2 March 2016
Giving Circles Asia has published a case study on The Funding Network for an upcoming paper on corporate philanthropy, to be published by NUS Business School.
The Funding Network is a variation of a giving circle model based around public events where selected nonprofits “pitch” in front of an audience of donors (John, 2014). These “live crowdfunding” events were pioneered by the London-based founders of The Funding Network in 2002. It spread to other cities and in 2005 the first group outside the U.K. was initiated in Canada.
The network has inspired similar initiatives in continental Europe, North America, South Africa and Asia-Pacific, some identifying as a “branch” of the U.K. organisation, while others have no formal affiliation. The Funding Network ran pilot events in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne in 2013 and is today well established in a country where collective giving is growing rapidly.
Tom Hull, TFN Australia’s General Manager says ‘right from the start we intentionally engaged corporate partners as hosts and funders; we recognised business as a key partner.’ In its first year of hosting events the support from two high profile corporate foundations, Macquarie Group Foundation and AMP Foundation, was instrumental for the network to establish and gain traction.
To read the full case study by Giving Circles Asia, click here.