Not Your Father’s Philanthropy

By Bob Somerville

There’s a revolution afoot in giving, and you might already be a part of it without even realizing it.

Have you ever contributed to Wikipedia, or posted a comment or suggestion on a help page? Have you ever made use of these sites? Contributors and beneficiaries alike are creating online networks of individuals with shared interests and goals, and little or no interference from money-making middlemen. They are participating, one-to-one, in what has become a renewed spirit of benevolence, whose effects are now spreading to more-traditional forms of charitable giving.

We are, by nature, a generous species. We like to help each other. In fact, studies show we get a rush from it. But we also like to feel a connection to what we’re doing, as if we’re right there beside the people we’re helping – not just writing a check.

What’s changed, fundamentally, is that givers more and more want to take ownership of their own generosity. They yearn to be active participants, not passive donors. And they also want to be sure, in these troubled times, that every penny counts, that they’re not getting ripped off.

All of this adds up to what we’ll boldly call the New Philanthropy, a movement that’s already advancing by leaps and bounds. Leading the charge is DonorsChoose.org, one of the first and best practitioners of the new way benevolence is working. They are empowering givers at every step in the process, and they’re facilitating those connections between donors and recipients that have proved so profoundly fulfilling for both.

In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll follow several DonorsChoose projects in real time so you’ll get an unfiltered view of how their process is actually working. But in the meantime, a few specifics about one of the leading lights in the brave new world of benevolence:

DonorsChoose.org was launched in 2000 by Charles Best, a social studies teacher in an impoverished Bronx public high school that was in desperate need of even the most basic schoolroom supplies. According to the website, he “sensed that many people would like to help distressed public schools, but were frustrated by a lack of influence over their donations. He created DonorsChoose.org so that individuals could connect directly with classrooms in need.”

Visitors to the website can check out a wide assortment of donation requests posted by public school teachers from across the country. Requests can be as simple as pencils for a poetry project, or as costly as musical instruments for the school band. Givers can search for needy projects by location, by subject area, or by a number of other criteria by typing in keywords. The goal is to help potential donors find a need that they feel is worthwhile. That’s where the sense of ownership begins.

Donors can give anything up to the entire amount being requested. When a given project is fully funded, DonorsChoose.org delivers the materials right to the classroom, and connects donors directly to the classrooms and teachers they’re helping. Contributors get updates and photos of the project, as well as thank-you notes from teachers and students. Ongoing communication often takes off from there.

Contributors get detailed reports from DonorsChoose.org as to how every dollar was spent, and the website team also carefully vets project requests to ensure the integrity of the program.

Since its inception, DonorsChoose.org has brought more than 200,000 teachers and contributors together “to become change makers.” Their secret, they feel, is simple: “At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. We call it citizen philanthropy.”

Call it what you will, this new, more personal form of giving is clearly where the business of benevolence is heading. And we at the-future.com will be there to help you watch it happening.

Bob Somerville, a contributing editor for the-future.com, is a freelance writer and editor based in Washington, DC. He has written numerous books and articles on a wide variety of subjects, including healthcare and eldercare, science and engineering, food and diet, and animal welfare. His 2008 book Dogtown: A Sanctuary for Rescued Dogs won the Ben Franklin Award for Best Book of the Year (Animals/Pets category) from the Independent Book Publishers Association. He co-authored Century of Innovation, a look at the 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century, with projections about the future of engineering. He lives in the Maryland suburbs and enjoys still being able, once in a while, to beat his 16-year-old son, Andrew, at tennis, golf, and Ping-Pong.