America's Giving Challenge and The Primetime Philanthropist
by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on 25 Jun 2009
Coming off the heels of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, I’m reminded about the power of individuals to recognize their potential not only as volunteers but also as philanthropists. It’s kind of serendipitous timing that just last night NBC aired its first episode of a new series, The Philanthropist.
While the Chronicle of Philanthropy invited readers to reflect on the show in an online forum during the series debut, the jury is still out on whether or not Philanthropist (the TV show) will impact philanthropy (the practice) in the real world. As Steve Gunderson analogizes in a statement to members of the Council on Foundations, “The Philanthropist is to philanthropy what The Pink Panther is to police work,” and there’s probably some truth to that. If nothing else however, perhaps it will help put the idea of philanthropy and selflessness in the minds of more people.
That’s exactly what we’d hoped to do at the Case Foundation with our online giving experiment, America’s Giving Challenge. Earlier this week we released a report on the Case Foundation site based largely on surveys and interviews of participants in the Challenge. The report provides an honest assessment of what worked well (and what didn't) during the online giving campaign.
What I appreciate about the report is that authors Allison Fine and Beth Kanter present readers with a series of recommendations on how to improve future giving challenges. As we see more and more of these online challenges popping up online – we hope that other organizations who are experimenting will benefit from the lessons we learned during the campaign.
The research has spurred a flurry of responses on blogs and via twitter, and I wanted to capture some of those stories below. For more information about America’s Giving Challenge and to download the report, please visit the Case Foundation. And, whether you were a participant in the Challenge or are a casual observer - we'd love to hear your assessment of what works well and what should be improved as online giving challenges continue to evolve.
Nathaniel Whittemore, Social Entrepreneurship blogger at Change.org: One of the interesting take aways in the "what would work better" section is that while it was the right idea to have a time restriction, the 50 day time period was too much of a burden and a shorter time period might have been better. This recommendation resonates with the notion that these contests are about getting people engaged, but shouldn't become a burden on the relationship between a nonprofit and its stakeholders.
Edith Asibey and David Brotherton write in the Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Other foundations are embracing the possibilities of online media to spur citizen involvement while deepening appreciation for the practice of philanthropy. The Case Foundation recently released a report on its “America’s Giving Challenge” competition, explaining that one of the campaign’s objectives was to “help people from all backgrounds realize their potential to be philanthropists.”
Katya Andresen on her Getting to the Point Marketing Blog: “The key findings are actually no secret at all. But we tend to forget their truth, which is why we need to mind them closely….Technology does not change the basic truth that we give for emotional reasons in a moment of generous impulse. It just makes this phenomenon happen more easily, faster, and on a larger scale. It also allows individual people or very small organizations to be catalysts for broader giving. Most of the top fundraisers were not from large organizations. One person can do much by reaching out to their inner circle, which then connects to a greater community.”
Rebecca Krause-Hardie on her blog: “Just my two cents from the sidelines, but I think a big part of the 'secret sauce' is the passion and motivation of each of the people who worked on the campaigns. Their personal belief and willingness to talk about it and express it to everyone provides the fuel for the engine.”
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