future of philanthropy

Perspectives

What’s Next for Philanthropy in the 2020s

A look ahead at emerging trends in philanthropy and charitable giving

Drawing from interviews with more than 200 philanthropy executives, practitioners, donors, board members, experts, and grantees from around the world, What’s Next for Philanthropy in the 2020s explores what emerging social, economic, and political shifts may mean for the future of philanthropy, charitable giving, and social innovation.

Let’s make this work.

Change your strictly necessary cookie settings to access this feature.

This section is an infogram

This message and the space it occupies will not be displayed when viewing this page either in Live, Preview, or "View as published" modes

Learn About the Big Shifts Reshaping Philanthropy (and the World)

The world is constantly changing, driven by a range of powerful social, economic, and political trends and forces. Our research has identified seven critical “Big Shifts” that have the potential to create fundamental change in the philanthropic landscape.

Understand the Leading “Edges” Emerging in Philanthropy

People and organizations are continuously experimenting with new ideas and strategies at the edges of the field. While most of these efforts remain small and marginal, we found four critical “Edges” that show an outsized potential to grow, influence, and reshape the core of philanthropic practice over time.

Challenge and Flip Your Orthodoxies and Assumptions

Orthodoxies are deeply held beliefs about how things are done that often go unstated and unquestioned, leading to organizational blind spots over time. To adapt to a rapidly changing world, funders often need to examine and challenge their orthodoxies in order to “flip” or change the ones that no longer make sense.

Orthodoxies Overview

A primer on orthodoxies in philanthropy, along with instructions for a fun and engaging do-it-yourself card game to help you consider and challenge assumptions that may be holding back your philanthropy.

Download the overview

 

General Philanthropy Orthodoxy Card Deck

The “base” card deck for the Flipping Orthodoxies Card Game, designed to be printed on card stock, cut, and used to challenge engrained assumptions about how you do your work

Download the General Philanthropy Card Deck

 

Customizing Your Orthodoxy Card Deck

In addition to the base General Philanthropy Orthodoxy deck, to round out the set of orthodoxies in the card deck you use, add one or more “expansion packs” of cards (focused on community philanthropy, corporate philanthropy, family philanthropy, and/or private foundations) that are relevant to your work

Close
Private
Private Foundation Expansion Pack
This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on private foundations

This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on private foundations

Download deck
Close
Community
Community Philanthropy Expansion Pack
This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on community philanthropy and other place-based giving

This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on community philanthropy and other place-based giving

Download deck
Close
Corporate
Corporate Philanthropy Expansion Pack
This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on corporate giving

This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on corporate giving

Download deck
Close
Family
Family Philanthropy Expansion Pack
This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on family philanthropy

This supplemental set of cards includes additional orthodoxies focused specifically on family philanthropy

Download deck

    Download the all-in-one What's Next for Philanthropy Toolkit

    About the Monitor Institute by Deloitte team

    Monitor Institute by Deloitte is a social change consultancy that marries the specialized knowledge and experience of a boutique social impact consulting practice with the breadth and scale of a globally recognized professional services organization. We work with innovative leaders to surface and spread best practices in public problem solving and to pioneer next practices—breakthrough approaches for addressing social and environmental challenges. Monitor Institute combines a deep grounding in strategy, networks, social innovation, and human systems with the fundamentals of professional advisory services: effective project management, skilled facilitation, and well-timed intervention. As a for-profit/for-benefit hybrid, Monitor Institute by Deloitte pursues social impact while operating as a fully integrated unit of Deloitte LLP.

    For more information about the Monitor Institute by Deloitte, or to explore how you can prepare for the future of philanthropy, please contact us at usmonitorinstitutebydeloitte@deloitte.com.

    Read About Our Previous Work on the Future of Philanthropy

    • What's Next for Community Philanthropy: Our 2014 analysis of the changing landscape of community philanthropy, including tools to help place-based funders adapt and meet their communities’ evolving needs
    • What's Next for Philanthropy: Our 2010 fieldwide exploration of the future of philanthropy, which calls on funders not only to adopt established best practices, but also to pioneer emerging “next practices” that will be a good fit for the future
    • On the Brink of New Promise: Our first focused investigation from 2004 on the future of US community foundations
    • Looking Out for the Future: Our initial field-level inquiry into the future of philanthropy, conducted in the early 2000s
       
    Did you find this useful?
    COVID-19 scenario planning for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations

    Navigating uncertainties in the social sector