Philanthropy; Supply-Side vs. Demand-Side

Late research in philanthropy has shown the prevalence of two different types of focuses when asking for monetary gifts. These two focuses are coined the supply-side and the demand-side focuses of philanthropy. The supply-side focus of philanthropy considers the changing environment of donors rather than the varying needs of the organization asking for money. The demand-side approach attempts to convince donors that they have money to give and that there is a worthy cause to receive the money. Dwight Burlingame's research shows that both approaches to philanthropy are productive in creating philanthropic action. However, Paul Schervish found that the supply-side approach to philanthropy is much more appropriate for generating large donations. While it may be more of a challenge to use the supply-side approach to generate small and medium sized donations, the long term benefits may prove to be worth the additional effort.

The supply-side approach to philanthropy asks one to stop, slow down, listen and really understand the needs of others and then feel compelled to give. It only makes sense that the biggest gifts are stop, think, and feel gifts. In his research, Schervish talks about how the supply-side approach to philanthropy can be used to direct a large portion of the upcoming wealth transfer to philanthropy. This upcoming transfer of wealth may even lead to what Schervish calls “the golden age of philanthropy.” In addition to tax benefits, the supply-side approach has shown to be very useful in regards to compelling the wealthy to give. In his research, Schervish found that people with estates over $20 million give approximately 49% to charity.