Five best philanthropic practices to build on in the recovery
#HudsonGives and Love Your Local represent shifts in traditional fundraising and philanthropic giving that were underway before COVID and we hope will continue long after.
Here’s how the positive benefits of philanthropic giving that were accelerated during COVID can be developed and grown:
1. Reinforce Strong Links to an Individual’s Sense of Purpose:
Individuals are by far the largest source of philanthropic giving in this country. We also know that connections to our life purpose guide life decisions, influence behavior, and shape our goals.
2. Partner with Other Donors to Amplify Giving:
Think like a private investor by deploying your philanthropic funding alongside other donors you trust, following their due-diligence efforts rather than conducting your own.
3. Invest More in Your Local Communities:
Giving to local community groups has an immediate and direct benefit as the money goes to fulfill the need it seeks to address. It also has the potential to empower grassroots leaders, many of whom are people of color and women. Finally, it strengthens the local economy by keeping a larger share of money circulating locally.
4. Invest In Urgent, Temporary Community Needs – Support Local Establishments, Even If They Are Not Nonprofits:
Through the pandemic, people came to appreciate the special role that small businesses play in community life. Restaurants, and the special funds that were established to support them, are easily the best example.
5. Activate and Support the Growing Use of Charitable Crowdfunding:
Crowdfunding provides a ready source of charitable support. It also attracts new, non-traditional donors – those who tend to be younger, less religious, more likely to be single, and support social justice causes – compared to traditional charitable giving donors. These approaches can be especially effective when used as a part of a larger fundraising and philanthropic strategy.
Disrupted by a global pandemic, individual and institutional philanthropy has been responsive, engaged, and nimble. The challenge — and opportunity — for the sector will be to make those features stick.
#transactiontotransformation.
