The web is for giving and not forgetting

For many of us, the urge to do something helpful immediately is incredibly powerful. That’s why there were literally lines around the block of the American Red Cross blood donation centre in Manhattan on 9/11.

In past crises, we’ve seen e-philanthropy used predominantly for that immediate, heartfelt gesture. Online giving surges after a catastrophe, and then subsides. Some donors do their year-end giving online – but of course that’s just using the internet as a substitute for the mail service. It’s not changing the amount or direction of funding at all.

I’m hopeful, though, that this time online and cell phone donors will be willing to return to e-philanthropy to fund long-term reconstruction for Haiti (sadly, it might be more accurate to call it construction than reconstruction, given what Haiti has lacked for so long, from a building code to schools to hospitals). If we’ve learned anything from our experiences with how philanthropy can make a difference following a massive disaster, it’s that the immediate needs are quickly overshadowed by the more time-consuming, expensive and uncertain work of creating infrastructure, economic development, environmental protection, and social justice. And that’s where e-philanthropy has often faded away.

What’s different this time? The tremendous volume, so to speak, of blogs, wikis, tweets and social networks that are devoted to philanthropy and social change, from the most theoretical discussions about the nature of generosity to the school kids gathering money for a cause that resonates with them. The opportunity in this case, I believe, is for the many blogs and social networking sites to keep Haiti’s progress as part of the fantastically vigorous conversation, convening and communal action that lives on the web. 

This may be more of a call to action than a prediction, of course. And indeed, I do urge my colleagues in philanthropy to use these tools to keep the issues that need philanthropy in front of their audiences for the longer term, and not just for a one-time response. If e-philanthropy is going to have a future, it needs to be more than just a way to make a one-time donation, or as a substitute for a stamped envelope. It needs to be used for sustained giving, for exchanges of strategic assessments, for information sharing about outcomes and opportunities, for coordination and collaboration. We have the greatest set of tools the world has ever seen to solve problems together. Let’s get started on that.

Melissa A. Berman is president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.  www.rockpa.org

© 2010, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.