The Future of Philanthropy

In reading Walk Out Walk On, the discussion of efficiencies in nonprofits took a second look at the value of the historical knowledge of how nonprofits do things.  While some practice may not seem efficient for today, it sometimes the key to sustainability for the future.  The key is knowing the difference in what preserves and sustains and that which could be leveraged in a different way to make a greater social impact.  And in all of this, the "soul" of nonprofit work must be preserved.

If you know anything about Austin, you know we host the SXSW festival.  This brings in people from all walks of life from music lovers to innovators to music loving innovators.  The festival was a great excuse for my childhood friend to come in from out of town.  Mike has his own work investing in people's dreams and innovations for tomorrow. (He's kinda a big deal).  Its incredible work, not only what he does, but after meeting his team and the entrepreneurs they invest in- I was impressed with the whole chain (read more about what they do here: rothenbergventures.com).

As a personally invited guest, I had the privileged of having some side conversations with some really cool people.

There was Rainer who makes wearing shorts fashionable any time of year.  There was John who shared his story of passionately pursuing his dream, living in almost every major American city, and now has grown his own business to over 70 people.  There was Valerie who has bravely followed her dreams, even when that meant moving to a new city, country and culture.  Dylan who has an eye for serving as a catalyst into some very lucky people's ambitions, and joining them on their journey to success.  I could go on and on... The party was like reading one of those inspirational books with the compiling of individual's successful stories.

I couldn't help as I drove home, breathing off the excitement of the party for the next few hours, and wondering what my freshly fed innovative spirit would dream for my line of work.  This crew is so different from the philanthropic landscape I am so used to walking.  It  breathed of innovation.  I left feeling that just around the corner and for those who are willing to serve as first adopters, a whole new paradigm is just waiting.

I began looking for anything I could get my hands on to look for innovation in philanthropy.  Not just in giving, or even in the latest trends of impacting societal change. I searched trends with some of the nation's largest and most engaged community foundations.  I scoured for relative TED Talks... wishing Dan Palotta had more to say.  They had good info... I'm better for knowing it, but I'm still looking for the disruptive and scaling technology that I feel is right under my nose.  I'm researching technology and asking questions about how funders can drive innovation. I'm asking questions like- what's the life span of a fully online service providing nonprofit like?  Should established foundations consider using bitcoins?  What about the role of R&D and how it can drive innovation in nonprofits? I'm even thrilled to have met at this party people my age, who are looked at as the experts and wondering what impact could result if our worlds collided.

I don't know exactly what this will add up to.  I am taking John's advice (from the party).  I'm voice memo'ing my thoughts, and at the very least I may create a book that empowers thought leaders in the nonprofit sector.    

In the meantime, I have to consider the real needs of my own backyard, and continue using collaboration to challenge us to do better, think bigger.  But the work done here has to be scalable.  There has to be models that can be replicated in meeting the needs of poverty in other cities.  However, because this is the business of subcultures, can community innovation be multiplied?  Can it grow beyond the traditional means of meeting the needs?  Where do new and fresh ideas take us?  How does technology reinvent philanthropic engagement?  I do not currently have all the answers. To me, it serves as a challenge to carry the torch of honoring the time old traditions of conveying the human touch to the human heart to tomorrow's future thinking philanthropists.