Giving Compass' Take:

Rebecca TeKolste explains that recent research on crowdfunding shows that it can contribute to democratizing philanthropy by making charitable giving more inclusive.

Have you participated in crowdfunding? How does the practice drive progress in building equity in giving?

Learn more about what crowdfunding means for philanthropy.


Some recent publications, including books by Anand Giridharadas, Dr. Rob Reich, and Edgar Villanueva, have criticized the philanthropic sector as being another outlet for the wealthiest classes to set priorities in the social sector or a mechanism to obfuscate their role in creating social ills. If the 1/10th of 1 percent of the wealthiest people in the country control the vast majority of philanthropic wealth, they can set the social impact agenda in yet another way.

But new forms of philanthropy have emerged in the last decade that hope to change the game in philanthropy. Crowdfunding in particular has been seen as a way for small dollar donors to make collective contributions and, in doing so, shape the collective philanthropy agenda.

In general, crowdfunding strategy has focused on the idea that nonprofit organizations of all types and sizes can participate and benefit from raising funds through this mechanism. In this sense, crowdfunding attempts to democratize philanthropy, channeling donations away from exclusively large multinational NGOs, and toward smaller organizations that have traditionally not received such a large donation base.

But does it? And can #GivingTuesday be a mechanism to encourage inclusion? Some research suggests that when donors are presented with all options at once, they may select the organizations that they know best already.

What does this mean for #GivingTuesday? Well, since #GivingTuesday offers donors multiple options in a single day, it might display an ingrained preference for larger, better known organizations. If the goal truly is more organizational inclusion, what strategies can #GivingTuesday organizers and donation platforms employ to encourage more organizational equity in donations? Our future research will address this gap.

Based on our findings in the literature, our future priorities will include a greater understanding of the ways crowdfunding can positively impact:

  • Equity and inclusion in the donor base.
  • Visibility of smaller organizations.
  • Inclusive philanthropic priorities.

Read the full article about crowdfunding in philanthropy by Rebecca TeKolste at Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.