One of the biggest misnomers behind philanthropy is that any single individual has enough money, resources, and power to affect something on such a global scale that they are incentivized to continue donating.
Due to an ancient notion that those ultra rich individuals have the ability to choose how they give away their fortunes, we as a society have become extremely reliant on those gracious disbursements - begging the universe for a mechanism that allows anyone to be able to afford to invest into organizations and causes they believe in.
By focusing on those philanthropic organizations out there that truly implement a trusting and transparent infrastructure, can patrons become comfortable with making frequent and sizable donations that serve only to better the world around us.
Launched in 2018 by Swedish tech entrepreneur Nina Siemiatkowski, Milkywire is a fairly newer company and tech platform that set a new standard for environmental philanthropy and ecological consciousness by removing the "middleman," striving to work with organizations that are trusted, with every move conforming to UN Global Goals.
Siemiatkowski, 40, built the social enterprise platform in efforts to help bridge the gap between nonprofits and patrons (companies and individuals) who want to participate in a trust-centric philanthropic infrastructure. In other words, patrons want to follow the chain of custody once they make their donations, to ensure it goes where it is supposed to go.
The platform was designed around making donating to charity more transparent, engaging, and accessible. For years, Siemiatkowski was trying to engage with various organizations, recognizing how difficult it was to navigate through the lack of transparency and slow adoption of technology.
"," she says. "This poor experience means that people with good intentions end up doing nothing, so Milkywire was launched to change all that."
All of the projects on the Milkywire platform are screened and vetted, the CEO told to news website.
"We have high assessment criteria to ensure they meet our quality standards...ensuring people end up donating to the best organizations out there, rather than those with the fanciest Instagram."
Social Activism Must Be Authentic
Social activism must be authentic, rather than a pure marketing scheme, which is something we, unfortunately, see too much of today.
Transparency is of growing importance among the younger generations. It leads to higher engagement and deeper brand resonance. Brands must therefore work on their storytelling, talking about who their work benefits and how - sharing real stories from the action."
Regardless of the community you participate in, it's essential for trust and transparency to play a leading role which resonates with consumers.
Moving Closer to the UN's 2030 Sustainability Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) were first introduced in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly for purposes of "...achieving a better and more sustainable future for all."
Collectively, the 17 interlinked global goals are intended to be achieved by the year 2030, but the problem is that we are nowhere close to achieving them due to our own self-sabotage. Many organizations state that they are all about "carbon removal" solutions, but fail to provide their own guidance on how they intend to address it.
"We're all seeing the reporting on how offsets can often be ineffective," Röbert Hoglund, climate advisor at Milkywire, told Innovation & Tech Today. "Even when they are effective, [companies] are sort of leading a race to the bottom to find as cheap acceptable credits as possible, just in order to be able to make a claim. We want to incentivize companies to contribute to climate action, but to do it in a way that is both credible and impactful."
