Catalytic Philanthropy
Catalytic philanthropy, which is to be the Telecom Foundation’s modus operandi, is a relatively recent remodelling of traditional charity giving that attempts to change the way funders think about achieving social impact.
According to Mark R Kramer, writing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, catalytic philanthropists do four things that are in sharp contrast to traditional charity or grant makers:
- they have the ambition to change the world and the courage to accept responsibility for achieving the results they seek;
- they engage others in a compelling campaign, empowering stakeholders and creating the conditions for collaboration and innovation;
- they use all of the tools available to create change, including unconventional ones from outside the not-for-profit sector; and
- they create actionable knowledge to improve their own effectiveness and to influence the behaviour of others
Read more about what catalytic philanthropy means to the Telecom Foundation team here.
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What is it?
In short, catalytic philanthropy is aimed at being the catalyst for real social change. Unlike traditional philanthropy, which sees donors simply write cheques to the charitable sector in exchange for a certain amount of visibility in the community (and the resulting “feel good” effect the donor’s customers might take from the association) catalytic philanthropy requires a lot more than just providing funds.
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Where did it come from?
The term catalytic philanthropy was termed by philanthropy expert, and Harvard University senior fellow, Mark Kramer, writing about the efforts of Thomas Siebel, the founder of multi-billion dollar company Siebel Software.
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Plans underway at the Telecom Foundation
The Telecom Foundation has decided that it will identify a specific social change initiative with which it can engage, in the hopes of really ‘moving the needle’ on a given issue. The Foundation is still in the process of being established, and is currently focused on establishing its board, governance, executive team and funding. Next it plans to research areas of social need. It has, however, decided the social need will be something that will ultimately benefit Kiwi kids.