Microphilanthropy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Microphilanthropy is a model of philanthropy that is based on smaller, more direct interaction between "helpers" and "doers." Because of this finer level of granularity, it provides greater potential for feedback. It uses the definition of philanthropy as "love of humanity", which is broader than just charity or donating money. This opens up a broader range of activities such as volunteering, emergency response activities, mentoring, and many other patterns of uplift.

Contents 1 Big and Small 2 Supporting Technology 3 Tourism and Microphilanthropy 4 External links 5 Platforms for MicroPhilanthropy 6 See also

[edit] Big and Small

The value of this approach could be summed up in "Getting small in a big way." If we were able to deal efficiently with a million small activities rather than just one activity a million times as large, we would involve a much large group of people, engaged in a broader range of social interaction, and allow the system to discover and grow into new realms.

[edit] Supporting Technology

The key to a successful approach to Microphilanthropy is the ability to deal with a large number of small interactions efficiently. Really Simple Social Action is one model that seeks to layer micro philanthropic activities on top of much of the Web 2.0 architecture, including syndication, tagging, blogging, and categorization.

[edit] Tourism and Microphilanthropy

Travelers play a key role in microphilanthropy. Travelers can support local craft-makers, musicians and others through gifts and financial purchases. Philanthropic donations of time, money, propery and work have the power to create mutually beneficial experiences for travelers and locals. The challenge at hand is to evaluate how well travelers and locals actually engage each other.

[edit] External links

• Towards a Model of Microphilanthropy by Tom Munnecke and Heather Wood Ion, presented at the May 2002 GivingSpace Santa Fe Institute Workshop on Complexity and Philanthropy
• Omidyar.net Discussion of Micro Philanthropy
• Planeta.com review of Tourism and Microphilanthropy

[edit] Platforms for MicroPhilanthropy

• Kiva.org
• ChangingThePresent.org
• MicroGiving.com
• SearchKindly.org

[edit] See also

• Discussion of Micro Credit

This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of the article are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please include more appropriate citations from reliable sources, or discuss the issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since July 2007.