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Philanthropy Isn’t Walking the Walk on Helping Marginalized People

Philanthropy News Digest Nov 1, 2019
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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Philanthropy Isn't Walking the Walk on Helping Marginalized People
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• Aaron Dorfman discusses the way that philanthropy has changed its rhetoric but not its grantmaking in response to Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best.

• How can funders meaningfully shift grantmaking to align with philanthropic rhetoric? 

• Learn about the five best grantmaking practices. 


It’s been ten years since NCRP released Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best. As I reflect on the animated response to the report, I’m struck by how far the sector has come since 2009 — and, paradoxically, by how little has changed.

Our decision to publish Criteria was, shall we say, controversial. That NCRP had the temerity to assert that any set of criteria be applied to the field of philanthropy, let alone criteria grounded in our belief that grantmakers needed to prioritize marginalized communities and support grassroots-led problem solving to address the systemic inequities and injustices confronting communities in America every day, had more than a few people aghast.

It has become commonplace for foundation staff to talk publicly about trusting grantees with long-term general support, investing in marginalized communities, and funding structural change. An ecosystem of philanthropic support organizations devoted to spotlighting the unique needs of marginalized people has flourished with the help of foundation funding.

Equity, justice, and even power have become watchwords for an ascendant progressive philanthropy that is happy to speak openly in the digital pages of sector publications and the well-lit stages of the conference circuit about the kinds of values Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best embodies.

The core idea expressed in the publication — that foundations should be held to a higher standard of equity and community impact — has moved from the margins of sectoral discourse to its center.

The bottom line: The money didn’t follow

NCRP’s analysis of Candid data shows that the share of domestic foundation giving by the country’s one thousand largest foundations for the intentional benefit of marginalized people — a category that, statistically speaking, includes most of the country — inched up from 28 percent to 33 percent between 2009 and 2015.

Read the full article about helping marginalized people by Aaron Dorfman at Philanthropy News Digest.

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Learning and benchmarking are key steps towards becoming an impact giver. If you are interested in giving with impact on Philanthropy take a look at these selections from Giving Compass.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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    Experience in a New Nonprofit Model: Impact Investing

    The new-age millennial-led nonprofit model has adopted the technological know-how, use of social media, big and open data collaborations, and crowdfunding to scale like high-growth startups. With venture capital terminology making its way to charitable organizations in the form of ‘philanthropic seed funding’, nonprofits today are not just asking for money, they are earning it through vehicles such as impact investing. Technology is playing an impressive role in today’s nonprofit industry. New-age nonprofits are designing their website with great user experience for potential donors and contributors and maximizing the appeal of their campaigns. What’s the most common thing between startups and nonprofits, besides facing limited resources and wanting to change the world? Both need funding from outside sources to put their ideas into action.  Reasonable resources and efforts are dedicated to developing and implementing fundraising strategies and designing campaigns to raise funds. With the rise of crowdsourcing, nonprofits are increasingly able to engage and work with communities, who share an interest in their cause. For crowdfunding campaigns to be successful, it’s important that volunteers give it the right push and promote it using appropriate channels, creating impactful content in telling their story — be it through grant applications, donor appeals, or blog posts. Thanks to the United Nations’ Global Goals, there are improving and growing interests (and dollars invested) in the impact investing industry. In 2016, investors looking for financial returns that demonstrate social good improvement committed $22.1 billion to 8000 investments. At the same time, philanthropic research organizations advocating for cost efficiency have come up with fund structures that let donors pool in their funds to help the most efficient nonprofits. The nonprofit industry is also witnessing coming up of nonprofit incubators, that identifies and launch innovative organizations dedicated to social good. Read the full article about the new model for non-profits by Akanksha Kochhar by Medium. 


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