What if you convened a group as diverse as codefest winners, giving circle donors, librarians, start-up leaders, and fundraisers? And what if you asked them to describe all the ways they spend time and money for the public good? We did just that in Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago. The Philanthropy Forum at GSPIA and [...]
Author: tonymacklin
Philanthropoid working at the intersection of meaningful giving and community results. Excited when everyday people lead community improvement, and when everyday people are recognized for their generosity.
The one where the philanthropy data geeks got it wrong
I guess you have to commend philanthropy’s paper of record - the Chronicle of Philanthropy - for trying to make fundraising data exciting with its January 17 article, Group Estimates Philanthropy Rose 13% in 2013, Clashing With ‘Giving USA’. The article pitted estimates of charitable giving from the relatively new Atlas of Giving against the [...]
Those Darned DAFs
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) sure seemed prevalent in the press over the holidays.The National Philanthropic Trust’s recent report on DAFs showed that, compared to 2011, in 2012: contributions to DAFs grew 34.6%, assets grew 18.9%, and grantmaking grew 6.7%. The growth in grantmaking exceeded the growth in grantmaking by private and corporate foundations over the same [...]
Grassroots vs. Organization Culture in Giving
Working in philanthropy often means simultaneously holding competing values as true, or at least viable. And, there are many classic tensions of values in philanthropy to navigate. Strategic philanthropy, relationship-driven philanthropy, and impulsive giving can all useful tactics. Donors can be both builders and buyers in their support of nonprofits’ growth. The freedom of nonprofits [...]
Tony Macklin 