Fluxx Blog

At some foundations, disparate program areas run autonomously, and that can be a problem. Different departments complete tasks but do not check on the progress and roles of people in other departments. Now a new generation is redefining social sector leadership with a work style that maximizes efficiency through collaboration. And you don’t have to be a millennial to harness the power of information sharing.

Here are three ways to access your foundation's valuable internal resources by simply communicating with colleagues:

Recently, Fluxx Co-founder and Chief Development Officer, Kerrin Mitchell, and Fluxx Chief Evangelist, Dan Schoenfeld, delivered an illuminating webinar: 4 Ways in Which Technology is Changing Grantmaking. The webinar brought context to key trends we’re seeing in philanthropy—specifically how improved technology has resulted in optimization and success for both foundations and nonprofits

As I look back on the growth and changes we’ve experienced to date in 2018 here at Fluxx, I’m reminded that it’s happened against the backdrop of exciting changes in philanthropy overall. It’s a remarkable time for anyone focused on giving and change-making. There was a record-breaking $410 billion in giving in the US last year, with an important shift in contribution sources, as contributions to DAFs (donor-advised funds) exploded.

The Giving USA annual report on the state of philanthropy, which was released last month, reveals that Americans are giving more than ever (including when measured using inflation-adjusted dollars): $410 billion in 2017. (From 2007 through 2017, giving went up $99 billion in current dollars.) As in previous years, the types of organizations that received that money were mostly religious ($127 billion) and educational ($59 billion). Meanwhile, donations to foundations were up 15.5% and, of all types of recipient, foundations saw the highest growth rate over two years.

Seeing the positive impact of your organization’s grants can be deeply rewarding, yet we all know that the processes involved in grantmaking itself are often downright tedious and cumbersome—for both the grantmakers and the nonprofits they serve. There is a major role for technology to play in order to break down common administrative boundaries as well as increase capacity and collaboration.

Grantee reports are essential for foundations, helping determine disbursements and grants. Reporting is also a vital part of making grants and a fantastic opportunity for grantees to share advancement with grantmakers. But done inefficiently, it can be a tedious task that contributes little to grantmaker or grantee.

Done right, reporting can be a meaningful exchange of data and stories as well as a tremendous opportunity for growth for both grantees and grant makers.

Popular online magazine Slate recently released a new series about philanthropy. With The Slate 90, the journal will start ranking the largest American nonprofits by revenue, organized according to nine categories ranging from the arts to health. Its goal is to increase scrutiny of the growing philanthropic sector and provide what it calls “a more robust and useful portrait of the tax-free economy” and “the nonprofit-industrial complex” in particular. This snapshot of US philanthropy, based on 2015 data, shows the contemporary giving landscape.

Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation

The latest wave of donors is changing philanthropy as we know it. Along the way, younger philanthropists are also transforming how foundations work, and specifically creating a need for collaboration through technology.

That was the perspective of the panelists at Fluxx’s sixth annual philanthropic speaker series, A New Age in Philanthropic Giving, held earlier this year at the Ford Foundation in Manhattan. The panel, led by Sam Caplan, now CIO of the Walton Family Foundation, included Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation; Nick Tedesco, senior philanthropic advisor at J.P. Morgan; and David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy and author of The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.

Over the past couple of years, we've seen a number of major trends that are shifting the traditional models of giving and philanthropy, not least of which is greater interest in giving, and increasing overall value in the amount of dollar amounts being donated.

The 2018 Peak Grantmaking conference just wrapped up, and what a fantastic time we had connecting with old friends and making new ones. So many members of the Fluxx family come to Peak every year in search of new skills, ideas, and fellowship, and this year was highly successful on all fronts.