Strategic giving: Approaching philanthropy with a different mindset

In spite of the recession and the still recovering economy, generosity remained abundant in the US. The philanthropic community has been notably active in the previous year, with about 64 million volunteers and 65 percent of households donating to a charity or a specific cause. As a whole, foundations, corporations, and individuals gave about $298 billion.

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While philanthropic work in the US continues to be a strong driving force in promoting social change, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen noted that there is still much that can be improved. Ms. Arrillaga-Andreessen, who teaches four philanthropy courses at Stanford, has made materials on studying and teaching philanthropy available online to encourage other learning institutions to start their own programs.

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Majority of the donors to philanthropic ventures are driven by emotion or a generous feeling. Therein lies a great but yet untapped potential because there are greater things that can be achieved when people take time to learn about the potential impact of their donations.

Shifting from emotion-driven giving to strategic philanthropy can empower the givers. The new generation of philanthropists is hungry for more information, and they want to know just how much impact their efforts and donations will have. In giving them the materials they need, they can go beyond being passive givers who are just hoping that their contribution will help and become effective planners and implementers of social change.

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Lessons in philanthropy

Little by little, the world is changing its views on philanthropy. It is no longer the endeavor of wealthy individuals with cash to spare. With the advancements in technology and information, philanthropy has become a challenge to every individual to contribute to causes and programs that are geared toward solving some of the various problems that the world has today.

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In order to give more power to the act of giving and to have it make more of an impact, people will have to learn about modern philanthropy. There is a need for people to know about the various aspects of philanthropic work (what works and what doesn’t) for them to be able to formulate better solutions for the many problems of the modern world.

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Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, who teaches philanthropic courses at Stanford University, has revealed in an interview that more than half of all individual philanthropists give to charity without knowing exactly how their contribution will impact the cause. She further goes to say that there is a massively untapped potential there and that results could be improved if the givers were better informed of how their generosity can be translated into something that affects the world in a more meaningful way.

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Recently, Ms. Arrillaga-Andreessen has shared her notes and syllabi on philanthropy online, in hopes that making educational material on charity easily available can spur other educational institutions to start offering their own courses on philanthropy and strategic giving.

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Start small, dream big: Focusing on future changemakers

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When people think of the problems in society, they see many great obstacles to equality, peace, and prosperity. In the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, it can sometimes be easy to forget just how many people are willing to work and do some good in order to change the status quo.

Commonly overlooked in endeavors to make lasting changes to society are the young people. Adults often expect very little of the youth. They are repeatedly told to stay out of trouble and to continue with their studies. But what if the young people of today are already ready? What if they just need some encouragement and guidance to take on the larger problems in society?

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By averting one’s eyes from the problems for a while, one can see that there are many people who are willing to work for social change, including the youth. Presently, young people have already faced their fair share of inequalities found in society. Many of them have gone beyond themselves to show compassion, stand up against injustice, and contribute to their community.

As programs like the Peace First prize show, many of today’s youth do have great ideas on how to create lasting changes to society. Acknowledging their ideas seriously and inviting them to take on important roles as early as now can encourage them to continue working for their vision of a better future.

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From well-meaning to making a difference: Motivating philanthropy

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While monetary support is important in many philanthropic efforts, for others, understanding that true philanthropy requires a drive to change the status quo is more important. Indeed, in today’s world, there are still many problems in inequality that need to be remedied.

For one reason or another, there are many people who are in dire need of support and resources to reclaim their lives from poverty. There are systems in place that perpetuate the problems in society today, and changing the world for the better requires a lot more from people who can donate their time and effort to those in need.

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The act of giving is a good start to changing the situation that exists. To continue such efforts, however, innovative thinking is necessary. People behind philanthropic endeavors may also need to think of their programs as businesses. Beyond their intention to provide help for people who need it, they also need to think of ways to turn the program into something profitable – not for their own gain, but to ensure that the endeavor is self-sustaining.

Effective philanthropic endeavors can grow without being dependent on outside investment. From stop-gap measures that fill in for an immediate need, they can evolve into larger programs that serve to empower the people who were previously in need and may even benefit the community as a whole.

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