Digital Philanthropy week

The State of Philanthropy

As we embark on reimagining philanthropy for the next decade, we focus Digital Philanthropy Week in 5 key themes: Innovation, Scale, Collaboration, Measurement, and Risk-Taking.
In order to look forward to the next decade, we need to start with the current ‘State of Philanthropy’ - as we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and there is a great deal of need globally.
Trust-based funding plays an important role during and past COVID, enabling nonprofits to act fast, and where they see fit. We need to strive for equitable relationships with standout nonprofits in key areas, helping them do what they do best.
We can draw parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic and another major global health issue; Neglected Tropical Diseases (or NTDs): i.e., eradicating NTDs require innovative solutions to distribute treatments, scale for making them readily accessible, collaboration on the ground with other funders/nonprofits, measurement to achieve eradication over time, and risk-taking by both funders and recipients – like COVID vaccines, providers need to establish trust with patients.
By establishing trust with partners at all levels we can build back better as we reimagine the next decade of philanthropy.

We are reaching the SDG’s deadline and there are insufficient funds. That’s why we must find new ways to get investments.
Private capital is driving change and innovation. Only with collaboration with the private sector can we tackle today’s challenges.
Pay for success tools, like development impact bonds, allow innovation to modify programs based on outcomes. Not reaching goals means no payment.
For the Indian NGO Educate Girls payment by results assured scaling while maintaining quality in education. The nature of this unrestricted funding led to: mission-mode mindset, risk taking, flexibility, de-centralization, useful data management.
In 5 years time there will be a bigger market for impact first investment.

The power of philanthropy is taking risk. Collective philanthropy should de-risk and allow for more innovation and disruptive solutions that really can scale.
Begin with the end in mind by identifying the problem we want to solve and working backwards to develop a strategy.
The benefit of collaborating is the ability to leverage resources, grow your own personal expertise, experiment with innovation, and journey with like-minded people.
To foster trust, we need to spend more time listening and letting the end recipients be at the centre of decision-making and the design of the programs.
Some flexibility around what success looks like is needed and it is important to have alignment through proper governance structures.

In the next ten years more than a third of clients and employees will be considered Neuroatypical – morally, and economically, we must address what their employment futures can look like.
Philanthropists has played a pivotal role in improving diagnostics and services, but now we must look at funding opportunities that improve quality of life.
auticon and the Frist Center are taking innovative approaches by using scientific research, data collection, technology invention and social entrepreneurship to show companies the value of neurodiversity hiring.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning is a powerful method in proving the business case and practising ‘good philanthropy’ to other philanthropists, private sector funding and governments.
Philanthropists can drive change faster not only with money but by being creative with their ‘celebrity capital’ – and by helping to drive community-based approaches to neurodiversity solutions and supporting the overall movement!

Lenses add an extra layer to your philanthropic giving – they allow you to see issues from another point of view
Humility to understand communities before intervention
Don’t underestimate people in poverty. There is wisdom in communities to help solve problems.
Issues are all interconnected, and a broader lens is needed to understand content and context
Take the systemic lens. It may take longer but impact will be long-lasting.