By: Bharat Krishnan, MBA

The Hodge Group recognizes the urgency of the philanthropic sector to address the continued issues of income inequality and racism facing America. Philanthropy has always tried to ameliorate these issues, but in recent years the community has redoubled its efforts to address barriers of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA). Like other partners in the philanthropic world, The Hodge Group is committed to ensuring that the nonprofit community is pulling its weight in terms of making sure we are inclusive, making sure we are not just serving diverse clients but are also diverse ourselves, ensuring equity through our funding and partnerships, and ultimately increasing access between philanthropists and the neighborhoods they serve. That is part of the reason why we developed our trademarked methodology of Hyper-Philanthropy™.

Hyper-Philanthropy™ recognizes transformational shifts in how communities operate, and those shifts each serve as opportunities for enhancing how nonprofits can better enable inclusive ideas, promote diversity in all forms, achieve equity by ensuring that all relevant voices in a decision-making process are heard, and ultimately allow for better access across our communities. The Hodge Group recognizes these shifts as:

• A rise in people power;
• A shift from hierarchal to horizontal decision making;
• An increase in competition for dollars as ten percent of U.S. jobs are now tied to the nonprofit sector

Each of these shifts speak to a changing country that is hungry for innovation. With fewer people making decisions from the top-down and so many people working in the sector, opportunity is ripe for inviting diverse viewpoints to serve on a Board. This approach enables greater inclusivity and diversity as Boards make important decisions concerning the communities they serve. Furthermore, the rise in people power fueled by new technologies encourages greater access and equity since approximately 90% of Americans use the Internet and approximately 80% of Americans have smartphones according to Pew Research. By inviting new people into a process and enabling them to contribute to that process holistically in a meaningful way, the questions of how to best address these critical issues becomes clearer. Ultimately, hyper-philanthropic cultures emerge through the identification of shared core values, and those core values can be identified quicker than ever before by taking advantage of these shifts. Through technology, Hyper-Philanthropy™ creates a platform for greater access, which leads to more inclusive, diverse, and equitable communities. In this way, Hyper-Philanthropy™ spurs IDEA growth.