Posted on 29th October 2009
A free online resource to be launched next Monday, 16th November 2009, aims to help donors make a bigger impact by highlighting top-performing non-profits in the US that have been recommended by sector experts and by enabling donors to pool their resources to support these organisations.
Philanthropedia is funded by the Hewlett Foundation and uses panels of foundation professionals, academics and non-profit executives to identify some of the best non-profits working in specific areas. To date 261 experts have highlighted 36 top-performing non-profits in three sectors: climate change and education throughout the US, and homelessness organisations in the Bay Area of California. Within the next few weeks it will release the results of research on microfinance organisations, which will have an international scope.
Deyan Vitanov, CEO of Philanthropedia, told Philanthropy UK that donors often lack reliable information on non-profit performance: “Philanthropedia is exciting because it gives donors a unique insight into the impact that top-performing non-profits have from a varied body of experts that they couldn’t otherwise access.”
Donors can give to individual recommended organisations or to all of the recommended non-profits within a sector, through an ‘expert mutual fund’. This allocates money to each organisation according to the experts’ recommendations.
Vitanov says that Philanthropedia is looking to increase its coverage and aims to add eight new sectors to the website in the next year.
“It is unfortunate that the world economic crisis has happened but it is a good time for donors who want to make an impact and feel confident that their money is supporting great non-profits," he says.
Donors can create a Philanthropedia profile to show their support for a project and their reasons for giving. The organisation also plans to introduce a ‘gift card’ service so that users can spread the word to friends with a gift that lets them choose to support any of the recommended non-profit organisations.
