CivicActions

The Problem: We live in a world which is literally awash in data and information that has swamped our systems of representing and understanding it, precisely at a moment in Human history when we most need to understand this information. The World Wide Web is a vast and remarkable resource, but viewing web pages a page at a time through a web browser fails to satisfy our need to get the “big picture” and takes waaaaaay too long to grok the fullness.

Similarly, we can gain access to enormous relational databases full of information – such as the databases of nonprofits who seek funding, and their financial characteristics and missions – but most of our views of this data take the form of incremental pages, spreadsheets or limited graphs which do not reveal the complexity of those rich relationships.

This is even true within narrowly-defined areas of human endeavor such as the world of Philanthropy. Those seeking to effect positive social change within given areas must first come to grips with the inability of the participants or external observers of the activity to form a fully comprehensive picture of what is really going on. We are giving, but we have a nagging feeling that we don’t know whether it is really making any difference on the global stage.

Lost without a Map.
Without a map and a compass, we can wander in circles forever lost. Philanthropists, foundation directors, social investors and entrepreneurs, advocates and activists all make crucial decisions without an adequate map of the territory, and without the clear vision that could illuminate the way to maximally effective social and global transformation. In fact, benefactors may not even clearly see the immediate results even of their own giving and investment, much less the long-term propagation of their actions – for example when the good brought about by their giving strategies is weighed against the bad which comes from their investment in conventional, unsustainable business practices in their desire to preserve capital. Externalities – the unintended consequences and costs of business which are off the balance sheet and out of sight of the shareholders and their communities – constitute a pivotal category of blindness that cries out for the vision to bring everything into the light and do something about the results of our collective actions.

A Crisis of Vision.
Our view is that the greatest impediment to change in any area of Human endeavor comes not simply from resistance to change, but from a Crisis of Vision – the inability of the players to clearly see the complexities of the interior and exterior landscape as it is, how it can optimally be, and how it may be if no positive change is effected. Additionally – since positive change requires the constructive interaction between individuals, collectives, organizations and networks – the disparate perspectives, predispositions, prejudices and priorities of these players must be made visible to be understood.

New Eyes for Leaders and Changemakers. We call for a new way of seeing that can be shown, not simply described in words, that can be taught and learned through facilitation and by actually doing and interacting with a new kind of map.
The Solution: A totally new kind of map, created and sustained by a new kind of community. Old world maps and compasses can’t help us in this new territory. In order to fully understand the dynamics of something as interdependent and complex as the Philanthropic space, and to see where the tipping points are for maximizing the transformation of philanthropic power for positive change, we need to see this world from key perspectives as a living, breathing contiguous ecosystem of activity that can absorb and relate all the relevant data, information and knowledge we can throw at it. We’ll call it The PhilanthroMap.

The PhilanthroMap is not an ordinary map, but rather a dynamic, interactive, navigable viewport – a multidimensional Philanthropy ecosystem gameboard if you will – representing a valuable shared knowledge space where the highly-leveraged potentials of Philanthropic transformation would be made visible to all. If you've used MapQuest or GoogleMaps to plan a route to a new destination, you know how valuable a dynamic map can be. Imagine if you could see philanthropic activity unfold before your eyes, and plot a better route to sustainability and transformation so the money doesn't get lost. That's the basic idea behind the PhilanthroMap.

Most importantly for would-be changemakers, the PhilanthroMap would seek to illuminate the “acupuncture meridians” or tipping points where small but precisely-focused energy, attention, communication and resources can trigger cascades of transformation far exceeding the energy it takes to initiate them. These points of leveraged influence could be people, organizations, projects, processes, practices, problems, politics and more. To clearly see where these meridians are, we must, like the acupuncturist, form maps of these meridians and learn how to focus energy for maximum effect. There are a variety a ways to accomplish this both quantitatively and inuitively.

Wide Applicability to the Broad Needs of Everyone Touched by Philanthopy
Transforming philanthropy is a job for the entire networked community. The principles outlined here apply to the mapping of any Human field of endeavor in which New Philanthropists might engage: management, leadership and organizational psychology, finance and investment, health care, AIDS, environmental policy, government and public policy, etc. Because of their power to reframe the discussion and visualize transformation, these maps can be essential tools for catapulting philanthropic work – calling forth the Soulforce and courage in leaders and organizations where it is so sorely needed in our times. This approach could be used in equal measure of effectiveness to inform individual philanthropists, institutions, philanthropic and social venture networks, social entrepreneurs, teachers and students, industry visionaries, and others to more clearly understand the systemic interdependencies and leveraged possibilities that new thinking in philanthropy can influence.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a detailed map is worth millions. A dynamic map which reflects the realtime conditions of the user and the broader environment is worth a grand paradigm shift in the way society may employ money and resources at this crucial time. The PhilanthroMap Project is forming and we'd like to include your valuable perspective.

This is a Big Undertaking. We Need You.
If you have an interest in transforming philanthropy and would like to contribute to the discussion around the PhilanthroMap Project, please contact Brooks Cole at 415-663-5486.