There have always been the existence of organizations that take on social causes around the globe and now in the modern age there a new organizations that are popping up and revolutionizing how philanthropy is getting done. The growth of big data is changing how donors look at which non-profits to donate to and how non-profits are presenting themselves and what strategies they employ to be the most efficient and effective.
“Imagine, for example, if a donor could do a quick search on the criteria of his or her choosing to find organizations that have a proven record, can offer real-time reporting on how funds are being spent, and provide feedback from those they've served?” (WSJ, Bernholz)
Many apps are being developed to do just this. Apps can now constantly pull data from the most recent assessments, performance measurements and donor feedback. Foundations are using this data too. Foundations can assess revise their strategies from the data they receive from surveys and reports of philanthropic giving. This also helps similar organizations that are doing work in different parts of the world.
About a year ago when I was going through majors and identifying what I could possibly do with the rest of my life I stumbled upon two very interesting organizations that are well-known in the field of data driven philanthropy. C4ADS is a nonprofit organization that utilizes technologies to manage, integrate and analyze data to engage international and local audiences on issues of conflict. They recently mapped the global trade of illicit elephant ivory. Last year C4ADS partnered with United States intelligence agencies to release a report on the Odessa arms trade and organized crime network. Palantir another organization that has created products that are deployed in the “most critical government, commercial, and non-profit institutions” to find solutions to our most pressing problems.
I am particularly interested in this application of mathematics because I have always had an interest in philanthropic services. I am continuing a program that I helped with in Philadelphia here in Boston. It uses Qdoba’s rewards program to help feed the hungry in Boston. I would love to see the data to see the effectiveness of this program and analyze this data to see how I could enlarge the scope of the project and increase its efficiency.
I know that I want to help people but I previously thought that could only be done with hands-on social work. There is a growing field of social entrepreneurship that caught my eye as well. Many of these startups are leveraging big data in newer and more innovative ways to solve problems we had no clue how to solve a decade or two ago. This particular application of math gets me excited to be a math major. I can’t wait to be able to analyze and apply data for social change in the world.
Check out this Wall Street Journal article on How Big Data is Changing Philanthropy: http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304243904579197652066923202
