Digital Upgrade

This concept is the result of a Better Giving Studio month-long collaborative sprint focusing on Equitable Curation which you can learn more about in this article. You can read the brief for more context and to see who was on the team.

Why BGS is Excited

Curation shows up in many forms – from the list order on donation platforms to the choice of which nonprofit is highlighted at the supermarket check-out stand. In each case it involves making decisions around which organizations to include or disinclude – a moment of advantage and power. The below concept was developed to help reduce inequities in giving sector curation which you can learn more about in the NCRP Equity in Philanthropy Guide and Lessons from GiveList.

• It’s a potential big step toward re-balancing the power between nonprofits and platforms.
• It could help to make organizations feel like they belong and connect them with other aligned organizations not already in their network.
• It’s a way to support smaller organizations with the advice, promotion/marketing expertise, and digital asset creation that’s often scarce.
• This is a way to help close the gap to funding to BIPOC-led organizations.

The Opportunity

Organizations that lack the resources and expertise to build robust marketing and storytelling often fail to develop a strong digital presence. The causes they support are just as worthy of donors’ time and money – they’re just not able to reach enough of those donors. This keeps them from achieving the impact they hope to make for their cause. Building cohorts of smaller organizations with a shared focus, then providing them with the advice and support they need to effectively reach their audience can increase the organizations’ individual and collective impact.

The Concept

A small charitable organization joins a cohort of other organizations facing similar challenges. Together, they participate in a one-month intensive program that helps them find inspiration, then plan and implement a custom digital strategy.

During this month-long program, the cohort gathers for an in-person event where participants take part in educational programming curated for the cohort’s emergent needs around storytelling, online presence and digital strategy. Digital Upgrade also provides customized recommendations to each organization on how to improve their digital and strategic presence in the world. They do this by matching each organization with content creators, graphic designers, copywriters, videographers, web designers, legal experts, and an extended team of advisors to fulfill their organization’s marketing strategy. 

Throughout the process, the cohort benefits from the relationships they build with each other and the experts and advisors they work with. And the network they form can provide ongoing support as the digital landscape continues to evolve.

What Do You Think?

Are you working on something similar? Have feedback to give us or insights that we should know about related to this exploratory concept? Did you test out this idea, and how did it go? We’d love to hear from you! Please write us a note at [email protected]