New service offers philanthropists telephone access to non-profit experts on demand

New service offers philanthropists telephone access to non-profit experts on demand

News

A new US service that connects donors and funders directly with philanthropy experts who can help them, via telephone, make more informed giving decisions has raised interest and questions from the UK community as to how it might work here.

Expertise on Demand, created by Philanthropedia, an online marketplace that rates non-profit organisation, offers philanthropists access to 1400 plus foundation professionals, non-profit senior staff, researchers and academics, and other experts such as policy makers, journalists and consultants.

Donors can submit a question related to their philanthropic goals online and Philanthropedia will suggest an expert they feel best matches their requirements, after confirming the request with the expert. Donor and advisor are then scheduled a 30 minute phone call at a time that works for both, which is followed up with a short evaluation by the user in order to improve the service.

At present the service is free but if demand expands it may become a fee-paying service says Philanthropedia.

Sean Stannard-Stockton, founder of Tactical Philanthropy, who has chaired the steering group to bring the project to fruition, explains: “Expertise on Demand acts as a trusted intermediary connecting major donors with experts who can help fill knowledge gaps quickly and efficiently and channel more money to high-impact nonprofits and projects.

Tris Lumley, head of strategy at non-profit consultancy and think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), welcomes the idea. “Expertise on Demand is a great model which has the potential to be quite revolutionary, by linking donors who have specific questions directly with the experts that have answers. Without the network of experts Philanthropedia has built to survey the non-profit sector this wouldn’t be possible, and it’s a really smart next step for them to take.

“I would love to see this model in the UK. If we’re going to help build the marketplace for advice for donors, we need smarter and more efficient ways of getting knowledge about what works to those who want and need it. Expertise on Demand has the potential to fit that bill—matching real demand for advice and information with real expertise in the field.”


Deyan Vitanov, co-founder and CEO of Philanthropedia, explains that while the service has just launched in beta, and is therefore in its first stages, early results are “interesting”.

We get at least one expert per day signing up to participate, and are working with a bunch of donor advised funds to advertise the service to a broader audience of donors who might be interested.

Vitanov says Philanthropedia’s goal is to “recruit as many qualified professionals with deep expertise into different social causes as possible. Our advisors have spent years on the field testing and implementing solutions to different social issues.

Responding to questions about conflicts of interest, Vitanov said that donors have access to background information on suggested experts. “They can then decide whether  to follow the advice or not. I should point out that we see the major use case as helping connect people and giving context around social causes rather than giving advice that donors follow immediately. In any case, donors are smart people and we are not worried about conflicts of interest much because we are transparent and people can make up their own minds,” explains Vitanov.

One of the key questions such a service raises is around accountability - what happens if ‘things go wrong’?

Vitanov says: “We vet all experts and carry out match-making by comparing what donors are interested in with the information that we have on experts. We make introductions based on what we believe is a good match. During our beta, we will be collecting feedback from experts and donors and address issues of recourse and accountability when they arise.

The donor/advisor relationship is based on trust, often established over some time, and Vitanov acknowledges that while the service does not replace that kind of relationship it does have a place: “I agree that trust is crucial and we are not trying to replace but augment that. Expertise on Demand is less speed dating, and more networking on demand.”

He says the plan is to now gauge demand for the service and tailor it accordingly: “Philanthropedia’s approach is simple: make a small pilot, get feedback, and improve it, pivot to a different product or discontinue. It is way too early to tell which one of these outcomes will be the final one. The goal for the service is to help increase effective giving, which is the core mission of Philanthropedia. I hope we get there.

Stannard-Stockton adds: “My hope for Expertise on Demand is that funders and individual donors will turn to the service as a quick way to access the sort of information you can’t find on Google. It is a way to connect with the right people instead of simply the right data.

The service is available at http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/eod

Read more at Sean Stannard-Stockton’s blog