Philanthropy's Killer Apps

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By my count there have been at least six killer apps* in American philanthropy since the founding of Jamestown:

1.  The not-for-profit corporation
2.  The foundation
3.  The donor-advised fund
4.  The Foundation Directory
5.  GuideStar
6.  The common grant application

I'm excluding from my list individual organizations, as well as innovations not specific to philanthropy (e.g., the Internet and QuickBooks).

Once the Foundation Center's PubHub becomes more robust, by adding, for example, user comments and ratings, I believe it will join the list.  Equally important to the field will be the curricula for program officers being developed by The Grantmaking School.

A more telling list, perhaps, would be "Philanthropy's World-Transforming Ideas." Would the list be embarrassingly short? self-promoting? Or would our laptops run out of power before we could finish typing it?

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* Used here in the sense of a great innovation that is used widely and adds enormous value to the field.

Image source: mediajunk

Comments

[erasmus]

Dude, more like this, with dogs and stuff. You're killing me with Schambra. Enough already.

[Bruce Trachtenberg]

You left off Throngz!

[Jeremy Gregg]

I have never used a common grant application. It sounds great in theory, but I cannot honestly imagine this bringing in much revenue. I would love to stand corrected!

Do you have any success stories from using this form of grant application?

[Albert]

Try it, you'll like it. Many regional associations of grantmakers (RAGs) worked with their members to create a common grant application form. Instead of filling out ten different grant application forms for ten different funders, a nonprofit creates a boilerplate proposal based on the common grant application form and sends that to every funder that accepts it. This saves applicants enormous time and effort.

But I get your point, Jeremy. A good fundraiser will want to tailor each grant application to increase its chance of being funded.

[O Lucky Man]

Dude, more like this, with dogs and stuff. You're killing me with Schambra. Enough already.

Palate cleanser (couldn't find Schambra Lama Ding Dong). This one stuck to it, so had to link both.

[Albert Ruesga]

Thanks for spinning the chart, OLM, and for the piece on the Congressional "Animal House." It's probably useless to rail against right wing think tanks since to every action there's an equal and opposite reactionary.

[PhilanthroMedia]

Dude! What about the LOGIC MODEL?!

[Albert]

Susan, you are the moonflower of my middle age, and I love you very, very much.

[Dan Bassill]

Next killer app? Have any of you seen any examples of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) being used to map geographic areas within cities, states and/or countries where specific types of charity services are needed, with overlays showing what charities providing such services are already available?

I'm piloting such a system to show where poverty is concentrated in Chicago, and where volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs are needed/located. My goal is that donors and volunteers shop for where they get involved, based on where the need is greatest. The goal is to support existing programs, while helping new ones form where none exist.

Using such a system with a marketing/advertising process can increase the number of donors who support charities in these regions, and hopefully lower the costs for each charity of finding resources.

You can see this in the Program Locator at http://www.tutormentorconnection.org. Have you seen any other efforts like this?

[Albert]

Thanks for the suggestion, Dan. I've added your link to the blogroll. I have in fact seen projects like the one you describe. The first I remember happened about ten years ago, also in the Chicago area. The project mapped (1) low-income, inner-city populations, (2) available entry-level jobs, and (3) public transportation lines. This ultimately led Chicago transportation authorities to create new routes that would more effectively connect low-income people with available jobs. My former colleague at the Boston Foundation, Charlotte Kahn, helped bring some of this mapping technology to nonprofits in Greater Boston. Best wishes to you in this important work you're doing.