion + Change—tapped into this potential to democratize giving.

Also, through the Case Foundation’s Millennial Impact Report, in partnership with Achieve, we’ve found that employers of the Millennial generation will need to embed talent-giving strategies into their employee retention efforts. Similar to financial donation platforms, technology is and will continue to accelerate and make more accessible this type of giving. Check out NationSwell and Service Year for inspiration.

What trends are you seeing? Share your thoughts on how people are turning their interest into action with us on social media using #GetInTheArena. It’s an exciting issue to follow for many reasons but, for me, because microgiving and small-dollar philanthropy create a global culture of giving. Our CEO, Jean Case, often reminds us that the Greek root definition of the word “philanthropy” is the love of humanity. Imagine a world where decisions—by individuals, investors, government and corporations—are made and measured by their human impact!

Powerful Inspiration Around Every Corner at MCON 2017

If you’re familiar with the annual Millennial Engagement Conference, you’ll know that MCON draws a diverse and inspirational lineup of changemakers. Speakers, attendees and sponsors alike convene around a singular mission—to better understand, activate and showcase the power of the millennial generation to drive social impact. And MCON 2017 was no exception, as everyone in attendance and on stage continued to inspire!

I was particularly happy to sit down briefly with fellow MCON sponsor Blackbaud for a Facebook Live interview to talk about the Case Foundation’s nearly 10 years of work and research on Millennial engagement. However, the real action took place on stage where the entire community could engage directly. There were many great moments throughout the 2-day conference, but let me highlight the top six  “power themes” I saw on display at MCON 2017:

    1. The Power of Networking: Building off of last year’s positive feedback, MCON 2017 included an opening night party—no agenda, no speakers, a pure focus on networking and building connections. This year, participants gathered at National Geographic (thank you, NatGeo!), surrounded by the work and photography of an institution that for more than 100 years has inspired adventurers and scientists to preserve our planet. Social capital—the networks of people we know—is a critical component of any social movement. Get out there and build it, share it and advance the issues you care about!

 

    1. The Power of Showcasing Movement Practitioners: The Igniting Good Town Hall, hosted by #GivingTuesday, took place just before the official start of MCON. The town hall allowed participants to hear from practitioners and learn about their tactics for building, sustaining and unleashing coalitions of Millennials and others to tackle some of our biggest social issues. The session included diverse groups like the Movember Foundation whose movement has contributed to more than 1200 projects for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention, and Amnesty International’s 7 million-person global coalition campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by everyone. The town hall provided inspiration, through the sharing of practical information, on the potential to affect social change by building strong coalitions and communities around a common cause. Movement building isn’t easy—it always involves behavior change and disrupting the status quo—so learning from history and those in the trenches now was a powerful feature of MCON 2017.

      Photo courtesy of MCON.

 

    1. The Power of Storytelling: At the Case Foundation, we are huge believers in the power of what we call “inspirational capital,” showcasing through stories, blogs, film, photos and infographics the images and narratives that convey the real history and ultimate end state of the social causes we are advancing. The imperative of storytelling to build community and catalyze social movements was front and center in the exclusive screening of Crown Heights. An awardee at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, the film tells the true story of Colin Warner, an 18-year-old Brooklyn man wrongfully convicted of a 1980 murder and sentenced to life in prison, and his childhood friend who fights for more than 20 years to reverse the verdict. Nnamdi Asomugha, who stars as the friend to Colin Warner in the film also spoke about the film and its context.

      Photo courtesy of MCON.

 

    1. The Power of Your Platform: Actress Allison Williams of the HBO show, Girls and most recently the film Get Out, closed out MCON with a powerful discussion about the social issues that she is working to address through the use of her public platform enabled by her celebrity status and increasingly influential voice in Hollywood. She has recognized that as an actress her voice can reach millions, and wants to use her proverbial microphone to push for greater action to drive movements for education, and most recently, chronic racism in the criminal justice system and the negative impact on minorities that enter that system. Bravo Allison!

      Photo courtesy of MCON.

 

    1. The Power of Personal Engagement: As a sponsor of MCON, the Case Foundation, in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal created the Peacock Lounge to encourage attendees to share their stories of inspiring change in their communities through the use of innovation and technology. And what we heard was definitely inspiring, from a NASA scientist seeking to be more fearless, to an immigrant translating her past struggle into opportunities for young people currently living in countries in crisis, to a cancer survivor building networks for other survivors to more easily make the transition back after treatment, and many more.

      In the lounge, we gave participants a platform to turn their energy and their interest into action, by inviting them to make a pledge at the ribbon wall, to declare their commitment with a Word Art Portrait, and to share their unique story of taking action in the NBCUniversal Chat Box. And the response was overwhelming. We were thrilled to see that in-person engagement come through online as well, as people shared their videos and their portraits on twitter, facebook and Instagram using #GetInTheArena and #NBCUStoriesThatInspire. We look forward to continuing to share those stories in the coming months, so stay tuned for more great content on our website and at NBCUniversal.

 

  1. The Power of Data and Research: Finally, MCON would not be complete without the vital research on millennial cause engagement conducted by Achieve and sponsored by The Case Foundation. When you’re in the business of catalyzing social movements, data and research is a key component of both designing your programming and measuring its effect. This year’s  Millennial Impact Report will examine how changing social issues are affecting millenials’ interest and engagement in cause involvement, and how millennials activate with specific social issues based on demographic characteristics. Phase 1 of a three-phase research report was released at MCON 2017. This qualititative research phase with a small cohort of millennials is already revealing that today’s evolving political and social climate is changing the cause behavior of millennials. We’re already excited about the potential for Phase 2, which will be released in September.

Huge thanks and congratulations to Achieve and all the sponsorship partners for another successful year of MCON. The Case Foundation has supported Achieve to bring MCON to the world since 2011, and we’re thrilled to see the content and reach continue to grow and improve every year. For a generation of changemakers, millennials can truly find their tribe at MCON where the speakers, the discussions, the sponsors and their fellow attendees all help to inspire them to get in the arena and translate their interests into action to create change in the world.

Keep sharing your stories of using innovation and technology to inspire change in your community with #GetInTheArena and #NBCUStoriesThatInspire.

Join the 2017 MCON Speakers on Twitter

The count-down has begun, and we’re less than one week from the kick off of the annual Millennial Engagement conference. MCON has become the marquee event on millennial cause engagement, and we’re thrilled to have it hosted again in our own back yard in Washington, DC. For more on the event, check out our recent MCON2017 blog post.

As in years past, MCON is assembling a list of can’t-miss speakers that represent a multi-industry approach to doing good for our communities and our environment. From filmmakers, to artists and actors, to activists, to chefs and restaurateurs, the MCON speakers—like the audience—is a gathering of diverse people who care about social change and want to #GetInTheArena by turning their interests into action.

We’re sharing our Twitter list of MCON speakers to make joining the online conversation using #MCON easy for everyone. Whether you’re here at MCON (registration is still open) or joining via the livestream. Be sure to follow along as we share event highlights, quotes, photos and more at @CaseFoundation using hashtag #GetInTheArena.

Tip: Access each of the Twitter handles below with just one click by following our Twitter List.

Name
Twitter Handle
Bio
Diana Aviv
@diaviv
CEO of @FeedingAmerica, striving for a hunger-free nation. Love hiking, book club, & gardening in my city plot.
David Forsell
@dforsell
President of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Focused on how KIB can grow its impact for people, communities and the environment.
Rob Greenfield
@RobJGreenfield
Adventurer, Activist, Humanitarian for a sustainable & just world. Host of Free Ride on Discovery Channel. Donates 100% of media income to grassroots nonprofits
Robin Hammond
@robinNHammond
Documentary photographer, W.Eugene Smith Fund recipient, 4 time winner of Amnesty International Award for human rights journalism.
Maria Teresa Kumar
@MariaTeresa1
Mami of two tykes who see wonders all the time. @VotoLatino Founding President. @MSNBC Contributor. My views. Married to this guy @raj_devex
Michael Lastoria
@__lastoria
Long hair. Bearded. Driven to create. Passionate about design and culture. Founding president @andpizza + @jwalkny
Palika Makam
@PalikaMakam
To Do List: 1. Awake Global Consciousness 2. Film Everything
Spike Mendelsohn
@chefspike
Chef/Owner of D.C. Good Stuff Eatery/We,The Pizza/ChairmanDCFoodPolicyCouncil
Simon Moss
@sdmoss
co-founder + MD – Campaigns @ Global Citizen (@glblctzn / @glblctznimpact).
Dalia Mogahed
@Dmogahed
Director of Research at @TheISPU. Co-author of Who Speaks Islam?
Holley Murchison
@HolleyMurchison
Reporting live from my dreams.
Amanda Nguyen
@nguyen_amanda
Founder of Rise @RiseNowUS. Penned own civil rights into existence & 25 million others’ too. Aspiring Astronaut. Pathological Optimist.
Ali Noorani
@anoorani
.@NatImmForum, bad golfer, #immigration advocate, aspiring fashion blogger, author of ‘There Goes the Neighborhood.’ insta @alinoorani Tweets are mine.
Quin Tivey
@QuinnTivey
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation
Tipiziwin Tolman
@ThipiziwinYoung
Lakota Language Nest Instructor
Karen Weigert
@KarenRWeigert
Cool jobs working for a cooler planet. Senior fellow @ChicagoCouncil. Chicago’s 1st chief sustainability officer. Film producer. Tweeting sustainably since 2016
Eric Asche
@easche
Chief Little Bet Maker for Truth Initiative. Fighting for market share – one person at a time.
Cecilia Clarke
@BklynFoundation
As the community foundation for NYC’s largest borough, we are on a mission to #SparkChange, mobilizing people, capital, and expertise for a fair & just Brooklyn
Adam Garone
@adamgarone
Movember Co-Founder | Entrepreneur | Leader | Men’s Health Champion | Speaker
Zain Habboo
@zainyh
Sr Director Digital & Marketing @UNFoundation, former @Natgeo Digital. Proud #Jordanian. Platform of choice: Instagram (@embratora). ps I love Xanadu
Sarah Hemminger
@Thread_Org
The New Social Fabric
Margaret Huang
@MargaretLHuang
Executive Director, @Amnesty International USA. Tweets are my views only.
Andrew Slack
@andrewslack
Civic Hall fellow in civic imagination, Harry Potter Alliance and Imagine Better creator/co-founder.
Justin Wheeler
@justinbobbyw
Founder and CEO at Funraise.