Let’s Talk About Technology

As technology continues to radically transform how people shop, plan, work and communicate, some are exploring the potential impact technology could have on the philanthropic field. Our sector has not been a player in the technological transformation of the 21st century. What opportunities are we missing?

The session, Technology Task Force Town Hall Meeting, was chaired by Akhtar Badshah, senior director of Global Community Affairs at Microsoft, who is leading a task force to examine this question for the Council on Foundations.

With 75,000 private, independent and operating foundations, nearly 800 community foundations and thousands of corporate foundations and giving programs, our field is vast and varied in its size, scope and focus. One of our strengths is the diversity of values, styles and programs, and yet, that diversity keeps us fragmented and misunderstood by the public and government. Can technology help us?

What are some ways we can collectively—and dramatically—change the way we work together and affect society?

Just imagine the impact technology and the Council could have on any one of the following areas:

• collecting and sharing best practices from and with the field
• creating common online grant applications to multiple funders
• advocating on issues to strengthen our voice in government
• communicating individual and collective stories from our field to a public that largely does not know us
• embracing higher standards of transparency to promote trust, understanding and feedback
• providing universal broadband access

During the session, some participants spoke about how technology is similar to an annual audit—the last thing an executive director or trustee wants to work on given other demands. So while the discussion was broad and strategic, some of us found it helpful to hear about examples of technological innovation.

• A transformational leap in the field of micro lending comes from Kiva, which uses technology to link donors and recipients. With one click from your laptop, you can connect with a woman in Nepal who needs a small loan to support her small business, which helps her feed her family. More than 3000 people have loaned money through Kiva to 3000 small business owners in remote places around the world. Kiva is building a social and economic network that spans the globe.
• This week there was a lot of buzz around Zynga—an online game site that posted a Haiti Relief Fund on its welcome page. The organization raised $1.5 million in five days—highlighting the power of networks that are linked through technology.
• A third example I heard this week was around the popular Web site Craigslist. People used the site to search for (and found) relatives after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

These are all great examples but where are we as a field in the innovative use of technology? Apparently the conversation has just begun.

To continue, Akhtar Badshah encouraged us to look for more sessions on technology at the April 2010 Council on Foundations’ Annual Conference in Denver.

Nina Smart is with the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation.