We at GoPhilanthropic have been reading up on the changing face of Philanthropy– which is no longer confined to the ultra-wealthy or signifies writing checks to large charities. Click on the above title for a super article… Women are now more engaged in ever in giving back and have created powerful means to do so, from the Women Moving Millions organization (rasied over $150M) to Women for Women International, and Dining for Women – a 90-chapter women’s giving circle based on monthly pot-luck dinners. More importantly perhaps is that “philanthropists,” (and we believe this word is accessible to all of us) are wanting to be more engaged in the projects they support and more creative with the ways in which contributions are used–focusing more on sustainable projects, micro-finance programs, vocational training etc.. as opposed to hand-outs/aid. They are searching for programs with less strings attached and where they see clearly the result of their support…i.e donating to grassroots organziations with much less administration and bureaucracy allowing them to react to the needs of impoverished communities more efficiently.

4765_86577447853_664492853_1912172_4332215_n
How does this relate to what we do? Our concept of travel philanthropy is one where you can see for yourself the value of your contribution by visiting the program yourself while you travel and then meeting the individuals directly benefitting from the support (whether it is a $25 backpack filled with supplies or a $10,000 classroom donation….) The programs we have linked with around the world are community-based grassroots foundations with little administration–many of them run on shoestring and the value of our traveler contributions are seen as clear as day. When travelers donate a water well in Cambodia, the well goes in right away and villagers are benefitting from clean water within the month! Did it take a wealthy philanthropist in the traditional sense for this to happen? It simply took $350 donated by a GoPhilanthropic traveler who cares about humanity. The future of philanthroy is most certainly changing…