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A shift in grantmaking
There is never enough money for philanthropy. Demand for services always exceeds supply, especially when government pullbacks increase public need. It's not surprising then, that fund-raising has become increasingly competitive, which has pressured grantmakers to use their comparatively few dollars (only 15 percent of all contributions) in more and more resourceful ways.
Grantmakers focus on cost-benefit ratios. The greater the return on investment, the better - not unlike the profit sector. What catches their eye today, may not make the grade three months from now. In the last 40 years, grantmakers have moved from providing operating support, to funding special projects, to supporting new and innovative projects, to launching but not sustaining innovative projects, to launching earned-income programs, and now, to supporting programs that "enlarge the pie." A good example would be the Catalog, which aims to increase personal giving to philanthropy.
There is significant room to grow. Personal donations account for 85 percent of charitable income, but come from only one in four taxpayers.
Philanthropy's beauty and strength are embodied in this ancient truth: Who we are depends less on our fortunes (what happens to us), than on our virtues (our strengths and values) - less on what we have, than on what we do with what we have. People give time and money to philanthropy because it feels right and good to do so. It is greatly satisfying to express our values with our resources (time, money, skills, possessions). Philanthropy helps us define what we believe and who we are in ways we can respect. And that makes us fully humane.
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