The Platformisation of Philanthropy

Send us a text

In this episode we take a look at the growing prevalence of "platform philanthropy" (i.e. giving and organising via online platforms) and the opportunities and challenges this presents. Including:

• The rise of the platform economy & the current state of platform philanthropy
• Are we seeing a shift from dedicated platforms for giving, towards commercial organisations adding giving functionality to their existing platforms?
• How is the growing use of direct payment platforms like CashApp and Venmo affecting philanthropy?
• Who owns the the platforms we use for giving and what drives them?
• Are there risks to our growing dependence on platforms?
• How do platforms shape our choices when it comes to giving?
• What can the recent controversies over Spotify and the Joe Rogan podcast, and GoFundMe withholding donations to the Freedom Convoy, tell us about the responsibilities that platforms bear regarding the organisations they enable people to give to?
• Is platform technology bringing us full-circle back to the traditional model of person-to-person giving? What opportunities and what risks does this present?
• Why does the history of Victorian voting charities have to tell us about the potential risks of bias in crowdfunding and P2P giving?
• Will perverse incentives within the "attention economy" lead to new challenges for CSOs?
• Will platforms and the rise of Web3 lead to more emphasis on decentralised forms of organising in civil society?
• Can technology overcome the known weaknesses of decentralised models, or do we risking discovering old problems in new forms?

Related Links:

• Philanthropisms podcast conversation with Lucy Bernholz
• Rhod's 2020 piece for Alliance, "The Ethics of Platform Philanthropy"
• Rhod's paper presented at the 2019 ARNOVA conference, "Networking Opportunities: Rediscovering decentralisation in philanthropy & civil society?"
• "The Giving Apps: How Venmo and Cash App Upended a Century-Old Charity Model"
• Rhod's HistPhil article, "Networked Social Movements and the 'Tyranny of Structurelessness'"
• Rhod's 2019 Charity Digital News article "Before Diving Into 'Platform Philanthropy', Charities Need to Ask Some Big Ethical Questions"