PROMOTING PHILANTHROPY

Promoting Philanthropy includes charities that support other charities in various ways — through grantmaking, providing technical expertise (e.g., computer know-how), volunteers, or material gifts such as clothing or toys, in order to strengthen those beneficiary organizations’ programs. This Catalogue is certainly a clear example; community foundations are another — raising funds to manage for grants to charities within their regions, to enhance the quality of life of their communities. This is an emerging field for the new paradigm.

In 2003-4, Massachusetts had only 36 charities promoting philanthropy, with budgets under $3 million and income over $25,000 — roughly 1.2% of all charities, with 1.6% ($27.9 million) of the total income of charities this size. The group includes five community foundations, of the 14 or so in Massachusetts in 2003-4, not including the three new ones this year and the largest ones.

From the 1930s through the ’60s, only one charity was added to the group each decade; by 1969 there were only four. Even in the ’70s only two were added; then in the ’80s the growth began, with eight additions (total: 14); in the ’90s 15 were added (total: 29); with seven more so far in this century. Accelerating growth will continue.

The fiscal structure of these 36 is that only two have incomes above $2 million; 11 are at $1-2 million; five at $500,000-999,000; 14 from $100,000-499,000; and four bring in less than $100,000.

So this is a field in which donors can easily make a difference, but in which that difference will be leveraged by helping other charities to grow. In a time of paradigm-shift, investments in change have the wind at their back.