Fluxx | Philanthropy and nonprofit technology news.

COVID-19 has been an incredibly challenging experience worldwide, and society will likely be dealing with the ramifications of this pandemic for years to come. But one positive we’ve witnessed in philanthropy is the amount of grantmakers who’ve leveraged their connections, community, and their grants management solutions to spring into collective action to support their grantees and missions.

The killing of George Floyd ignited an immediate resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, worldwide protests, and grassroots activism and donations. According to the New York Times, $90 million was donated to bail funds alone. Within philanthropy, the events of this summer added jet fuel to the urgent prioritization of diversity equity and inclusion (DEI). In this first-ever Fluxx Community Insights blog, we will share how our clients are prioritizing DEI within their organization, and with their grantees.  

We’re sad to report that PEAK 2020 has been canceled. Nothing is more important than the health and wellness of our community, and we appreciate that PEAK conference officials are committed to the safety of all attendees and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

At Fluxx, we’re consistently inspired by great content. This can be served in the form of exciting client updates, blog posts, or industry news and trends. Last week, The Ford Foundation published “The hard work of hope” on their Equals Change blog. The piece, authored by friend of Fluxx, Darren Walker, left us so inspired we had to share our own take on it as well. 

The collective action approach was developed because funders knew they needed to do more. They needed to better support grantees, collaborate with the private sector, and assist with local and national government initiatives (like getting the world’s youth to stop smoking). Today we see philanthropy stepping up to the plate (collaboratively) to support a myriad of different initiatives across the social, private, and government sectors. 

And just like that, 2020 is here and so is a brand-new decade. We’ve spent time examining the major philanthropy trends and shifts that we witnessed in the last decade, and now, it’s time to look forward. Our CEO, Madeline Duva, recently shared with Forbes the key trends that will shape philanthropy in 2020 and on. We want to share these same insights directly with our Fluxx readers. See below for the top trends that will shape philanthropy in the coming years and help foundations and nonprofits alike as they work to plan for the future of their organizations.

We’ve always considered ourselves more than a tech company. Sure, we provide the best in class software that powers giving and impact – helping foundations grant easier, collaborate better with their grantees and drive more change – but Fluxx also believes in building a strong community of purpose-driven individuals. In the past, we’ve gathered this community once a year for Fluxxcon, our user conference held in San Francisco. But a single conference isn’t always convenient or accessible for all of our users; especially our international clients. 

Maybe it’s just us, but 2020 is ushering in a sense of excitement and finality. Another decade is coming to a close, leaving many of us to reflect upon the last 10 years, marvel at the changes we’ve seen, and ponder what’s to come. In the last decade we’ve witnessed everything from the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement, increasing concern for climate change and increasing natural disasters, and on a lighter note: iPhones four through 11. Philanthropy has experienced sweeping changes as well. The buzzwords of the early 2010s are long gone, replaced by the priorities we see today.

2019 was a busy year at Fluxx. We announced new partnerships, unveiled new products, volunteered (a lot), moved offices, and sponsored some killer events. Throughout all the hard work, there was play and a feeling of renewed vigor and appreciation for our work. We’re proud to contribute to the growing Tech For Good space and to support increased collaboration for our funders and grantees. 

If you needed another reason to value our industry, know this: Philanthropy is one of the largest economic engines in the U.S. – employing millions of citizens, about one in 10 in the private workforce. And like any other titan, it takes the right tools and resources to drive change and propel impact at a competitive pace.