Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Choosing Funds

News and Views

If I'm really good at playing X, a computer game, does that mean I can send the money willy-nilly, to any charity I please?  Chances are, the answer is no, as the biscuit company committing Good Will through this game has already chosen from a list of vetted charities.

This way, the company has a way to define its reputation, to position itself, based on the charities it supports.

But what if I want to support charity Z and the game I'm playing doesn't list it?  Perhaps another game does?  Perhaps some other brand of biscuit or candy allows you to send Z your funds?

Perhaps there's another Coffee Shop down the street that fits your giving patterns more directly?

Charities may be controversial after all.  Some have racists goals or want to spread a particular religion.  Coffee Shops with a reputation for supporting racism might prove attractive to some, or go out of business thanks to the competition.

Democratizing giving is going to make for rapid change.  Charities will need to think hard about how they want to position themselves, to take advantage of what CSN has to offer them.