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DisruptingPhilanthropy:Howcrowdsandcloudsare

changinghowwedeliveronthecommongood

LucyBernholz,Ph.DOxfordInternetInstitute

14April2010

twitterhashtag#oiiphil

Thankyouforhavingmeheretoday.ThankyouDameStephanie,Professor

Dutton,allofthewonderfulstaffoftheOxfordInternetInstitute.Thanksto

theHANDFoundation,NewAmericaFoundationandStanfordUniversity

whichmakemyworkpossible.Thankstoallofyouforcoming.Iparticularly

wanttothankmyfatherforjoiningusheretoday–it’saspecialhonorforme

tohavehimhere.

Now,Iwanttoaskyoutodosomethingthatisabitunusualatthestartofa

speech.Pleaseturnonyourmobilephones.Thisisbothatestandan

experiment–atestofatheoryI’mworkingonandanexperimentbecausethis

willbethefirsttimeI’vetriedthisoutsideoftheStates.Iwantyoutoturnon

yourmobilesbecauseI’mwillingtobetyoutheywon’tring.Why?Becauseno

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oneusesmobilesformakingphonecallsanymore.Weusethemfortexting

andtwittering,messagingandemails.Butphonecalls?Heck,thereoughtabe

anappforthat.

WhydoIbringthisup?Tomakeapointabouthowquicklytechnology

changes.Here’satechnologythat’sgonecompletelymainstreaminthelast

decade–allofyouhaveamobile,asdoabout4billionofthe6billionpeople

ontheplanet.Andwhilethesedevicesweredesignedforphonecalls,weuse

themforsomethingelse.

Oncethetechnologyisinourhands,westarttoadaptit.Weadaptour

behaviorstowhatitletsusdo.Wedothisonanindividualbasis–thinkfor

exampleofanotherwayinwhichourrelationshiptophonehaschanged.

Aboutadecadeago,whenthephonerang,youwouldn’tknowwhoitwas

untilyouhadansweredit.TherewasnocallerID.Butassoonasyouknew

whoitwas,youalsohadaprettygoodchanceofknowingwherethatperson

was–becausetheywerelikelycallingfromalandline.Soifitwasyourmum

shewasathome,yoursisterwascallingfromwork,yourbrotherfromhis

office.Onceyouknewwhowascalling,youhadagoodchanceofknowing

wheretheywere.

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Nowadays,weknowwhoitistheminutethephonerings–callerIDtellsus

who.Butthefirstquestionweaskis“whereareyou?”Simplyknowingwhois

onthecalldoesn’ttellyouanythingaboutwheretheyare–theycouldbeat

work,athome,inthecarorinanothercountry.Wecannolongerpindown

ourfamilyorfriendsbytheirphonenumber.Ihaveahunchthatthisiswhy

geo‐locationservicesandapplicationsarebecomingsopopular–especially

amongyoungpeoplewhohaveneverbeentetheredbyalandline,butthat’sa

differentspeech.

Sotechnologyadaptstousandweadapttotechnology.Itiseasytoseethison

thepersonallevel.Theorganizationallevelisalittlebitharder.Andthisis

wherewecanbegintotalkabouthowtechnologyisdisruptingphilanthropy.

But,beforeIdothat,afewquestionsforyou:

• Whorememberswheretheywereatabout10pmlocaltime,January

12,2010?

• HowmanyofyoufirstheardabouttheearthquakeinHaitiviayour

computerormobilephone?

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• Howmanyofyoufirstheardaboutitviathetelevision,newspaperor

radio?

• Howmanyofyousharedinformationabouttheearthquakeviamobile,

twitter,emailorIM’ing?

• Howmanyofyoumadeadonationonyourmobilephone?

[Synthesizeanswers.Noteresultsforthisaudiencelikelyverydifferentfrom

Californiaresultsbecauseoftimedifference–itwas2pmonaTuesdayin

California,10pminUK]

Mypointhereisthatweareallpartofthenewsecosystemnow.Ourmobiles

letustalktoourfriends,sure,buttheyalsonowmakeuspartofsharingnews,

trackingstories,andinteractingwithevents.Whatwe’llseeinthestoriesto

comeishowtheyalsochangehowwedefinesocialsolutionstoshared

problems.

I’mgoingtomakeonebasicargument–dataarethenewplatformforchange.

Wenowregularlyaccessanduseinformationatanentirelydifferentscaleand

pacethaneverbefore,duetothedevelopmentofrobustdatabases,search

engines,mobileaccesspoints(e.g.phones),andgeolocationservices.Inthe

courseofadaptingtothisrealityseveralthingsarebecomingclear:

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• Dataasnewplatformforchangeallowwholenewformsofenterpriseto

producesocialgoods.

• Weareonlyjustbeginningtoseethesenewforms–thinkabout

UshahidiandCrisisCamps,theroleTwitterplayedinthe2009Iranian

electionandKyrgyzstan’sonedayrevolutionandtheemergenceof

protestgroupssuchasPricedOuthereintheUK.

• Todate,wehavethoughtaboutphilanthropyandtechnologymostly

fromthefundraisingandcommunicationpointofview.Dataasanew

platformforchangeisaboutusingthetechnologytodefinethe

problemsanddevelopthesolutions–technologyaspartandparcelof

missionachievement,notjustforfundraising.

• Thedataasplatformviewshiftseverything–notjustenterpriseform.

o Itshiftswhereexpertiseandinformationlies–itiseverywhere,

notwithinanorganization.

o Byshiftingwhereexpertiselies,andallowingnewformsof

enterprise,italsodemandsnewformsofgovernance;

o Newformsofenterpriseandnewformsofgovernancedon’tfit

withinourexistingfinancingandregulatorystructures;

o Thisisonereasontheriseofsocialenterpriseandnetworksis

happeningnow.Thetwomajortrendsofthismoment–

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technologyandsocialenterprise–arenotcoincidental,theyare

linked.

o Newenterprises,newgovernance,newfinancingandnew

regulations–thosearethedomainsofinfluencewhere

technologyisfundamentallyshiftinghowphilanthropyworks.

Onecaveat.Knowledgeexpertsandinformationscientistsgetalotof

discussionoutofthedifferencebetweendata,informationandknowledge.I’m

notgoingtogothere.Iusedataandinformationinterchangeably.I’mtalking

aboutquantitativedataandqualitativedata–numbersandstories.I’mtalking

aboutbothrawdataandinterpretedandanalyzedinformation.Oneofthe

thingswe’llseeisthattheincreaseindata–numbers,patterns,trendsand

datasources–RSSfeeds,twitter,emailandblogs–hasonlyincreasedour

needforstorytelling.Weneedtomakesenseofthedata,weneedtouseit,we

needtotakeadvantageofittomakechangehappen.Datadon’tmakechange,

peoplemakechange.

Dataasthenewplatformforchange(slidetwo)

Thecurrentcommonmodelforchangeisbasedonorganizations.Nonprofits,

registeredcharities,multi‐lateralfundingagencies,governmentbodies,

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politicalparties.Theyarethedriversofchange,theissuersofmanifestos.

Theydooutreachtobringpeopleinorprovideservicestoclientsorpresent

arttoaudiencesordoresearchforothers.

Seeingthedataastheplatformchangesthis.[Slidethree]ConsiderUshahidi

asthecurrentoptimalexampleofthis.Ushahidigotitsstartintheelectionsin

Kenyaafewyearsback.Protestsbrokeoutinthecities,andactivistswanted

tobeabletotrackandreportonwhatwashappening.Theyrealizedthatthe

verypeopleinvolved,theprotestorsandbystanders,werealsothedata

source–usingtheirmobilephonestheycouldeasily“report”whatwas

happening.Theactivistssimplygatheredtheirtextmessagesintoasingle

repository–awebpage–thatcouldbeusedbyanyonetoseewhatwasgoing

on.Thosesendingtextscouldalsoseethemessagesfromothersinthearea.

Thoseoutsidetheregioncouldscrollthroughthemessagesandseewhatwas

goingon.Userswerereadersandtexters.Differentpeoplesawdifferent

patterns–buttherewasnocleardividinglinebetweentheoutsideandthe

inside–thepeoplesendingthemessageswerebothdatasourcesanddata

interpreters.

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Thissystemwasquicklyadaptedtootheruses–electionmonitoringin

dozensofcountries,forexample.ItgotitsbiggesttestfollowingtheHaiti

earthquake–thevolunteersworkingtostrengthentheUshahidisystem

realizedthattextmessagesfrompeopleinHaitiwouldbethemostvaluable

sourceofreal‐timeinformationtoguidereliefefforts.

Theyquicklyestablishedacommandcentertomanagethefloodoftexts,a

singletextcodeforpeopletouse,andletthenetworksofvolunteers,

newswatchers,mobilephoneusers,andreliefagenciesspreadtheword.

Withinhoursthesystemwasinplaceandreal‐time,ontheground

informationwasfloodingin.Watchingthepatternsofinformationdisplayed,

volunteersaroundtheworldorganizedtoproduceCreole–English

translationapplications,realtimemappingupdatesshowingthedamage,and

coordinationsystemswithgovernmentagenciesandnon‐governmentalrelief

organizations.

Expertiseandinformation–outsideandinside

WhoisUshahidi?ThevolunteersinKenyaandMassachusettswhostaffedthe

dataandwebsystems?ThepeopleonthegroundinHaiti,bothquakevictims

andaidworkers?Thegovernmentagenciesandrelieforganizationsthat

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startedusingthedatafromthesystemtocoordinatetheirwork?Theanswer

isalloftheabove.Ushahidiisalsoanadaptabletool–sincetheHaiti

earthquakethesystemhasbeenusedtopowerthe“SnowmaggedonCleanUp”

websitefortheJanuarysnowstormthatshutdownWashingtonDCandthe

“SudanVoteMonitor”forthenationalelectionsthattookplacethispast

Monday.

Otherorganizations,suchasWATCH,whichtrainscitizenstomonitorcourt

proceedingsortheDisasterAccountabilityProjecthelppeopleusetext

messagesandmobileemailstotracktheongoingworkofaidagencies.

Ushahidi“crowdsourcescrisisinformation.”Allovertheworldactivistsare

alsocrowdsourcingaccountabilityefforts,marketconditions,election

outcomes,andneighborhoodwatches.

Asaplatformforchange,thecrowdsourcedcrisisinformationmodelthatis

Ushahidishowsthatusersandusesforthesystemareasdiverseasthe

imagination.Ratherthananorganizationfocusedondeliveringasetof

services,Ushahidiisasetoftoolsthatcanbeadaptedtosituationsand

possibilitiesbyalmostanyone.Expertiseisinternalandexternal.Everyoneis

potentiallybothaproviderandaclient.Datapowerthechange.Themany

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differenteyesonthedatawillseedifferenttruths,actasself‐correcting

mechanisms,andalsoofferupthenext“aha”momentforanotherapplication

ofthetoolsandthedatadisplays.

Ushahidirepresentsmorethanjustthesocialapplicationsoftechnologyand

dataforusesotherthantheiroriginalintendedpurposes.Italsoshowsa

fundamentallynewwayofthinkingaboutsocialchallengesandproblem

solving.Themodelreliesontheendbeneficiaries–thequakevictimsorthe

voters–tomakethesystemwork.Itoperatesonasenseofscalepreviously

unimaginable–whilebothHaiti’searthquakeandtheDCsnowstormwere

fundamentallylocalevents,theprovideroftheservicewasremoteinboth

cases,andtheusersofthedatadisplayswerebothlocalresidentsand

interestedpartiesfromallovertheglobe.

[SlideFour]Recognizingthesesubtlebutimportantwaysthattechnologyhas

alteredourbehaviorandourexpectationsaboutinformationiskeyto

imaginingthekindsofnewsolutionsthatUshahidirepresents.Itmaybeas

sharpasshiftingfromapushtoapullmindset.Ratherthanorganizationsas

sourcesofexpertise,funding,andprogramsthatgetdelivered,or“pushed

out”intocommunities,beneficiariesandactivistsdrawtogether–are“pulled

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in”bytheirsharedinterestsandneeds,theyfundtogether,developsolutions

together,anddeploytoolsthatcanberepurposedandredeployed.

Thechangethatreallymatters–thedisruptivechange‐isabouthow

technologyshiftsourdefinitionsofproblemsandimaginationsofsolutions.

Newformsofenterprises

Ashiftofthismagnitude–oneinwhichexpertiseiseverywhereandmustbe

“pulledtogether,”solutionscanbeflexibleandscaleislikelytobeglobal‐is

notgoingtocomefromwithinourexistingcharitable,nonprofitor

philanthropicorganizations.Thesemightadaptsomeoftheseways,butthey

willalwaysbeapatchworkofadd‐ons.

Rather,wearealreadyseeingflexiblenetworkbasedefforts,builtforthetools

andmindsetsoftoday.CrisisCampsisoneexample.Aloosenetworkoflocal

volunteerefforts,CrisisCampstookoffaftertheHaitiearthquake.Theywere

organizedincitiesfromLondontoBogota,OttawatoSanJose.Volunteers

camefromtechfirms,marketingcompanies,lawfirms,charitiesandevery

walkoflife.Eachcampusedasharedtemplatetoidentifyprojectsofinterest,

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activitiesaccomplished,teamassignmentsandsoon.TheyworkedonCreole‐

Englishtranslationapplications,“wehave,weneed”databasematching

systems,andimagetaggingprojects.Workstartedinonetimezonemightbe

completedinanother,asthevolunteersuploadedtheiraccomplishmentstoa

sharedwebsite,passedontheirnotes,andlefttheworktothenextgroup.

Twitter,blogs,andawikikepteveryoneup‐to‐date.Donationsofspace,food

andcaffeinekepteveryoneworking.Therewasnononprofitstatus,no

fundraisingcampaign,noboardofdirectors–justthemission.

Theseloosenetworksareeffectivefortime‐limitedprojects.Howtheywill

morphoradjustforongoingeffortsremainstobeseen.Thattheywillnotall

organizeintocharitableorganizationsisasurebethowever,astheblending

ofsocialimpactwithmarket‐basedenterprisesisalreadyaviablealternative.

Itisnotcoincidencethatthisdiscussionishappeningconcurrentwiththe

SkollWorldForum–probablythepre‐eminentglobalgatheringofsocial

entrepreneurs.

Theseareindividualsandenterprisesthathavealreadybuckedthe“old

standard”fordoingthings.[Slidefive]Theirinterestsinscale,systemic

solutions,andcross‐sectorthinkingarenottechnology‐dependent,buttheir

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pursuitofdifferentsolutionstopersistentproblemshasmadethemvery

amenabletothepossibilitiesoftechnology.Fromearlyeffortssuchas

Benetech–asocialpurposetechnologycompany–tothenewestSkoll

awardeessuchasVisionSpring–whereverindividualsarelookingforlarge‐

scalesolutionstosocialchallengestheyarefindingtechnologyiscoretotheir

mission.

Inthecaseofsocialenterprise,technologyisalsocoretothefinancing

structuresthataredeveloping.Themission‐basedfocusofsocialenterprise

requiresadifferentstandardofmeasurementthanwaspreviouslyaskedor

expectedofsocialpurposeorganizations.Themeasurementsthemselvesand

thetoolsforgatheringandreportingtheminstandardizedfashionshave

reliedondatabases,cloud‐basedstorageandreportingsites,and,

increasingly,mobileapplicationsthatcanengageparticipantsasevaluation

dataproviders.

Thesetoolsareleadingtoweb‐basedexchangesthatwillallowfinancial

investmentsinsocialenterprises.Theyareafairlynaturalevolutionofthelast

decade’sriseinonlinegivingmarketplaces–data‐richrepositoriesabout

socialprojects.[SlideSix–LongTailofData]

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Wearebeginningtoseethesemarketplacesnotonlyasplaceswheredata

aboutorganizationsisusedtodrivetransactionalsupport,butasgenerators

ofdataaboutthepatternsandtrendsofthoseprojects,humanconditions,

and,yes,philanthropicsupport.Justasthephonehasbecomeahandheld

computer,thelastdecade’sinvestmentinonlinegivingmarketplacesis

beginningtoyieldfruitasthenew“infostructure”ofsocialgoods.Wearenow

seeing–inAidDataandIATI–theInternationalAidTransparencyInitiative–

effortstominethedatatrailthatthesetransactionsleavewaystoimprovethe

workitself.

Socialgoodsnowcomefromnonprofits,charities,socialbusinesses,social

enterprises,publicagenciesandinformalnonprofits.BenMetz,formerlyof

ASHOKAUK,justfinishedareportontheUKlandscapeforsocialenterprise

thatshowshowdiversethesystem–justofsocialenterprise,justinthis

country–hasbecome.Ihighlyrecommendit–it’satbenmetz.org.

Idon’twanttooverstatethis,butIthinkitisimportanttoconsiderthe

disruptivenatureoftechnologyandthediversificationsofformsfor

producingsocialgoodsasrelatedphenomena,notasdistinct,paralleltrends.

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Theybothreflectnewwaysoforganizingforchange.Theyaremutually

influential–socialenterprisesoftenfocusonsustainablebusinessmodelsfor

deliveringanewtechnologyandnewtechnologiesareincreasinglyintegrated

intothecoreworkandstructureofnewsocialenterprises.Thetwomajor

trendsofthismoment–technologyandsocialenterprise–arenot

coincidentaltheyarelinked.Andtheymultiplythedisruptiveinfluenceof

eachother.

Newformsofgovernance

Socialenterprisesandinformal,technologybasednetworksoperate

differentlythanregisteredcharitiesandnonprofitorganizations.Yes,some

nonprofitsandcharitiesareadaptingthetechnologiestotheirwork–and

yourpositionpapersforthisconferenceillustrateboththeextentand

limitationsofthoseadaptations.

Butnetworksrequiredistributedgovernance.Centralizeddecision‐making,

boardsofdirectors,andhierarchicalorganizationalformsdonotlend

themselveswelltorapidlydeploying,betaversionsoftwareforA/Btestingor

crowdsourcediteration.Messagecontroldoesn’tworkwellinanageofsocial

networks,twitter,andremixing.

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Thislackoffitbetweentraditionalstructuresandemergingpracticesmostly

explainstheepisodicpaceofadoptionsofar.Weareonlyjustbeginningtosee

actualexamplesofnewgovernancestructures–muchmorecommonare

examplesoffailedexperimentsorpatchworkhybrids.[SlideSeven–

governance]

Sofar,themostimportantshiftingovernancestructuresthatwecanpointto

arethoseunderpinnedbythecommonsmovement–andspecificallythose

poweredbytheCreativeCommonslicensingstructure.Wholenewwaysof

addressingcertainsharedproblemsarebeginningtocropupusingCreative

Commonsastheorganizingprinciple.WecanseethisintheScienceCommons

sharedpublishinganddataefforts,CrisisCommonsthatbirthedthe

CrisisCampsdiscussedearlier,andcrowd‐managedresourcessuchasthe

WeAreMediaprojectlaunchedbytheNTENafewyearsago.Eachofthese

effortswasbuiltaroundtheethosofsharingandsharingalike–usingwhatis

madepublicandcontributingwhatyoucreate–thatisattheheartofthe

CreativeCommonsmovement.

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Sowherearewe?Technologyisgivingusnewwaysofdefiningexpertiseand

newwaysofdoingbusiness.Itispromptingustocreatenewformsof

enterprise,andmultiplyingthereachofsomeofthosenewforms.Ithas

helpedusestablishglobalreachasthenewstandard.[SlideEight–Global

Reach]Anditisshiftinghowwegovernourworkandtheenterpriseswedo

create.

Ifyouarestillwithmetothispoint,andagreetechnologyhashelpedus

fundamentallydisruptphilanthropyandthesocialsector,thenIhopeyou’ll

hangonwhileIexploretheimplicationsofthisforhowwefinancethework

andhowweregulatethesector.

Newfinancingandregulatorystructures

Thesocialenterprisemovementisgrowinghandinglovewithinnovationsin

finance.[SlideNine­newformsoffinance]Fromsocialventurefunds,

advisoryservices,newfinanceresearchandnewimpactinvestingexchanges

theuniverseoffinancingoptionsforsocialgoodhasnotyetmatured,butitis

verymuchpastitsinfancy.

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Allofthesefinancingformsrequiredifferenttypesofmeasurementand

reportingthannonprofitsproduce.Investorswanttobeabletotrackand

comparesocialimpactaswellasfinancialreturn–thisdemandhassparked

twodecade’sworthofinnovation,iterationandexperimentationintracking

anddocumentationofsocialreturns.

Themostrecentandrobustofthoseexperimentsandprototypesarefully

technology‐enabledandweb‐designed.Whetheryouaretalkingabout

AcumenFund’sPulsesystemorBLabs’auditsystemthesesystemsfor

measuringsocialreturnaredatabasedrivenandarestoredinthecloudfor

globalsharingandaccess.Individualswhoareworkingontheseearlyefforts

havelong‐termdesignsonestablishingindustrystandards,impactindices,

andagloballynetworked,datadrivensystemforinformingentrepreneurs,

investors,andportfoliosofsocialpurposeenterprises.

Theinvestmentexchangesareparticularlynotablefortheirassumptionsand

usesoftechnology.Morethanjusttransactionprocessingplatforms,these

exchangesaredesignedtouseandgeneratethekindsofsocialreturndata

thatcanchangehowwefinance,deliver,anddistributesocialgoods.They

integrateexistingindicesandknowledgesourceswithfinancialtransactions

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andportfoliotools,allowforanalysisofaggregateddatasobenchmarking

becomespossible,andwill–ifsuccessful–generateindustryspecificmetrics

aboutquantityandqualityofsocialreturns.

Newenterprises,newgovernance,newfinancingandnewregulations

Whetherornottheseeffortswillsucceedisthebigquestion,ofcourse.While

wecan’tknowtheanswerforsurenow,weknowthatthisisthedirection

theseeffortsareheaded.

Alongtheway,theymayfaceplentyofresistance.Inmyopinion,themost

likelybarriertotheirsuccessisnotinstitutionalsluggishness,sector

skepticism,ormarketdownturns.Itisregulatoryresistance,uncertaintyand

stasis.

AlmostalloftheexamplesIhavehighlightedinthispresentation–allofthe

storiesI’vetoldtoillustratemydata–havetakenplaceatthemarginsorin

theloopholesoftheexistingregulatoryframeworksthatguidephilanthropy.

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• Ushahidifacedamajorobstacletogrowthwhenitcouldn’traise

foundationfundsbecauseitwasn’taregisterednonprofit.

• SocialenterprisesintheUKhavesucceededbecauseofpolicyand

governmentsupport–intheStates,incontrast,theeffortstoaccredit

socialpurposebusinessesisjustgettingofftheground.Asthesenew

formstakeholdinthecorporatecode–BcorporationsandL3Cssofar

beingthemostsuccessfulintheStates–thenextstepwillbethetax

code.Astoughasthecorporatecoderevisionshavebeen,trustme,the

fightwillgetuglyandpoliticalasitshiftstotheissueoftaxexemptions

anddeductions.

• Fromagovernanceperspective,thecommonsmovementhasmuch

moresupportandrecognitionaroundtheworldthanitdoesyetinthe

States.

• Opendataaccessandnetneutralitymaywellbethekeypolicyissues

forthesocialsectorinthenextfewyears–andveryfeworganizations,

atleastintheStates–areevenawareofthesedomains.

Whatisveryclearisthatthediversityofenterprisesandthenewtypesof

financingthatnowshapeoursocialsectordonotfitneatlyintotheregulatory

boxesthatwehavebuiltoverthecenturies.Thenumberofpolicydomains

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thatmatterhasexploded–fromtaxandcorporatecodestoinvesting

regulations,intellectualpropertylaw,governmentdataaccess,andglobal

exchangerates.[Slideten–policiesthatmatter]

ThismapshowsaninitialbraindumpthatIdidwithseveralcolleagueslast

yearattheSocialCapitalMarketsconference–itisonlineandopenforediting

byanyone.I’musingthemaptotrytocreateaUSversionofBenMetzUK

map.MycolleaguesandIatStanfordUniversityintendtouseittolauncha

globalnetworkofpolicyactors,eachofwhomwouldcontributethedomain

informationfortheirnationorregionintoasingle,combined,open,global

resource.Thisisnottosaywecanshapethepoliciesonaglobalscale‐but

wedoknowwedon’tyetevenknowwheretobegin.Ourintentionisthatthe

globalpolicy‐mappingnetworkwillatleastgetusorientedintheright

directions.

Conclusion[Finalslide]

Allinall,therealpotentialofe‐philanthropyisaboutmuchmorethansimply

usingemailortwittertoraisemoneyforsocialgoods.Thosechanges–slow

astheiradaptionmayseem–willcertainlycome.Ironically,onereason

nonprofitsandcharitiesmayseemsoslowinadaptingtechnologyto

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fundraisingandcommunicationsmaybebecausetheseactivitiesarerevenue‐

criticalbutnotmissioncritical.

Mostoftheresearchonsocialsectororganizationsandtechnologyhas

focusedonfundraisingandcommunicationsuses.Observersarerighttonote

thegreatpotential–mostlyuntapped–ofthesetoolsforcharitiesand

nonprofits.Thequestionsraisedinseveralofthepositionpapers–aboutthe

slowuptakeofthesetools,thelimitedreachofonlinefundraising,thelackof

realcreativitybycharitiesintakinguptechnology–areallspotonquestions.

However,theverynatureofthequestionmayholdtheanswer.Nonprofits

mayhavebeenslowertotakeuptechnologyforfundraisingthanonemight

expect,becausefundraisingisnotthecorepurposeoftheenterprises.

Thinkaboutthenewspaperbusiness,recordingindustry,andevenlibraries.

Therearethreesectorsonwhichdigitaltechnologyhasclearlyupendedthe

applecartforcorepractice.Allthreeofthemwereslowtoadapttodigital

technology–evenasitclearlythreatenedtheircoreservices.

However,onecanarguethatlibrarieshavedonethebestjobofthethreeof

fullyadaptingtheircoreservicestothedigitalage.Ironically,wheremany

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predictedthatsearchengineswouldmakelibrariansobsoleteithasonly

madethemmorenecessary.WherewethoughtInternetaccesswouldmake

booklendingpassélibrarieshaveinsteadbecomevitalonrampstothedigital

ageincommunitiesaroundtheworld.Librariansjumpedintotechnology,and

areoftenleadingtheway,becausethedigitalage’smostimmediateinfluence

wasnotontheirfinancingstreamsbutontheircoreservices.

Ontheotherhand,newspapersandthemusicbusinesshavebeenmuch

slower,andmanywouldargue,lesssuccessful,indealingwiththedigital

transition.Slowtoadapttechnologyatall,whentheyfinallyshiftedtoweb‐

basednewssitesandtheiTunesstoreitwasinresponsetorevenueconcerns,

nottothecoreserviceofnewsgatheringormusiccreation.Thesetwo

industriesareonlynow–morethanadecadepastfreeonlineclassifiedsand

freemusicsharing–beguntoinvestindigitaltoolsforbetternewssourcing

andwriting,betterstorytelling,betterartistexposure,creativeexpression,

andfanengagement.

Lookedatinthisway,the“slowness”ofnonprofitsandcharitiestofully

engagewithdigitaltechnologyislessdistinctive–theyareactuallyingood

companywithseveralmajorcommercialindustries.

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Wheretherealinnovationlies–wheretherealpotentialforchangecomes

from–isinlookingbeyondtherevenueandoutreachapplicationsofthese

toolsandtowardthoseenterprisesthataredefiningnewproblemsand

solutionsbecauseoftheworldviewthatdigitaltechnologyenables.The

potentialtobeunleashedcomesnotfromthemerefactthatwenowcarry

phonesinourpockets,butfromthewaysweusethosephones.Fromthetools

wedevelopbecausewecarryphonesthatwedon’ttalkon,knowwhois

callingbutnotwheretheyare,andfromourrecognitionthatthephones

themselvesserveasgeolocatingdevices.Inotherwords,thepotentialtobe

unleashedisnotfoundinthephoneitself,butinthebehaviorsitengenders.

Similarly,forthesocialsector,thepotentialtobeunleashedisnotfoundin

usingmobilephonestoraisemoneybutfromusinggeolocating

communicationservicestocoordinatedisasterrelief.It’snotthetechnology,

butwhatwedowithitthatisdisruptive.

Thankyou.

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