At Fluxx we’re in the business of building technology that serves the social sector, which means we’re always having critical conversations about social sector strategies. Which is why we’re thrilled to focus this month’s Untapped Philanthropy podcast episode on how we as a community can leverage technology to facilitate strategic thinking and in turn – a better grantee experience. So let’s dive in.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day hits home; and we’re thrilled to get the opportunity to weigh in on its theme – #ChoosetoChallenge. As an organization, Fluxx is proud to choose to challenge the Silicon Valley status quo (as of 2020, only 11% of executives in Silicon Valley were women) through our leadership and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
For those of us in information security (InfoSec for short) "CIA" doesn't just mean the Central Intelligence Agency. But rather, CIA is an acronym referring to the foundational pillars of Information Security. And understanding the CIA triad is key to understanding how an organization can protect the data it uses, stores, and or processes.
We’re living through a time of unprecedented worldwide change, coupled with ongoing feelings of isolation and separation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time the Fluxx team worked round-the-clock to forge even deeper connections with funders, government organizations, and our partners, in order to help our community of philanthropists give more freely, provide additional support to communities in need, and do more – faster. And we’ve collected some pretty impressive stories along the way.
That’s why we are thrilled to announce Untapped Philanthropy – a Fluxx podcast that explores funding, technology, and policy through the lens of visionary thought leaders who are at the forefront of change in our field. We’ve packaged these stories into podcast episodes because we believe that philanthropists need more ways to feel connected and learn from one another. A podcast allows listeners to tune in to powerful stories while taking a walk, cooking, or doing anything else that allows for movement. Let’s be honest, we all deserve an excuse to walk away from our home offices for a well-deserved break!
This podcast is hosted by Fluxx co-founder Kerrin Mitchell. Each episode will consist of 30-minute conversations between Kerrin and philanthropy (or technology) thought leaders who are innovating within their field. We hope this series leaves you inspired and eager to learn more about the collective action taking place in our industry.
Untapped Philanthropy has released two episodes thus far. Check out this blog for information on episode two, and keep reading to learn about our first-ever episode.
For our first episode, Kerrin Mitchell sits down with veteran philanthropy technologist and CEO and Founder of threshold.world, Dan Lammot.
Dan is both a philanthropist and technologist. He is a board member of the Surfrider Foundation, a member of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Technology Partner Network, and is an expert technologist whose organization, threshold.world, is committed to providing nonprofits worldwide with impact and data-fueled insights.
Together they unpack the “Tech for Good” industry exploring how technology and data can support crucial philanthropic industry initiatives and trends. Most importantly, they sit down to answer the philosophical question: Who determines technology innovations for philanthropy? Philanthropists or technologists?
You can learn more about Dan’s work through the podcast episode embedded above.
You can subscribe to the Untapped Philanthropy podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. If you enjoyed episode one of Untapped Philanthropy, please take a moment to share our episode on social media so others may have the opportunity to learn about Dan’s story.
Episodes of Untapped Philanthropy will be released once a month, and will always be shared via the Fluxx blog. We encourage you to subscribe to the Fluxx blog in order to stay up to date on new episode releases.
The common application isn’t exactly a new concept for philanthropy. Different common applications have been used for years, but the adoption has been inconsistent across the industry as a whole. That’s changing thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. If nonprofits are to survive this crisis while also being able to serve their communities, then funders will need to act fast to ease grantee burden and build capacity for those they fund.
For many of us, late December offers the first moment to reflect on one of the busiest years in philanthropy’s recent history. It’s a moment of reprieve that invites us to slow down and reflect upon our challenges and experiences, and envision what we hope to achieve next year.
At the risk of sounding cliche, 2020 was an unprecedented year for all of us. For Fluxx, 2020 was a year spent working round-the-clock to further collaborate and support our clients and team while also adjusting to a fully-remote work environment. We also found new ways to support our community, volunteer, and give back throughout this ongoing crisis. It’s safe to say our team is closing out the year feeling a renewed appreciation for our work, one another, and our impact.
For many, December is a month for reflection. A time to look back and assess, and use those learnings to plan for the upcoming year. That’s exactly what we aimed to do with our latest Fluxx Community Insights survey. And during a time of reflection, what better topic to survey than the one consistent that dominated this year – the COVID-19 pandemic.
If there’s one topic we love (and need) to revisit at Fluxx, it’s security. During her tenure as CEO, Madeline Duva penned a piece for Forbes on the importance of good security measures, and last Halloween we shared 5 tried and true tips for those of you who are spooked by cybercrime.
