Conference Notebook

May 06, 2008

'Flipping the Funnel' With New Online Tools

At the Council on Foundation’s conference session on “philanthropy 2.0,” speakers delved into ways organizations can use social networking sites and other interactive online features to reshape activism and fund raising.

Rupa Modi, East Coast development manager for Kiva, in San Francisco, spoke of her organization’s rapid success as the first person-to-person micro-lending Web site. Kiva — which seeks to create an “addictive” experience by replicating aspects of sites like Amazon and Facebook — has enabled more than $25-million to be lent to needy borrowers in its three years of existence.

Ms. Modi says the appeal of the site comes from user profiles of both lenders and borrowers (who are first vetted by partnering microfinance groups). The sites feature photos and short biographies, frequently updated news stories, and other interactive features. Kiva also uses a technique known as “crowdsourcing,” drawing newcomers through Evites, parties, and Facebook.

Joe Green, founder of Facebook Causes, says members of the social networking site can create a profile of a cause or group they support and then invite their friends to donate to it or get involved in its activities. Mr. Green said that he sees this technology as a way to “bring back peer-to-peer fund raising.”

With over 100,000 causes created in under a year by Facebook users, 12 million participants use the Causes application and have raised $2.5-million.

Michael D. Smith, director of social investment at the Case Foundation, says that one of the great things about these online tools is that they invert the normal top-down mode of philanthropy, “flipping the funnel” and “giving grantees and stakeholders a chance to drive the machine.”

— Audrey Hill

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'Flipping the Funnel' With New Online Tools