The Future is You: Philanthropy in the 21st Century

posted by
Katie Berta,
Graduate Assistant
ASU Lodestar Center

During a 2007 TED talk, Katherine Fulton discussed the ways philanthropy is evolving — becoming faster, bigger, and more effective — and explained what you can do to keep up. In her discussion, she shares the results of Looking Out for the Future: An Orientation for Twenty-first Century Philanthropists, her report that "shows you how long-term trends are combining to create a new reality for every gift and every giver."

Most of all, Fulton's speech and the results of Looking Out for the Future seem to address two core questions that philanthropic organizations must deal with in the twenty-first century — how can we most effectively use the internet to reach possible givers, volunteers, and collaborators, and how do we deal with social issues in a society that is increasingly consumer driven? Fulton poses five examples of how innovators are working with these issues, trends that give rise to what she calls "the democratization of philanthropy."

Overall, we come away hopeful about what this new connectedness can afford us. Certainly, we must ask ourselves how we can best take advantage of the "new moral hunger that is growing" because of a world that is more self-aware than ever before.

In case you missed her talk when it debuted on the TED website, check it out below.