What does "sway" have to do with it? I just finished reading the book Sway by Ori and Rom Brafman this past weekend and found it to be a fascinating look at the many forces at work that lead people to act irrationally. While reading it, I couldn’t help thinking about the way that “sways” impact the philanthropic sector.

Value attribution will lead some donors to continue to fund high profile nonprofits because they have a higher “perceived value” than other organizations. The “swamp of commitment” will lead other donors to give to organizations that champion causes that they or their friends are passionate about. Diagnosis bias and the “chameleon effect” will continue to marry donors to organizations, even when they know that they aren’t high performing.

[url=http://www.thirdsectorconnector.com/b ... enefit-and-irrationality/] Read more about the intersection of "Sway", irrationality, charity, and community benefit.[/url]

Katya Andresen and Network For Good recently presented "6 Trends Changing the Donor-Fundraiser Relationship Forever." The trends include:

1. Impact: Donors want to know where the money went and what difference it made.
2. Involvement: People don't trust institutions. They trust their own experience and they trust their friends.
3. Impulse: Donors can give anywhere and nonprofits and NGOs need to be where they want to give.
4. Community: Donors are self-organizing and starting their own social networks and causes.
5. Competition: In the U.S. alone, there are 1.8 million nonprofits and more than 100 new ones each day.
6. Transparency: Be open, it's the only way forward.

View Katya's full slide presentation.

Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors has just published their annual list of high-impact giving opportunities for donors in 2010. To be included, each opportunity must:

1. Address urgent needs
2. Lack the attention it deserves, and
3. Provide donors with the opportunity to have significant impact.

This year's list includes the following 4 areas:

1. Taking action through advocacy to influence and impact climate policy, both within the U.S. and abroad.
2. Supporting strategic restructuring, including mergers and alliances for human services organizations, where there is an increase in need and a decrease in funding.
3. Partner with governments to create public/private partnerships that improve education.
4. Mission investing in community-based organizations and the financial institutions that support them in low-income communities. Access to capital will be key.

Read the full, detailed report here.