Giving Compass' Take:

• Here are five industries that are currently being supported by philanthropy that you may not have known about. 

• What types of industries are you interested in directing your dollars toward? 

• Read about whether or not issue funds are right for you. 

Philanthropy continues to evolve and expand each day. As funder and nonprofit technology rapidly advances to further connect and enable change, so are new industries pushing increasing amounts of funds towards diverse causes across the globe. In fact, aspects of our society that previously rarely felt the positive effects of grantmaking are now experiencing the benefits for themselves.

Below are five pivotal industries being supported by grants. Some will certainly surprise you!

  1. Policing “Big Tech” with AI – Journalism focused nonprofits like ProPublica are using grants to adopt artificial intelligence technologies (like machine learning and chatbots) to better monitor and report on the algorithms impacting our everyday lives.
  2. Food Safety – The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) works with the FDA to provide grants to local health departments and other agencies so that those teams can provide up-to-date food safety training, education, and local food safety checks.
  3. Renewable Energy for Under-Serviced Populations – Organizations like the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) distribute grants to strengthen markets for clean energy services in low and middle-income countries for the benefit of vulnerable populations.
  4. New Management for Struggling Schools – Foundations like the DG Murray Trust help facilitate grants to poor quality schools in South Africa, helping to train and hire new management to improve the public education system.
  5. Changing the Culture of Gender Justice – The Blue Shield of California Foundation provides grants to engage grassroots leaders, policymakers, and researchers from multiple sectors to help generate lasting solutions for health, domestic violence, and most recently, gender justice in the United States.

Read the full article about philanthropy funds a variety by Casey Pechan at Fluxx.