"Revolutionizing Philanthropy."

After nearly two decades in the social sector, I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen versions of this mantra plastered across websites, investor decks, blog articles, and the like. It seems to be the go-to phrase for every new (especially fundraising) startup entering the space. I’ve used it myself more times than I care to admit.

Make no mistake, philanthropy as we know it is transforming, but the revolution didn’t come from one platform or ideology, but from a convergence of forces - radical technological advancements, cultural shifts, and paradigm-shattering global events.

To say that philanthropy has been in flux over the past 20 years is an understatement. Seemingly countless cultural and technological advancements have converged to dramatically transform how philanthropic dollars are exchanged and allocated.

People may disagree on what things will look like once the dust settles, but one thing is certain - funders, nonprofits, and other social impact organizations that don’t adapt will quickly fade into obsolescence. While nobody can say with absolute certainty what the future will look like, here’s a quick rundown of some of the key factors at play, and what we think has to come next.

Unprecedented Urgency Around Social Issues

Unless you just plugged yourself into an Oculus back in 2009 and never came out, you’re keenly aware of the urgency, complexity, and scope of the social and environmental challenges facing our world, and it probably seems daunting.

The comprehensive IPCC reports, paired with the observably increasing strength and frequency of storms and the annual heat records being constantly set and broken, keep the need to address our snowballing (forgive the pun) climate crisis top of mind.

Social injustice and inequality have entered the zeitgeist like never before — from the killing of George Floyd in 2020, to highly-politicized migration events, to healthcare inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, to the epidemic of school shootings… I could go on, but you get the point.

These issues are now top of mind for all well-meaning people in the world, and it can be challenging for those working to drive meaningful change to know where to start due to the daily torrent of information we receive.

One can hardly blame the Oculus folks for burying their heads in the metaverse for a while — or setting up and forgetting about Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) — until things get a little easier to digest and the path to impact becomes clear.

Overhead Enters the Conversation

Researchers have always used overhead as a primary criterion for an organization’s quality and worthiness for support, but it’s typically evaluated in ways disconnected from impact.

Due largely to Dan Pallotta’s 2015 TED Talk, people are now open and honest about the obvious: judging an organization by how little it spends limits its impact, and you can’t hire or retain top talent if you don’t pay people well. You can’t build or implement high-impact programs without great people and strong organizational cultures.

‍

The Way Forward: High Integrity Philanthropy

So, what will the next wave of philanthropy bring us? Here at Altruous, we believe in what we’re calling High Integrity Philanthropy. The next wave of philanthropists must learn from the past and reframe how we view giving.

We must:

• Draw from the best principles of Effective Altruism and Trust-Based Philanthropy by requiring sound business practices and strong, inclusive cultures, as rigorous and thoughtful impact evaluation.

• Take an analytical approach to evaluation that includes short- and long-term impacts.

• Understand and incorporate unintended consequences and potential harms.

• Move impact analysis beyond simple cost-per-outcome methodology, to one that focuses on depth, duration, and quality of impact.

• Contextualize the impact within the scope of the problems and the unique concerns of impacted people and regions.

• Require that programs create and implement collaboration with the people they’re seeking to serve.

• Embrace innovation, allow for the possibility of failure, and invest heavily in proven ideas ready to scale.

• Be open-minded, curious, and transparent about our methodologies, successes, and failures.

• Restore common sense in philanthropy, and move away from “lowest common denominator” thinking that fears controversy, embraces dogma, and is quick to cast blame.

Most importantly, we must set and maintain our own high standards of excellence, even if it flies in the face of traditional philanthropic thinking. Integrity is about following a set of values, and proactively holding ourselves accountable, building cultures of learning. We must go beyond the surface, and keep working, until we know beyond a doubt that we did our best to deliver on the promises we make to our stakeholders.

Want to do more with your funding? Contact us at Altruous to start funding programs that make an impact.