Be the People Campaign

Be The People Campaign

You probably can't name one nonprofit: one museum, one youth program, or one housing organization in your city that just lost funding.

That's always been how philanthropy works. People give to things they can see and feel. The problem is that most of what's breaking in local communities is invisible to the people who live there.

To mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a coalition of GivingTuesday, Goodwill Industries International, Habitat for Humanity International, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and dozens of major foundations just launched "Be The People".

It's not structured as a new nonprofit. It’s an organizing layer designed to help existing groups connect to resources and lift up stories of local problem-solving that are already happening but aren't breaking through.

That reflects a growing realization in philanthropy: people don’t fail to act because they don’t care. They fail to act because they can’t see what’s broken near them. When need is invisible, engagement is too.

We’ve seen this firsthand building regional philanthropic portals. New Jersey, Minnesota, and New York have one, and San Diego and Florida are launching one (New Jersey portal is here if you want to see how it works).

Foundations and networks fund them because regional visibility is the infrastructure that makes local engagement possible.

This focus on local is good. It can grow the philanthropic pie. I'm sure this will succeed because people have always stepped up when they can actually see what needs help.