logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | Passing the Buck Philanthropy

Bruce S Trachtenberg
March 30, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

March 29, 2010; Christian Science Monitor | Being on the receiving end of a gift from Marion Rockefeller Weber is hardly an end unto itself. Instead, thanks to her novel form of philanthropy, Weber’s gifts are given to people whom she trusts will research causes and programs and then pass the money they receive on to ones worthy of support.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Weber established the Flow Fund Circle in 1991, and in the years since, money has flowed all over the world, supporting orphanages in Uganda, reforestation in Sumatra, organic farming in Ecuador, among other projects. Flow Funders—each of whom are personally chosen by Weber—receive $20,000 per year, for three years. They can’t fund projects of their own or family members and they don’t get paid to do this work.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Why would they do this? In addition to helping Weber ensure her money is put to good use, Flow Funders learn about giving—both the challenges and rewards. Helen Gunthorpe is one of Weber’s Flow Funders. In the spring of 2008 a letter arrived from Weber that Gunthorpe recalls said, “Here’s [some] money, and I know you will give it to the right people.” Gunthorpe used the money to establish a nonprofit business in Burma called Good Sleep, which make nets for protection from mosquitoes.

About the opportunity Weber gave her, Gunthorpe says: “She lit the candle. She makes us all a little larger than we could ever be on our own.”  If you see an envelope from Marion Weber, don’t toss it without looking inside.—Bruce Trachtenberg

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Forerunners of Food Justice: Black Farmer Movement Spans Generations
Demetrius Hunter
What Would a Social Justice Investment Ecosystem Look Like?
Steve Dubb
Measuring Healthcare Equity in North Carolina
Sonia Sarkar
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation between Cyndi Suarez and Claire Dunning
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez
Nonprofits as Battlegrounds for Democracy
Cyndi Suarez
Remaking the Economy: Caring for the Care Economy
Steve Dubb, Adria Powell, Jenn Stowe and Mary Wilder

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
AOC’s “Tax the Rich” Dress Dazzles Met Gala, while...
Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Foundation Giving Numbers for 2020 Show 15 Percent Increase
Steve Dubb
Strike MoMA Imagines Art Museums without Billionaires
Tessa Crisman

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.