Blog

Is Family Philanthropy Ready for “New Giving” Tools?

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 - 4:57 pm

Tony Macklin

At next month’s Council on Foundations 2013 Family Philanthropy Conference, consultant Nathan James and I are hosting a session, “Is Family Philanthropy Ready for Adventures in New Giving?” We’ll be discussing potential intersections between family philanthropy and the new wave of giving tools enabled by technology and fueled by problem-solving approaches of millenials, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens. These pathways for generosity include (but aren’t limited to):

“Micro-giving” groups such as Awesome Foundation and Sunday Soup chapters, Cleveland Colectivo, and other giving circles that are low cost and/or that don’t only concentrate on giving to public charities
Crowdfunding sites that are also public charities such as Citizen Effect, DonorsChoose, GlobalGiving, ioby, and others
Crowdfunding sites for artists, social entrepreneurs, science projects, and more, including Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, StartSomeGood, and many others

Here’s where you come in

These tools are rapidly evolving and rapidly expanding their reach. So, we’d love to tap your curiosity, wisdom, and concerns to bring the freshest thinking to the session:

a) What questions would you want answered by this session?

b) Have family members brought any of these tools up as ways for the family to give? What experiments have you tried?

c) Have you helped grantees tap these sources for friendraising and fundraising?

d) Do you think these tools will aid your family’s philanthropy or distract from it?

How you can respond

You can join the conversation in any of these ways: