3 ways to drive everyday giving from Gates’ Greater Giving Summit

Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the largest private foundation in the world, have spent years mobilizing other billionaires to give more to charity. In 2009, they joined Warren Buffett to launch the Giving Pledge, which asks billionaires to commit half their wealth to charity. More than 219 people from 25 countries have signed on. But the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is increasingly targeting another group of donors it calls “everyday givers.” Individual donations make up the majority of charitable giving in the United States, representing 70% of all giving, Gates noted Tuesday at the launch of the Gates Foundation’s biennial Greater Giving Summit. The invitation-only event, which is virtual this year, will continue with sessions in March, April, and May. Everyday givers make a big impact beyond their dollars, Gates said. They support charitable causes by volunteering, serving on nonprofit boards, and giving feedback. “If you could double either the big givers or the everyday givers, I’d pick the everyday givers, because of that deep engagement,” Gates said, adding: “We want to double both. We’re big fans of all kinds of philanthropy.” As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofit organizations faced unprecedented fundraising challenges as demand for their services soared. The theme of this year’s summit, “React, Transform, Rebound,” serves as a call to action to reimagine charitable giving moving forward, said Robert Rosen, director of the philanthropic partnerships team at the Gates Foundation. He invited event attendees to join the foundation’s Giving By All initiative in accelerating the quality and quantity of giving around the world. “We hope other donors will fund not just needs, but also infrastructure for the sector that makes it possible to serve those needs,” Rosen said. Here are three ways to increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of everyday giving: Leverage digital tools Gates pointed to the nonprofit organization HasanaH as an example of how digital tools can help donors learn about needs, connect with causes they might consider supporting and see the impact of their giving. HasanaH, whose name means “good deed,” aims to channel more Islamic philanthropic capital, which totals an estimated $1 trillion annually, toward the Sustainable Development Goals. The digital platform screens and presents development and humanitarian causes to donors seeking improved transparency and impact in their giving. While HasanaH serves people of all faiths, it provides a unique service to Muslim donors, complying with Islamic laws and allowing donors, including the growing digital youth demographic, to track their contributions in line with their faith. The group is one of the finalists of the Reimagine Charitable Giving Challenge, a Giving By All contest to increase everyday giving. It was launched by the design firm IDEO in partnership with the Gates Foundation and Better Giving Studio. Bill and Melinda Gates called for other donors to join them in their efforts to support digital product innovations for everyday givers. “I would say we’re in early days,” Bill Gates said. “I don’t think we’re yet where we need to be.” Prioritize equity A focus of this year’s summit seems to be not only how to increase the quality and quantity of giving, but also the diversity of donors. To ensure everyone gets to participate in everyday giving, the sector needs to be more inclusive, event participants said. While many of the finalists of the Reimagine Charitable Giving Challenge are focused on increasing the diversity of donors, the challenge itself could have been designed more equitably, said Ciciley Moore, program officer at the Kellogg Foundation. She noted how an emphasis on a sprint timeline and evidence-based solutions might have limited the scope of who applied. “When the timeline is short and the requirements for evidence high, we have to think about who is going to be most prepared to take advantage of this opportunity and how this might disadvantage communities that have been historically marginalized,” Moore said. She noted how acknowledging historic barriers, building relationships within communities, and providing pre-application support could have attracted more diverse applicants to the challenge. Support giving infrastructure The stakes for this year’s giving summit could not be higher, Rosen said. “Nonprofits are stressed to the max, but the needs continue to grow,” he said. “Donors are stepping up but there is room for improvement in how those resources flow. The need for change is all around us.” There is no shortage of areas where philanthropy plays a critical role, Rosen said, mentioning the pandemic, climate change, threats to democracy, and the need to change unjust systems. But while there is room for improvement in everyday giving globally, the charitable sector in the United States is far ahead of that in many other countries. “In some countries, the willingness to give exceeds the capacity of the sector,” Gates said. Donors focused on causes outside the U.S. might consider ways to strengthen the capacity of nonprofits and build the charitable giving ecosystem in those contexts, paying special attention to the role community foundations can play. “Large givers can help bootstrap the sector,” Gates said.