“Organized philanthropy: It’s not about foundations, necessarily. It’s about the rest of us.” – Katherine Fulton

In this moment of shifts and uncertainty we’re being asked to radically shift how we do business. One could think that means that we need to, in the words of Fulton, “think ourselves into a new way of acting.” In fact, though, she says that there are philanthropic experiments currently happening all around us that are “acting us into a new way of thinking.”

I’m intrigued by this idea because it puts us all in the leadership driver’s seat once again. And when it comes to garnering valuable resources for the work we most care about, or in giving the resources we have in ways that will make the most difference, the driver’s seat is where we need to be.

Fulton talks about five emerging experiments that are “challenging the old assumptions of philanthropy,” including: mass collaboration, peer-to-peer philanthropy; aggregated giving; innovation prizes; and social investing.

This video is well worth the watch, and my guess is that it will spur your thinking and give you something to talk about with your colleagues. I’ll leave you with this quote featured in the video:

“We have lived in this world where little things are done for love and big things for money. Now we have Wikipedia… suddenly big things can be done for love.” – Clay Shirky