 |
| Photo by Flickr user Jeff Kubina. |
As I was perusing the Chicago Tribune online last week, the title of an article stuck out to me: Small change adds up for philanthropist.
The article is about Adam Carter, who is a beer vendor for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox (go Cubs!) for half the year, and the other half he travels to far away destinations as “an international microphilanthropist trying to save forgotten, impoverished nooks of the world one modest donation at a time.”
Through small donations from individuals as well as his own beer vending funds, he gives money to small organizations or individuals whose needs he has identified through his years of travel. Carter strongly values having a personal connection to where his money is going and believes that strategic aid “can yield a strong, personal connection.” He would rather give the money himself as he travels the globe, and asserts that larger aid organizations can become victims of bureaucracy and aren’t as in touch with the social norms of the areas they serve as he, and others like him, are.
Despite Carter’s views, representatives of “traditional” philanthropy question about the actual impact of travel philanthropy, and the scope of aid offered when compared to larger organizations:
“They can point to individual stories, but if you can do it on a bigger scale, you can substantially impact the well-being of a community. I’m not against the idea, I just don’t consider it the most effective way of helping,” said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy in Chicago.
I wonder whether grassroots philanthropy, with funds going directly from donor to a small international organization or individual in need, can make a long-term difference in an area of poverty. Is a donation of $5 today enough to improve the lives of the recipients, or is it merely a “here today, gone tomorrow” scenario that improves lives in the short-term, but has no discernible long-term impact?
But, ultimately, do either of these questions really matter, as long as the donor is content with the relationships built, knowing the inherent limitations of this type of philanthropy?
Join the conversation: Have you participated in travel philanthropy? Is it a band-aid, or a long-term solution to a community’s needs?
- Megan Sullivan, MCF’s communications associate
Posted by Megan Sullivan 
