Philanthropy Daily Digest

The proposed 2011 budget for the Social Innovation Fund is $60 million, up from 2010's $50 million. Many people have pointed to the SIF's $50 million budget as too small, but if it is truly $50 million a year (with potential for annual increases), it is comparable to a $1 billion-plus endowment.

Stephanie Strom highlights how the Red Cross out-fundraised Partners in Health even thought PIH seems better positioned to help in Haiti. The article highlights efforts to allow donors to donate to a cause rather than an organization. Seems to me to be an opportunity for funders with a brand name to raise money for a cause and then distribute (which is essentially what presidents Bush and Clinton are doing). Tactical Philanthropy reader Tony Pipa is quoted for his work launching a similar program post Katrina.

The winning entry (randomly selected) of the Words that Describe Philanthropy contest was "Connected Philanthropy". Reader Autumn Walden googled the term and came up with a post Allison Fine wrote in 2007 for Social Edge.