How to Become a Philanthropreneur and Change the World in 2019

How To Become a Philanthropreneur and Change The World in 2019

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The world of philanthropy is outdated, irrelevant and broken! We live in a world where everyone is a philanthropist. It’s easy to call yourself one. Anyone (and I mean, anyone) can create a “foundation or charity”.

In many ways, this is great because these foundations, charities, and movements help a lot of people. Yet, at the same time… do they? Is this “giving” nature reaching the people who need it the most, or is it driven by the philanthropist’s ego?

  • To save taxes…?
  • To look generous…?
  • To drive more sales…?

If you ask an entrepreneur if they want to do good, they will say yes.

They want their business to make a real difference, and they want to give back.

But are they acting?

How To Become a Philanthropreneur and Change The World in 2019

Or, are they allocating 1-2% of their annual budget to philanthropy and then calling themselves a philanthropist? In my experience, it’s the latter, and after speaking to my friend, Marc Angelo Coppola, he agrees…

People wanting to do good….

People thinking they are doing good…

But people who aren’t because they’re following a broken model.

(they are part of the problem instead of the solution the world needs)

Introducing a New Wave of Philanthropreneurs

It’s time to shake up the world of philanthropy!

In the same way social media has disrupted how we create and share content…

  • How today’s influencers have disrupted how we market and sell…
  • How Cryptocurrency and blockchain are disrupting the economy…

We need today’s young, ambitious, and forward-thinking entrepreneurs to change philanthropy.

We need Philanthropreneurs focused on not one but, as Marc Angelo suggests, two versions of ROI:

    1. Return on Investment (because generating money is important) …
    2. RIPPLE OF IMPACT!

This is the ROI that matters most, and Philanthropreneurs like Marc Angelo are leading this change.

As founder of Superhero Academy, he works with today’s most innovative entrepreneurs to not only build big businesses that make big money but that also have a BIG impact on the wider world.

How To Become a Philanthropreneur and Change The World in 2019

After we spoke, I left wondering how I could commit to becoming a true Philanthropreneur!

And, after you’ve finished reading this, I imagine you will, too, because entrepreneurship isn’t about the “hustle” or making enough money to rent a private jet and post pictures online. Instead, it’s about having the biggest impact you can have on this planet and building massive ripples on the back of this.

Can you relate?

Good! Let’s dive in…

Why Toms Both Reinvented and Broke Philanthropy

While speaking to Marc Angelo about TOMS shoes, he brought up a good point…

They don’t make the best shoes!

There are lots of companies that make better ones, and even more that make shoes just like the ones TOMS do. Yet they’re worth more than $600 million!

Why?

Simple…

They created a meaningful message with their “Buy One Give One Model”, which captured the imagination of millions. Instead of donating money, they gave back to a specific person in a relevant way.

Their Ripple of Impact was huge, and they totally reinvented the world of philanthropy. But, in doing so, they also broke it, because dozens of other businesses jumped on the bandwagon. A “Buy One Give One Model” became as common as “Organic” or “Fairtrade” … Everyone had one. Soon, the message meant NOTHING!

Businesses did nothing but scratch the surface; they did just enough so they could say they cared about sustainability and philanthropy. But, who’s keeping them accountable? Who’s checking to see if they are making a difference?

It’s easy to say it… but who’s DOING it?

How To FIX Philanthropy in 2019 …

Marc Angelo asked me: how do we know who’s doing it?

How do we know which businesses are actually doing what they say they are?

How do we measure the Ripple of Impact a business is having?

We don’t. There’s no accepted measurement for this, and he suggests philanthropy will remain broken until we:

  1. Find a way to measure the Ripple of Impact…
  2. Hold these businesses and entrepreneurs accountable…

Once we do, we can decide which companies to champion, and which ones are talking a good game but doing very little to act on it. The good news is… WE (you, me, and other forward-thinking entrepreneurs…) have the power to enable this.

Step 1: Make it Part of Your Business Model

Not an afterthought…

  • NOT we’ll donate 10% of our profits…
  • NOT we’ll sponsor an event or organisation…
  • NOT we’ll collaborate with a cause or foundation…

But rather, like TOMS Shoes, make it part of your business model.

  • Like Roma Boots, who donates children’s boots for every boot they sell …
  • Like Smile Squared, who fund “wish trips” for children with life-threatening illnesses …
  • Like Out of Print Clothing, who create literacy programs to those who need it …

Don’t make this an afterthought or side-focus… make it “the” FOCUS!

This begins with you. If you want to become a true Philanthropreneur, you must COMMIT to it.

Build your business around it!

How To Become a Philanthropreneur and Change The World in 2019
Photo by Mark Harrison (@markharrison4)

Step 2: Measure YOUR Ripple of Impact

This is the new ROI you need to focus on.

Treat your philanthropy like you would your business:

  • Set KPIs …
  • Build realistic yet challenging goals…
  • Have a vision…
  • Track and measure all this regularly…

Review this often and share your progress with your audience. Actually SHOW them what impact you are having, and introduce them to the people you’re helping.

Let’s say you create Notebooks and Personal Planners …

For each one you sell, you give a book to a child in need. The easy, vanity metric would be to share how many books you’ve given away throughout the year.

But this DOES NOT measure your Ripple of Impact!

So what if you measured:

  • How many children you helped to read (split into different regions or countries)…
  • The economic impact on a country, based on getting these children into education…
  • What this economic impact will be in five… ten… twenty years from now…

Don’t just come up with a good cause; hold yourself accountable to it, measure the impact you have, and commit to impacting more and more people over time.

Step 3: Become Exponential

If you were to give a man a fish, you would feed him and his family today.

(this is the buy one, get one model)

Whereas, if you teach a man to fish, you help feed him and his family forever.

(this is the buy one, give one model)

But, what if you empowered this man to teach other men and women to fish?

And what if you measured the impact this has over time?

This is your role as a future Philanthropreneur!

Marc Angelo told me how this ensures the Ripple of Impact grows and spreads outward.

It becomes truly regenerative and sustainable…

It becomes much bigger than YOU…

You don’t fight and struggle for your worthy cause to survive. It thrives on its own!

With or without you.

This is what philanthropy is all about. It’s not about the impact you can have.

It’s not about what you can get from it. This is all driven by scarcity!

Instead, tap into your abundant mindset…

The more people you impact, who in turn impact other people, the bigger everything grows.

What begins local spreads globally.

How To Become a Philanthropreneur and Change The World in 2019
Photo by Mark Harrison (@markharrison4)

And it all begins with YOU changing YOUR world.

  • What can you do to give back (how can you make it part of your business model)?
  • How can you measure your ripple of impact?
  • How can you empower others to explode this ripple of growth?

This is the future of philanthropy, and this is how Philanthropreneurs like Marc Angelo Coppola think.

After speaking to him, I’ve wondered about the even bigger Ripple of Impact I can create with Gini.TV.

And I hope after reading this, you too think about the Ripple of Impact you can create.

When you do, please share your vision with me (I’d love to hear it).

This is a Contributor Post. Opinions expressed here are opinions of the Contributor. Influencive does not endorse or review brands mentioned; does not and cannot investigate relationships with brands, products, and people mentioned and is up to the Contributor to disclose. Contributors, amongst other accounts and articles may be professional fee-based.

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