New ways to give

Working for a major philanthropic foundation has made me much more aware of how donors and worthy grantees get linked up. Two articles on the web point out some of the major changes taking place in philanthropy.

This article from CNN.com - Charities find dollars on the Internet - Dec 17, 2004 takes a look at how donors and grantees are finding themselves directly through some new websites. Rather than focusing on how major foundations fund major projects, these new efforts focus on linking smaller funders directly with groups who need their support.

This BusinessWeek article on Pierre Omidyar's foundation points out how eBay's founder wants to create online communities where grantees can propose small projects and where interested folks can fund these projects directly through a microgrant. The online community helps to vett proposals and to ensure that funds are spent properly.

One of Omidyar's groups is DonorsChoose. DonorsChoose fields proposals from public school teachers who want their students to have an experience for which the school does not offer funding. On this site anyone can browse small projects proposed by educators. Most projects need between $500 and $5000. When an interesting proposal shows up, the donor can fund all or part of the project. DonorsChoose handles procurement of needed goods to ensure the funds are properly spent. The donor gets direct feedback from the students who benefit from the project.

Comments

[Eda]

Tom...This is a great opportunity to get in on partially funding something that we believe in. The frustration of donating to large organizations is that we really do not know where the donations are used. By seeing a specific need that speaks to us and then having an opportunity to fill it, we are all annointed to play in the funding game. It makes it much more personal and empowering all the way around. I am sure traditional foundations may be a little queezy about this. After all, they no longer will be the only hand of God, determining who is worthy, and who is not!
Way to GO!