Thursday, December 15, 2022

Grift Giving, buzzwords and Blueprint 2023

I wrote about Grift - Gifts here. I didn't think of the term soon enough to include it in the Buzzwords list for Blueprint 2023 - which is now available. Get your free copy here.

In The New York Times print edition, December 15, 2022, the following ad ran on page A7. I don't know where else it ran.

It's a full paid ad (estimated cost is at least $150,000), from the Stellar Development Foundation, arguing how fraudsters (e.g. Sam Bankman-Fried of #FTX fame) are giving crypto a bad name. It goes on to describe how the blockchain is facilitating direct cash transfers across international borders and without banks - enabling aid to people in Ukraine who are under attack. (it leaves out any mention of how this also allows movement of money for other purposes as well, from sanctions avoidance to money laundering to weapons/drugs purchases and, of course, support of the invaders).

Good. It's beyond time where we had a real discussion about the good and bad of crypto. Not a hype-fest or a crossed-arm, "it's all bunk" argument, but a determinative discussion about if and how it can be used to help people. And what the RULES need to be to eliminate the centralizing, wealth extracting, environment destroying aspects of it - IF its going to be used. 

Differentiating grift-gifts from "crypto-philanthropy" is going to come down to the regulations and oversight mechanisms built around the technology and the groups participating. It's about the legal code, not the software code. 


Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Grift-gifts


It's beginning to look like SBF (Sam Bankman-Fried) and FTX (crypto currency exchange) are going to go down in history as the biggest case of "philanthropy-washing" in history. So big and important, I've coined a new word, Philanthro-grift.*

The U.S. Department of Justice has arrested SBF and charged him with intent to defraud investors. The court-appointed clean up CEO of FTX told the U.S. Congress "This is just old fashion embezzlement, taking money from others and using it for your own purposes. This is not sophisticated at all." (<- that's a direct quote from Dave Pell's NextDraft newsletter. You should read it).

Here are the implications for  civil society and philanthropy.  

  1. FTX and SBF spent a lot on "philanthropy" - especially organizations aligned with             #EffectiveAltruism.  All part of his grift (alledged)
  2. If the whole crypto industry is a sham (as many think), what the heck could possibly be valid about crypto giving and philanthropy? 

Crypto is bad for the environment, a sham of a financial system, and - at least in SBF's case - was part of a major grift. How do civil society organizations justify being part of any it? Really, takes philanthropy-washing to a new level.

I think someone could start a "philanthropy is going great" website (modeled after Web3IsGoingGreat and TwitterIsGoingGreat).

Final thought - SBF's grift extended to political contributions (some public and some dark money). We need new rules.

*I also considered "grift gift". (Grift giving) Which do you prefer?

Wednesday, December 07, 2022

Blueprint 2023

 

Cover of Blueprint 2023

Download for free: 

https://pacscenter.stanford.edu/publication/philanthropy-and-digital-civil-society-blueprint-2023/


For the 14th year in a row, I've written a Blueprint on Philanthropy and Digital Civil Society. This year's version - which covers 2023 - will go live on December 15, 2022. You can get your free copy here

As it always has, the Blueprint includes Buzzwords (which got their start on this blog), Predictions for 2023, and a scorecard of past predictions and whether I got things right or wrong. The Buzzwords will also run in the Chronicle of Philanthropy - on or about December 15.

This year, for the first time, the Blueprint includes some AI generated art (and lots of questions about it), and two essays by other authors - one on community organizers and data by Venita E Griffin and one the impact of impact measurement by Aaron Horvath. 

We'll be moving the chat about #Blueprint2023 from Twitter to the Fediverse. You can find me over there @mastodon.social@p2173 and the hashtag will stay the same. Join us.