Responses from family philanthropy staff and board members to how crowdfunding and grassroots giving circles could complement or detract from their family philanthropy

1. Is Philanthropy Ready for Adventures in New Giving?
2013 CoF Family Philanthropy Conference
Think of your family’s foundation/fund and discuss how the trends and tools of “new giving” might
strengthen or complement OR weaken or distract from the topics below. – Answers from the session
attendees
Sense of shared legacy, values, and mission
Strengthen or complement… Weaken or distract from…
• Can improve communications about issues • Does it create expand a generational divide?
• Helps involve younger generation • Is it the technology and quickness too risky for
• Can empower small foundations to leverage a an older generation?
greater impact
• Can excite new members
• Could be an employee engagement platform
for family businesses
Support for existing grantees
Strengthen or complement… Weaken or distract from…
• Support fundraising capacity for one-off • Individual projects wouldn’t lead to a
campaigns or simple ideas to sell comprehensive overview of an issue
• Support capacity for disaster fundraising
• Helps them find new ideas
• Provides global access to ideas and resources
• Foundation can provide matching grants to
engage the crowd
• Location-based support
• Creates wider community involvement
• Opens up other doors – not an either/or but a
both/and to what the foundation already does
Needs for oversight and accountability
Strengthen or complement… Weaken or distract from…
• Grassroots giving groups can support projects • Gov’t oversight makes it problematic to
foundations can’t – cut through tax issues support individuals
• How to balance innovation and accountability • Need assurance about proper due diligence
and legal issues – adds a layer of complexity
to grants
• Higher level of risk and trust
• How to support programs without finite
beginnings and endings?
• Board and staff education needed about the
issues and options
Erin Barnes (ioby.org), Nathaniel James (philanthrogeek.com), Tony Macklin (rahuntfdn.org) 1

2. Is Philanthropy Ready for Adventures in New Giving?
2013 CoF Family Philanthropy Conference
Involvement of all generations in your grantmaking?
Strengthen or complement… Weaken or distract from…
• Younger generation less likely to care if a good • Too immediate – funding short-term fixes
idea comes from a tax-exempt org instead of fixing problems
• Meets the Next Generation members “where • Shifts focus from traditional grantmaking goals
they are.” Next Gen expects technology access.
This adds new dimensions of giving from
younger trustees.
• Can be a glue that brings the family together –
a foundation exists from more than just
grantmaking
• Family members and/or foundation grants
matching crowdsourcing drive
• Engages different people in new thought
processes
Ability to find ideas that meet your grantmaking goals?
Strengthen or complement… Weaken or distract from…
• Good for problems that aren’t overly complex • Not a good solution for complex, system
• Yes – find innovative ideas problems
• Able to find organizations focused on voter • Problem with our giving to only 501(c)(3)s
mobilization when that was a subject that • Foundations not staffed or sophisticated
interested a younger member (no time for a enough to handle this
traditional grant round) • How to balance short-term and long-term
• Can complement and expand the current focus systems of giving
• Minnesota Idea Open is a good example of a • Need to really look at goals of the foundation –
platform do you want the opportunity to find ideas or do
• Potential leveraging options you continue with existing focus?
• Can create on-ramps for people to be involved • Overall a mixed bag
in an issue
Community relationship-building work?
Strengthen or complement… Weaken or distract from…
• Helps us find new ideas • Will this social giving be a short-term fad, or
• A great way to bring family foundation work to will this be a sustainable way of bringing
the people, to make it understandable money to ideas?
Erin Barnes (ioby.org), Nathaniel James (philanthrogeek.com), Tony Macklin (rahuntfdn.org) 2