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Power in numbers: Small donors hope to make big difference in microgiving |
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Written by Lauren La Rose, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Tuesday, March 24 2009, 9:56 PM |
TORONTO — Pas Paskaran has never let a little geography get between himself and helping others.
He publishes a free monthly newsletter “Say Yes to Life” on personal development delivered to 4,000 people worldwide, and created a series of free presentations for students to help enhance their study skills and become more effective learners.
But in his latest charitable venture, he’s enlisting others to join forces to amass small donations aimed at having an impact on the lives of those in need.
Paskaran, a physics instructor at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, is the brains behind the microgiving group concept at the school.
Paskaran said the idea popped into his head last spring of forming small autonomous groups where each person would agree to a minimum donation — in this case $5 a week — that would be pooled to support charities of their choice.
“As an individual, how much can I contribute and how many charities can I support? There is a limit,” said Paskaran, 64.
“Although our donation is only as an individual $5 a week ... emotionally you sort of feel that you have got your fingers in more charities or supporting more charities because of the group size.”
With some 70 colleagues on board, Paskaran’s initiative has seen the formation of seven groups, with two more in development.
In his group, they selected two Canadian and two international charities to support, collecting and distributing money four times a year, while another group opted to give donations to two Canadian charities.
Donations from one group to Heifer International were able to support 10 families — three got goats, six received chickens and one got a beehive.
One individual in the group typically collects funds to send to the charity and confirms donations have been made.
But that’s the extent of the involvement, said Paskaran, who is focused on making the donation and participation process as straightforward as possible for group members who typically meet once annually and can leave at any time.
Paskaran, who is retiring from NAIT next year after 31 years, said he hopes his microgiving concept will take flight beyond the school’s borders.
“My intention or hope is that it will be like a ripple effect mushrooming at different workplaces,” he said. “One has to be optimistic because it is a very simple, flexible idea.”
Some organizations are taking the microgiving concept into cyberspace, drawing on the online community to connect donors with people in need.
On MicroGiving.com, individuals outline their requests in online profiles, such as needing help to pay off bills, and send in supporting documentation. Administrators verify it and determine whether the profiles are approved, said executive director Michelle Fraedrick.
“We want to make sure if our stamp of approval is on a profile, we’re 100 per cent positive that that’s a legitimate request and the funding that they receive is going to go to what they’ve asked for,” she said from Boynton Beach, Fla., about 90 kilometres north of Miami.
While only verified recipients will receive donations from anonymous donors, other individuals can use the site to send links directly to friends and family to solicit donations, Fraedrick said.
Fraedrick said in addition to about 2,000 recipients registered on the site, they have about 1,500 donors registered, whose average contribution ranged between US$20 and$50 last year.
Fraedrick said the record-breaking fundraising campaign of Barack Obama in the lead-up to the 2008 U.S. election, which netted millions in small donations from large numbers of contributors, demonstrates the vast potential of micro donations.
“That’s what’s so great about microgiving is we really try to empower the donor on small micro amounts because the small micro amounts really add up.”
“Most people feel they have to give a sizable donation to make a difference and at MicroGiving, $10 can really make a difference.”
Angela Eikenberry, assistant professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has done extensive research on groups like the ones spearheaded by Paskaran known as “giving circles,” which can extend from small groups who pool funds to larger more formal organizations.
While the concept itself isn’t necessarily new, the way in which it is now being discussed is, she said.
“I think the idea of people getting together and doing something is a very old idea,” said Eikenberry, author of the forthcoming book “Giving Circles: Philanthropy, Voluntary Association, and Democracy.”
“But in this sort of organized, institutionalized philanthropic world where we put more emphasis on foundations and federated giving and programs, this idea of people kind of taking the initiative to get together and give money away in a much simpler and more micro kind of way is new for a modern philanthropic world.”
Canadian tax filers reported making more than $8.6 billion in charitable donations in 2007, up 1.4 per cent from the year prior, according to Statistics Canada.
But in the face of tough economic times, there is concern that individuals will tighten the grip on their pocketbooks and stem the flow of funds to charities. So could the concept of microgiving embraced by Paskaran and others go macro?
Eikenberry said while giving circles are great for engaging citizens in the community to learn about issues and problems and allowing them to be philanthropic, it’s a small piece of the big picture and ultimately can’t supersede or replace the larger role of government.
“There’s only so much a group of individuals that collaborate together can do,” Eikenberry said. “In these economic times, I think we need a larger institutional approach to making sure that at least there’s a baseline of support,” she said.
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