A lot of people work or volunteer for charities and nonprofit organizations, and they feel as if things are getting tougher and tougher with fewer donations being made. In reality, however, it seems that more people are becoming philanthropic. Mark Arabo has completed a piece of research in just how much people give.
Philanthropic Acts According to Mark Arabo
The Chronicle reports every year on who have been the 50 most generous people in the country. Their top 50 list has remained virtually unchanged over the past few years. What has changed, however, is how much they have given. In fact, there has been a 27.5% rise in how much they gave, the greatest increase in many years.
It was also found that there were three entrepreneurs in the tech industry, who each gave at least $500 million. While one remained unidentified, the other three were revealed. They were Napster’s founder Sean Parker, and Whatsapp’s founder Jan Koum. Indeed, 47% of all philanthropic donations came from people in the tech industry.
Arabo found that there is a big change in who is engaging in philanthropic acts. There has been a huge increase in donors who are Millennials, women, and/or in the tech industry. Those in these groups who donated in the past would focus almost exclusively on charities. Today, however, they often set up foundations. One of the key reasons for this is that those who donate want to see the impact of what they do in their lifetime.
Take, for instance, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, his wife. They donated $1 billion to what is now the richest community foundation in the world, the Silicon Valley Fund. They use those funds to address specific needs. For instance, $25 million was taken out just to find a cure for Ebola.
Today’s philanthropists are results-driven in their personal life, and in their giving as well. This is why they prefer foundations, because it gives them the opportunity to see exactly where their money goes. In fact, they remain more in control of it.
According to Arabo, this is something that nonprofit organizations must come to understand, and they should have a greater focus on the Millennials. Some can only donate $10 a year, others donate $1 billion whenever the fancy takes them. But all of them want to make a real difference. These groups of people are also those who have grown up surrounded by technology and having access to empirical proof at all times. Hence, they won’t donate unless they can see exactly how their money was used and spent.
One big change in the world of philanthropy, however, is that many no longer give to outside charities, nonprofits, or even foundations. Rather, they set their own up. These foundations are seen the world over and are often set up in response to a specific event, such as the death of a child or the outbreak of a disease. These foundations are often highly fluid, meaning they direct their attention as and where is needed.