Introducing... Philanthropy Of The People, from For the Love of Humanity
Your new resource for turning fundraising... into philanthropy
This is like a new birth within the birthday month of For the Love of Humanity! Did you hear? We’re turning two years old this month. So this seems like an apt time to launch a new Section of this publication, one dedicated to helping you turn fundraising… into philanthropy. But what does that mean, exactly?
Read on to find out….
For You: Today’s Main Course
I love humans.
I especially love humans in community.
I love the magic that happens when people gather together, and care about each other, and work together to help each other and be helped, and prioritize their collective well-being.
There is nothing else quite as lovely as the experience of being in community — feeling your heart, mind, and whole being tune into the joy of connection and care within a group, a sense that is as much about receiving as it is about giving.
This is philanthropy.
The roots of the word philanthropy are Greek: philos, meaning love (think Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love”), and anthropos, meaning humanity (think anthropology, or the scientific study of humanity).
Yet, in the many years that I’ve worked in the field of professionalized philanthropy, I’ve observed that there is very little love, or humanity, in the prevailing practice of “philanthropy” today.
We’ve come to think of “philanthropy” as big money given in “charity” — and “fundraising” as the way we attract and direct that big money to specific “nonprofit” organizations. And this whole process has morphed — as it’s been professionalized and scaled up exponentially — in ways our ancestors wouldn’t recognize.
Donors are feeling like ATMs…
… fundraisers are feeling like cogs in a machine….
… communities are being commodified….
… which means everyone is feeling de-humanized.
And all the work we’ve been doing in this field — over many decades — hasn’t really changed many of the problems we’re addressing.
So what are we really doing here?
I think it’s time to return…
… to where philanthropy started.
Before foundations… or corporate giving programs… or donor-advised funds (DAFs)… or “major gifts”… or “annual giving”… or “planned giving”… or donor acquisition mailings… or “appeal” letters… or CRMs… or galas… or “donor lifetime value” (DLV)… or Return on Investment (ROI)… or endowments… or stock gifts… and certainly before AI and crypto, the most recent trends on the scene…
… “philanthropy” was just neighbors helping neighbors, in solidarity.
Everyone came together and helped, if someone needed to raise a barn, or if someone’s house was on fire. If people noticed someone in their community was hungry, they’d feed them. Or if someone needed a place to stay, they’d be invited into others’ homes.
Think about a time, very long ago, before they started building buildings like we have today. They would have lived in close relationship with the natural world. (That would have been the only option!) The natural world would have been their “floor,” their “ceiling,” and the “walls” around them.
Beyond their connection to the natural world, there are likely many more things we can assume about our ancestors who lived in such a time.
We can assume that they would have known exactly where their food came from, as they would have been directly involved in every stage of its path to their mouths. Or that they would have gone to bed with the sunset… and awoken with the sunrise, as there were no lights to turn on, to illuminate the night, or shades to draw down, to allow for morning snoozes amidst the sunshine.
Given how closely people would have lived together in a time like that, and how precarious survival would have been, people would likely have understood how much supporting and caring for each other was essential to human life.
Yes?
Surviving without that sense of mutual care and responsibility for each other would have been next-to-impossible, I imagine.
How do we recover the purity of neighbors simply helping neighbors — without any middlemen or overly complex processes?
How do we counter-act current trends causing ballooning monetary wealth in the top 5% of the population, accompanied by ever-increasing poverty for the majority of the population… which, in our current model of “philanthropy” means that there will be fewer and fewer able to give.. and more and more in need?
How do we seed and grow more of the the powerful mutual aid networks that rose up in Minneapolis earlier this year… and inspired the world?
How do we humanize donors… fundraisers… and whole communities who are being de-humanized by our current processes?
I got you.
This is not as big and hard as we might make it.
We know the way.
Our ancestors have been there.
All we have to do is remember… and return.
Philanthropy Of The People — a new section of this Substack publication launching today — will focus on the process of getting where we need to go.
Together.
➡️ From narrow, hierarchical giving… to collective giving.
➡️ From mechanization… to humanization.
➡️ From corporate… to community-centric.
➡️ From professionalization… to democratization.
➡️ From fewer and fewer participating… to more and more participants.
The heart and soul of Philanthropy Of The People will be talking about, providing inspiration for, and giving practical support for Collective Giving.
Giving Circles.
Collaborative Funds.
Crowdfunding.
Mutual Aid.
Giving Projects.
Donor Organizing.
… and more.
I lean heavily on the expertise and passion of the good folks at Philanthropy Together in generating this list, and I encourage you to plug into their great programming and educational offerings too.
Because we need all the help we can get…
… to turn the Titanic.
Collective Giving is not the model that the massive, worldwide nonprofit and philanthropic industrial complex has predominantly been using… right?
Our current world of philanthropy, fundraising, and nonprofits is quite siloed, hierarchical, corporatized, individualized, professionalized, and — all these things considered — broadly de-humanizing.
Moving to a model of Collective Giving is the antidote to all of these toxins, and I truly believe that this is the future of fundraising and philanthropy.
To that end, when I work 1:1 with organizations going forward, I will be prioritizing helping them develop Collective Giving as their model for mobilizing all the resources they need.
I can’t wait to really dig into this!
As I talk about it, this is the process of transforming fundraising…
Think about it.
If you could shift your focus from “raising money”…
… to mobilizing collective resources out of love for humanity…
… wouldn’t you want to?
I sure would.
So I’m going to.
Will you join me?
Community-Weaving for Fundraisers
Life’s been LIFING lately, yes?! Now is the time to reach out and connect with others. When you’re embedded in supportive community, even the most difficult things don’t seem so hard. Your community is waiting for you!
Advice when you need it. Been-there, done-thats. Commiseration. Support. A place to vent. Guidance and mentoring.
All of this, and more, is what I anticipate happening at Community-Weaving for Fundraisers. Just community-based fundraisers. Gathering for (virtual) lunch together. Twice a month. Year-round. Chatting and supporting each other via WhatsApp in between lunches. Being there for each other.
All you need to do is show up, and be present… while I guide, facilitate, organize, and create the container.
Conversation: Your Response
I really want to know your more detailed and nuanced thoughts, too. Let’s start a conversation on this topic. Visit the comments section!
Check out these previously published episodes of the For the Love of Humanity Podcast!
I’m not saying but I’m just saying that, despite how much of a folk hero he is, Vu Le’s episode on the For the Love of Humanity Podcast has not been the number-one-downloaded so far.
That honor has belonged to The Nonprofit Industrial Complex Must Be Composted, since it first aired. That one obviously hit a nerve with y’all!
But…
Slowly but surely, Vu’s episode — Vu Le Enters His Elder Era: Wisdom Incoming! — has been gaining downloads… and it is now TIED for first.
Will Vu pull ahead??
Only time will tell.
Other good episodes to check out right now, before the next episode airs:
Philanthropy’s Final Frontier: Time to Go Deeper Together
Why Does Fundraising Feel So Bad?
Practice: Make It Yours
Find a quiet place where you can be alone for a few minutes.
First, take some deep breaths, to settle your nervous system…
… and then, reflect on this question:
If I could personally start a collective giving circle… who would I invite? And who do I believe we would most likely give to?
Write down your answers.
And let yourself start to dream about how you might actually do it!
Inspiration: Something to Mull Over
Giving circles are a great way for people to use all of their five T’s [time, talent, treasure, ties, testimony] in order to make their communities more free, more fair, more joyful, more opportunity-equal for all.
Do we want to move all of our five T’s towards our communities… or do we want to move [them] towards these three billionaires who are currently running amok through our federal public goods and services in order to enrich themselves and their billionaire friends?
- Hali Lee, author of The Big We: How Giving Circles Unlock Generosity, Strengthen Community, and Make Change
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