Northern Virginia is behind in the current trend in philanthropy - Let’s catch up!

In a previous blog I mentioned how difficult it is to give money away. Karen Goff’s story 1 that gave birth to this blog, mentioned that the GCH is awarding a $25,000 grant for our tenth anniversary. If giving away $5000 grants like we have always done is hard, giving $25,000 is even more so!

What is special about what we are calling the “Anniversary Grant” is not that it is a bigger amount, but that we want to incorporate the new trends in social innovation – “Collective Impact” - as described in the Stanford Social Review2, and spoken about in the book  “Do More Than Give3”.  Another good source, for those that do not want to read as much, is the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s blog4.

In a nutshell, the message is that one issue alone does not bring about a complex social problem. Therefore one organization alone cannot solve it either. Social problem solving should be approached as a regional collaborative effort – business, nonprofits, government and the community.

We are behind this trend in Northern Virginia. Let’s catch up!

The GCH would like this larger grant to foster innovation and collaboration among nonprofits, business and the community.

In order to find good candidates that actually fit that model of “Collective Impact,” much research and prompting has to be done, which is why we are extending our net wide through meetings, blogs, and outreach.

Among the possible candidates is the initial funding for an Elderly Rides Scheduling program (the subject of my previous post) to support and serve the transportation needs of the population that is aging in place. Surveys show that (besides health care) this is the number one need for this growing population. If we can make this project happen, it might turn out to be one of the first collaborations “across the Potomac River” in the area’s history, plus it will place Fairfax County just ahead of the “silver tsunami” of baby-boomers aging in place.

More anniversary grant candidates to come in future blogs – and as always check our website www.givingcircleofhope.org to see how we are always having Fun with a Purpose.

Relevant links:

1. http://reston.patch.com/articles/reston-giving-circle-plans-big-award-for-14

2.http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/embracing_emergence_how_collective_impact_addresses_complexity

3. http://www.domorethangivebook.com

4. http://effectivephilanthropy.wordpress.com.