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In recent years, much has written about "Web 2.0", the phenomenon of Internet users interacting ever more deeply and effectively with online content. In the world of charitable giving, we are seeing a similarly pervasive phenomenon; that of "New Philanthropy 2.0".

If "New Philanthropy" referred to a new generation of donors becoming more engaged and strategic in their philanthropy, then "New Philanthropy 2.0" is a further iteration of that trend. Many of today's leading philanthropists have emerged from the world of finance; it is perhaps logical, then, that we are increasingly seeing a merging of the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Donors are concerned to see that their grantees are not only effective but sustainable in pursuing their missions; that is to say, that they can generate steady streams of income as opposed to piecemeal donations. To this end, many of them have embraced the ever-more popular hybrid known as social enterprise; defined by the Social Enterprise Alliance as "an organization or venture that advances its social mission through
entrepreneurial earned income strategies."

The movement of social entreprise is gathering momentum after a difficult genesis. In a 2008 article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Chertok, Hamaoui and Jamison wrote of the unwillingness of donors to make grants to profit-making organisations, and their reservations about investing in an organisation with an explicit social mission.

These concerns, however, have not dissuaded pioneers such as the FB Heron Foundation, which works to increase wealth-creation opportunities for low-income people in the USA. Indeed, FB Heron, given their great success thus far, have shown that the difficulty of a grant-making technique should be no bar to its adoption.

We look forward, then, to the progress of this "New Philanthropy 2.0", which will be the subject of an upcoming Think Philanthropy paper; and we invite you to watch this highly innovative space.

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