11 Trends in Philanthropy

I’m usually skeptical of “trend” watches, but this gold nugget is good. The Johnson Center just released 11 Trends in Philanthropy to watch.

Some of my favorites?

#9: A growing commitment to building non profit capacity. Mark and I believe strongly that organizations must invest in capacity-building particularly when it comes to fundraising in order to build sustainable futures. In our white paper Inside Out Fundraising: How to Build a Culture of Philanthropy by Treating Systems Instead of Symptoms, we propose that in most organizations fundraising is limited more by organizational culture, capacity and structure than by lack of strategic or tactical know-how.

#5 Philanthropy’s Quest for Equity. “If philanthropy really wants to see the achievement of social justice by alleviating poverty and inequities for racial, ethnic, gender, gender orientation, religious, and ability groups, it must work collaboratively with others to address purposeful inclusion in structures of power and decision making.”

Further, Mark and I believe that organizations must examine if their fundraising efforts have the cultural competency to reach all Americans — regardless of race — who might support their cause.

#1 Giving More By Giving Together. In light of the enormity of the social challenges we face, I’m very curious about spurring people to pool funds both large and small to effect change together.

Dive deeper into my favorite three or check out the other trends here.