HBD to [Future Philanthropy] #26 🎂
Curated ideas & opportunities for future focused civic leaders...
Y’all,
Here's to two years of Future Philanthropy! The book continues to surprise me (and still sat at #1 for a couple of categories on Amazon the day before it’s birthday) - best seller, international award winner, even a Korean book deal!
The best by far though is the new people I have met along the way. Those passionate for change in our field, and whose work (and advice!) continues to shape my thinking and approaches.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read the book - I hope the ideas and emerging leaders contained within have helped inspire your own work and that ultimately, you are in the right place, and helping make a difference in our communities.
Ryan
What I’m Writing (…and collaborating on!)
International Data Week happened recently and we celebrated by collaborating with some of the best minds in the business to uplift how data intersects our impact in a variety of ways. Some great articles here that get to the crux of some of the day-to-day issues we frequently have at the water cooler…
Shifting The Data Paradigm: Illuminating The Equity Lens In Data Collection And Analysis (7 min read)
Given so many small nonprofits don’t know where to start when it comes to managing the data they have, how can we use our data effectively and efficiently? And how do we make sure it’s being used with an equity lens? If you’re struggling with this, definitely give this post a read!
Four Ways We Can Leverage Text Data For Social Justice And Good (9 min read)
By 2030, it is estimated that at least $12 trillion market value will be unlocked through progressing on the SDGs around the world. Data on social impact and SDGs is growing at unprecedented rates.
As a sector, we are sitting on mountains of unanalyzed data, the majority of which is text. We must unlock insights hidden in text data to be successful and drive funding to the most impactful solutions. But how do we do that and at scale in secure ways?
Philanthropists need to invest more time, money, and intellectual resources in this area of understanding their software tools and their limitations and risks in addition to the benefits.
Data Mining for Donors A Visual Journey Towards Transformative Gifts - (4 min read + a video!)
For all the talk of big data, how many fundraising shops can truly use it in a way that could find innovative new ways to secure the resources to tackle some of the most critical issues of our time?
In the final guest post of our series, we talked with Tim Paris from Dataro about data visualization as something that can bridge that perceived delta.
"Data visualization allows everyone, regardless of technical expertise, the ability to relate and understand data, but given there is no sector-wide agreement on what it means to be data literate, it makes it difficult to measure and teach."
Fundraise for Australia Update
BIG NEWS!
After a successful pilot, we are excited to announce that we will be becoming more structured, purposeful, and impactful with the goal of identifying, recruiting, and training up to 1000 new fundraisers by 2030.
The first step happened recently with the appointment of three new Directors in Rosheen Singh, Rosie O'Brien, and Michelle Chung ('23).
We are also excited to announce that applications for Cohort II will open in February - more to come, so watch this space!
What I’m Sharing
Nonprofit Retention Survey: Until Wednesday, November 15, some of the most respected folks in the field (Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE and Evan Wildstein), are welcoming ANONYMOUS participation in a survey about what's encouraging you to stay in your current nonprofit role — or what's inspiring you to leave.
It only takes 2-3 minutes and you'll be contributing to a big, bold conversation about the state of our sector. Please take the survey if you haven't yet, share it with your peers, and help them collect good data!
Philanthropy Scholarship:Â Study philanthropy and nonprofit studies and the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at QUT will help you to be a community leader making important contributions to society.
The Myles McGregor-Lowndes Scholarship aims to assist future ACPNS students in funding the cost of their studies. More details here - https://www.qut.edu.au/study/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships/the-myles-mcgregor-lowndes-scholarship
Help Shape The Future of The Australian Nonprofit Sector: We always need to be cognizant of both sides of the funder-fundee regulatory environments especially when it comes to a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create an ecosystem sophisticated (and prepared) enough to double giving by 2030.
That's why I wanted to flag an important Department of Social Services reference group that's currently accepting submissions for an NFP Blueprint they are producing to develop sector-led 'workable and effective options for reform.'
This is an important ICYMI for the sector. The NFP Sector Development Blueprint issues paper is now available for feedback with submissions due December 20th. More info linked here…
Stats I’m Stressing About
New QUT analysis shows the drop in the share of people donating to charities. The government is keen to turn this trend around as is Fundraise for Australia. The question is are these trends showing an uphill battle to double giving by 2030 or giving us the motivation needed to see it through?
Shout-out
Big congrats to Fundraise for Australia grad Brigid Lacey for obtaining her CFRE! Watch this star soar!