Peer

This concept is the result of a Better Giving Studio month-long collaborative sprint focusing on Equitable Curation which you can learn more about in this article. You can read the brief for more context and to see who was on the team.

Why BGS is Excited

Curation shows up in many forms – from the list order on donation platforms to the choice of which nonprofit is highlighted at the supermarket check-out stand. In each case it involves making decisions around which organizations to include or disinclude – a moment of advantage and power. The below concept was developed to help reduce inequities in giving sector curation which you can learn more about in the NCRP Equity in Philanthropy Guide and Lessons from GiveList.

• It designs for relationships not transactions.
• It helps facilitate deeper connections over quick one-time donations.
• It offloads some work from organizations to empower communities as advocates.

The Opportunity

With so many charitable organizations and causes that need support, it can be overwhelming for even an experienced donor to choose where to direct their donations. Donors want to feel emotionally connected to a cause and are looking for something more than a transactional experience. For small organizations, reaching out to and nurturing these small donors can take more people-hours than their donations justify. Peer taps the donor community to leverage their existing relationships and lets donors advocate for the causes and organizations they care about.

The Concept

Sometimes it’s not a fundraising campaign that inspires people to give. Sometimes it’s reading an article, viewing a documentary, or witnessing first-hand a particular injustice. In situations like this, some people are deeply moved but unsure of how they can make a difference. This is what happened to Anita. 

Anita logs on to the Peer platform. She searches directly for the cause she’s interested in, then searches for friends to see which causes and organizations they’re supporting. One of them, Sam, has donated to an organization related to the issue she’d like to support. She reads about why Sam chose this particular organization and even orders a book on the subject that Sam recommends. She and Sam connect over their shared interest, deepening their relationship with each other and the cause they support. 

Peer lets Sam know that Anita has made a donation, acknowledging his and Anita’s impact. Because of Anita’s donation, Peer gives him “free money” to donate to another cause, to help catalyze more donations. Sam and Anita can choose to share their philanthropic journey with just their friends or with the broader public to inspire even more giving.

What Do You Think?

Are you working on something similar? Have feedback to give us or insights that we should know about related to this exploratory concept? Did you test out this idea, and how did it go? We’d love to hear from you! Please write us a note at [email protected]