The Rise of PhilanthroSourcing (Part 3 of 3)

In the final piece of our three-part examination of the term philanthrosourcing, we touch on the potential for this trend. If you missed our introduction, you can go back and re-read it here. You can see the the examples of Philanthrosourcing in action here.

Part Three

In 2002, Denver’s Contemporary Art Museum decided to invite the wisdom of their community into the process of selecting an architectural firm and establishing a vision for the building.

Six finalists were invited to present their proposals in a series of public hearings that attracted more than 5,000 live audience members, as well as an equal number who responded on the website.

According to MCA/Denver’s Director, Cydney Payton, the museum’s membership campaign began to blossom from that moment: “When you do open up your institution and create this participatory approach, the benefits to your donor base, your membership and your mission, are far more sustaining. It’s a metric that creates longevity.”

That participatory approach brought to fruition a $16.5 million building designed by British architect David Adjaye and increased the museum's annual budget from $360,000, when Payton began her tenure in 2001, to more than $2.8 million today.

Like MCA/Denver, even prize-based philanthrosourcing efforts pursue the myriad benefits that accrue from expanding dialogue. According to X Prize Foundations, Sara Evans, “Our goal is to inspire new ways of thinking - not just reward the team that wins. As a 501©(3), our mission includes both education and civic engagement.”

Let the Rise Begin

Philanthrosourcing won’t replace traditional grantmaking any time soon, because the vast majority of challenges we face as a global community resist succinct definition. But the repercussions of these pioneering efforts will have significant impact on the field.

Even the most nascent stages of this movement already suggest the value of expanding conversation beyond the preferred experts, beyond grantees with whom foundations already have a relationship, and beyond those who claim nonprofit tax status.

InnoCentive’s Dwayne Spradlin concludes, “There has been an awful lot of ingrained behavior that has made us look at solving problems over a very large time span[s] - 10, 20, 30 years. This will change. It’s a movement that is not going to slow down. It’s going to accelerate.”

PhilanthroMedia is in the process of compiling a wide array of resources on philanthrosourcing to be released this fall. Stay tuned to www.philanthromedia.org.

Written by Susan M. Herr, president, PhilanthroMedia, with research support provided by Chad Callaghan.

Re-read part one.

Re-read part two..

Susan Herr