In a guest post on the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy’s blog, Bill Somerville of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation predicts six trends for philanthropy that will be noticeable by 2014. He makes these predictions based on pressures that are building in the current system of philanthropy, including; increasingly burdensome paperwork and slow decision-making in the face of urgent need, a shift of generational power, a resurgence of interest in grassroots initiatives, and a need for more entrepreneurial grant-making to tackle complex issues.
These changes include:
1. The philanthropic dollar will become the entrepreneurial dollar of society.
- Philanthropy will involve more risk taking.
- There will be more tolerance for an occasional failure.
2. Philanthropy will focus more on outstanding individuals and organizations.
- There will be less reliance on extensive paper and electronic applications as due diligence.
- Philanthropy will refine ways of finding people and nonprofits of potential.
3. Philanthropy will embrace the concept of trust in all its dimensions.
- Trust between applicant and foundation staff.
- Trust between foundation staff and foundation board.
- Trust between the executive and foundation staff.
- As a result, there will be more discretionary grantmaking.
- The Board will allow the executive to make grants.
- The Executive will allow program staff to make grants.
- Consequently, the grantmaking process will speed up.
4. More grants to programs will be for discretionary use on the grassroots level.
5. Interactions between applicants and foundation staff will move in the direction of a collegial relationship.
6. More young people will be in philanthropic work.
- Many are members of donor families.
- Some are recent graduates who were introduced to philanthropy in college.
What do you think of these predictions? Do you anticipate other changes in the way philanthropy operates?
