December 2022
Things We’re Loving This Month
INTO ACTION is a movement of designers, illustrators, animators and artists building cultural momentum around civic engagement and the issues most affecting our communities, our country and the world. They’ve created a huge library of gifs relevant to fundraising, activism, and more. Spice up your end-of-year campaign!
Doctors Without Borders and Ethical Storytelling
Doctors Without Borders recently released a video in which they wrestle with their history of white saviorism and colonialism via fundraising solicitations. Worth a watch and setting some time aside to think about the types of stories and images your organization uses to tell your story.
Tech company blocks spam with a charity donation request
“An Anchorage woman who worked in marketing for Google has cofounded an email management startup that stops spam and raises money for charities. Melissa Moody says Gated prevents unknown emails from reaching inboxes unless the sender agrees to donate at least $2 to a charity selected by the recipient.” Sign me up! (Seattle Times)
You’re the Philanthropist Now!: A roll-your-own adventure
At the risk of this column becoming just a Rhodri Davies fan account (who am I kidding), I have to include his post about a thrilling game he invented called You’re the Philanthropist Now. “The premise is that you have somehow come into a vast sum of wealth and are contemplating giving some or all of it away, so you have to decide how to do that in a way that you are comfortable with (and, for an added bonus, which you think will be as immune from external criticism as possible).” (Why Philanthropy Matters)
Philanthropy, Gratitude & Recognition on the Philanthropisms Podcast
“If we view philanthropy as a duty of justice, rather than a charitable choice, does that mean we have a right to expect it and therefore don’t need to be grateful? Is it just a pragmatic reality that we need to express gratitude to donors in order to keep them giving? Or does this sacrifice important principles? How does this relate to the debate over “donor-centric” vs “community-centric” approaches to fundraising?”
Articles and News
In the May 23rd issue of the Association for Fundraising Professional’s “AFP Daily”, AFP Global President and CEO Mike Geiger laid out the need for a Fundraiser Bill of Rights and announced the plan to convene a working group to draft such a document. Last month, the AFP Chicago chapter penned an open letter to Geiger which reinforced the fact that two AFP members, Amelia Garza and Jennifer Holmes, had already developed an applauded Fundraiser Bill of Rights which was in fact published in the April 2021 edition of AFP’s membership magazine Advancing Philanthropy. After Garza and Holmes’ requests to be acknowledged and cited were reportedly unacknowledged, the Chicago chapter leadership demanded that Geiger publicly state that “erasing the work of our BIPOC colleagues is counter to AFP's mission”, among other requests. Geiger’s response can be found here, and AFP Chicago’s follow up can be found here.
“The spectacular downfall of crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (commonly known as SBF) and his cryptocurrency exchange FTX resulted in what Bloomberg called ‘history’s greatest-ever destruction of wealth‘. This made for undeniably compelling viewing, but also raises many deep and challenging questions about philanthropy.” (Alliance Magazine)
GivingTuesday 2022 raises an estimated $3.1 billion
The 2022 totals for online and offline giving in the U.S. represent a 15 percent increase compared to 2021 and a 25 percent increase since 2020. (Candid)
Studies and Research
“Nonprofits are using the grant money to help those they seek to serve by improving or expanding their existing work and engaging in new work, often bringing on new staff to take on that work. Most are also using the money to improve their organization’s financial stability and to fairly compensate and support staff.” (Center for Effective Philanthropy)
Resources
NTEN’s Equity Guide for Nonprofit Technology
This free, downloadable guide will help you understand how to use technology within nonprofit organizations to further equity for staff and communities, fund nonprofit technology to ensure successful, sustainable projects and encourage bold experimentation, and create and implement technology for nonprofits that disrupts the nonprofit corporate model and recognizes the nonprofit sector’s uniqueness.
The Urban Institute’s Giving Dashboard
A monthly-updated data set tracking giving trends, perfect for nonprofit-nerds like me.
For Funders
How Restricted Project Grants Distort the Missions of Nonprofits
“Data shows that the majority of foundation grants still take the form of project support. Beyond the well-known hassles of piecing together such funding, nonprofit leaders point to a deeper problem with project grants: the distorting effect they can have on a group’s mission.” (Inside Philanthropy)
Upcoming Events
Remaking the Economy: Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories
What does the struggle for Black food sovereignty look like at the local level? Join the conversation as Black food justice leaders from four communities—one from Mississippi, two from North Carolina, and one from New Jersey—share their experiences. In this Remaking the Economy webinar, participants will discuss the interconnections between food sovereignty, racial and economic justice, and community building. Wednesday, January 25th, 2:00pm - 3:30pm ET. Click here to register.
