COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY

NEXTWHAT’S

for

A part of Deloitte Consulting LLP

HOW WOULD YOU CELEBRATE YOUR 100TH BIRTHDAY?

Would you still

be adventurous

enough to try

something new?

2014 marks the 100th birthday of

community foundations, organizations

that mobilize financial and human

resources on behalf of a particular

geographic community.

Instead of

sitting back

and remaining

unchanged as the

world advances,

this spry centurion

will need to...

Community foundations aren’t the only ones

who need to be on their toes right now.

PUT ON THE PROVERBIAL DANCING SHOES AND PREPARE FOR ITS NEXT ACT.

COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY ORGANIZATIONS OF ALL KINDS WILL NEED TO START DANCING TO A DIFFERENT BEAT TOO.

WHY? Because the landscape around

community philanthropy today

looks very different than it did

when many of its current practices

and systems were developed.

AND THE PACE OF

CHANGE IS SPEEDING UP.

ONLY

COMMUNITIES ARE CHANGING IN A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT WAYS:

are shifting, and the face of the

community — and of philanthropy —

is changing...

Growing diversity

Immigration

Growing influence

of millennials

Aging of baby

boomers

DEMOGRAPHICS

is changing how people connect to one

another, and to causes they care about.

Globalization and

ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIESare altering the prospects of

local businesses and workers.

CLOSED

TECHNOLOGY

DIVISIONS …and

events will likely occur

with greater frequency.

ENVIRONMENTAL“WILDCARD”across economic, political,

and racial and ethnic lines

are fragmenting local

communities

DEEP

Community foundations

United Ways

Place-based private funders

Commercial charitable gift funds

Giving circles

Online giving platforms

THAT’S A LOT OF CHANGE TO HANDLE.

PHILANTHROPY IS CHANGING TOO.

But that’s not all of it.

...AND THE LIST GOES ON!

COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY IS GETTING MORE CROWDED

!! !!

AND DONORS CAN GIVE IN NEW WAYS TOO,

… or by influencing political

outcomes through political

action committees. affecting social change

by investing in socially

responsible businesses

and “impact investments”...

MICROFINANCE

In this dynamic context…

THE STATUS QUO IS NO LONGER AN OPTION.

For smaller organizations,

adaptation may be a simple matter of

SURVIVAL.

to make sure they keep

pace with the changing

needs of local donors,

nonprofits, and residents.

Are the systems that help

your organization thrive

TODAY the right ones to serve

your users OF THE FUTURE?

BUT EVEN MORE ESTABLISHED AND FINANCIALLY STABLE INSTITUTIONS WILL NEED TO ADAPT

To prepare for these emerging needs,

organizations may have to start

challenging some of the fundamental

orthodoxies of community philanthropy.

These orthodoxies — deeply held

assumptions about “how things

are done” — often go unstated and

unquestioned, and can become

PROBLEMATIC BLIND SPOTS.

But remember those MAYBE INSTEAD OF JUST CONTINUING TO DO THE JITTERBUG, YOU COULD TRY KRUMPING* TOO.

What if by “flipping”

orthodoxies that no longer

make sense, you could explore

new opportunities, and try out

some new dance moves?

NEW DANCING SHOES?

*Krumping is a new style of

street dancing. Kids dig it.

COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY ORGANIZATIONS ALL OVER ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW ROLES.

THEY ARE STARTING TO: THEY AREN’T JUST ONE THING ANYMORE.

incubate social enterprises

facilitate community dialogue

advocate for policy change

and much more.

VERY EXCITING

but where

should you begin?

IT’S ALL

N

S

E

W

As with most things, it helps

to have some guiderails when

embarking on a new journey.

LOOK OUTWARDS for context to understand

the changing global and

local landscape.

LOOK AROUND for inspiration to see

what’s already possible.

LOOK INWARD at current practices to

understand your own

organization with a fresh lens.

GET TO ACTION by developing and

testing new approaches.

that can help

community philanthropy

organizations innovate.

FOUR KEY BEHAVIORS

We’ve identified

LOOK OUTWARDS

LOOK AROUND

Follow emerging global and local trends

and assess what they might mean for your

community. And at the same time, make sure

you have a good understanding of who is

already serving your community.

Innovation doesn’t need to be completely

new, it just needs to be new to you and your

community.

Look to “bright spots” already emerging inside

and outside the field, and don’t be afraid to

copy shamelessly.

Challenge orthodoxies and blind spots

that are keeping you from recognizing

new opportunities, and actively build a

portfolio of the roles that are right for your

organization and community.

Move to action by creatively generating new

ideas and then prototyping the approaches

that show real promise. You may want to

creatively think about how you play roles that

are at your organization’s core, or you might

think about “scaling edges” that could matter

more in the future. Today’s sideshow could

become tomorrow’s main act.

LOOK INWARDS

GET TO ACTION

READY TO GET MOVING? Explore the resources on the What’s Next

for Community Philanthropy website at

monitorinstitute.com/communityphilanthropy

for tools, exercises, and even a few games

to help you challenge old assumptions,

understand your community, and imagine new

possibilities for the future.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

With support from the Council on Foundations, the

C.S. Mott Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,

Community Foundations of Canada, and more than

15 leading U.S. community foundations.

For more information about project supporters, please see the What’s Next for Community Philanthropy website.

Monitor Institute is part of Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP.Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

Copyright © 2014 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

JESS AUSINHEILER

JUSTIN MARCOUX

GABRIEL KASPER

A part of Deloitte Consulting LLP

monitorinstitute.com/communityphilanthropy

A part of Deloitte Consulting LLP