Every year, Trista Harris and her team of researchers at FutureGood curate a list of trends that we believe will impact foundations and nonprofits in the coming year. Here are our 2020 predictions.
Institutions examine their impact on the environment. As the climate crisis worsens, foundation will examine how their institutions impact the environment. From eliminating in person meetings that could be conducted via webinar, to divesting from fossil fuels, to adding solar panels to their buildings, to encouraging remote work, and paying for carbon credits when their staff travel, foundations will look deeply at how they can have a positive impact on the environment.
Foundations become more digitally savvy. Foundations will begin to add Chief Digital Officers (CDO’s) who are tasked with leading digital engagement efforts, maximizing the efficiency of grants management systems, financial systems, and relationship management databases. These CDO’s will hire staff and consultants with expertise in automation, to limit the amount of time that staff spend on repetitive duties like checking nonprofit status, updating databases, and managing reporting and instead use that time to deepen relationships in community. Foundations (and nonprofits) that don’t invest in staff in this area will be disrupted externally or internally by a new generation of self-automators.
Funders help defend democracy. As we see a more divided union in the United States and growing instability abroad, foundations will invest more resources to strengthen democracy. From creating spaces for people to come together and discuss solutions to complex issues, to reinvigorating our civics curriculums in schools, to ensuring the safety of elections locally and globally, foundations will have to develop new skills and relationships to have an impact on this critical need. Networks like Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement will be one of the key places where funders can connect about these issues.
Workplaces support staff during times of rapid transformation. Foundations will begin to think more deeply about employee wellness. The old paradigm of doing good for your career by working in the social sector being enough to protect you from the stresses of work will no longer be enough as foundations become frontline actors in a whole scale transformation of society. Foundations will invest more in employee wellness programs, offer more options for remote work, add more vacation days, and invest in improving their organizational cultures.
A few bonus trends that will impact foundation grantmaking:
Nazis really hate robots. We believe that the recent rise of Nazism is tied to job losses created by artificial intelligence and robots. Because we don’t talk about these fundamental changes to our economy and how quickly they are happening, people have an old story that “immigrants and people of color are taking our jobs”. That is creating a rise in hate. Foundations have a critical role in supporting messaging about changes to the economy and countering hate with their grantmaking.
Universal Basic Income on the map- As we look at job losses from artificial intelligence and robotics, the financial model for work will have to change. Universal basic income sets a floor for everyone, whether they are working or not. This amount is often described as about $12,000 a year. Companies and higher income people are taxed to cover this amount. The newest push for Universal Basic Income is from leaders in Silicon Valley that can see how their products are eliminating workers but they still need customers to pay for their products. Foundations will be on the cutting edge of testing this idea for scale.
Longer lifespan for who? There have been significant advancements in regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is about repairing and rejuvenating our bodies. From using your own stem cells to repair effects of things like Alzheimer’s, to 3D printing new organs, to even using the blood of young donors to reverse the signs of aging in older patients, there are a plethora of innovations that have the potential to extend human lifespan. As these new technologies take hold, there will be significant questions about the ever-expanding gaps between the lifespans of the poor and rich. Philanthropy will have a key role in supporting conversations about the ethical use of these new innovations and access for low-income communities.
Equity minded algorithms- A 2019 study published in Science found that an algorithm, widely used by US hospitals to determine how to allocate care for more than 200 million patients, was less likely to refer black people than white people who were equally sick to programs that aim to improve care for patients with complex medical needs. We are just beginning to understand how algorithms are expanding disparities and foundations will begin to take an active role in funding solutions to this growing problem.
About: Trista Harris is a philanthropic futurist and nationally known as a passionate advocate for leaders in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. She is also the author of the books How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar and FutureGood: How to Use Futurism to Save the World. She is a President of FutureGood, a consultancy focused on helping visionaries build a better future.