> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • An Update for Readers on Our New Nonprofit Status
Sign In
  • Latest
  • Advice
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Data
  • Grants
  • Magazine
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Data
    • Reports
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Webinars
    • Featured Products
    • Data
    • Reports
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Webinars
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
  • Latest
  • Advice
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Data
  • Grants
  • Magazine
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Data
    • Reports
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Webinars
    • Featured Products
    • Data
    • Reports
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Webinars
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • Latest
  • Advice
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Data
  • Grants
  • Magazine
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Data
    • Reports
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Webinars
    • Featured Products
    • Data
    • Reports
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Webinars
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Opinion
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Philanthropy Buzzwords 2022: For Good or Bad, Technology Will Rule

By  Lucy Bernholz
December 15, 2021
Bernholz word cloud.jpg
Illustration by The Chronicle

If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that a large dose of humility is needed when predicting future trends. The ongoing pandemic, global warming, expanding inequality, and threats to our democracy will certainly remain facts of life in the coming year. Peering through the harsh light of 2021, one other thing is certain: many of the changes ahead will take place in the technological realm.

We’re entering another cycle of techno-lingo hype. Prepare for a year full of major tech promises and lots of tech jargon. Those of us in the nonprofit and philanthropic world should put on our skepticism goggles for much of what’s coming. But beyond the individual terms, the list as a whole does offer plenty of room for thoughtful, equity-based analysis of the big buzzy possibilities in 2022.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from v144.philanthropy.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that a large dose of humility is needed when predicting trends. The ongoing pandemic, global warming, expanding inequality, and threats to our democracy will certainly remain facts of life in the coming year. Peering through the harsh light of 2021, one other thing is certain: Many of the changes ahead will take place in the technological realm.

We’re entering another cycle of techno-lingo hype. Prepare for a year full of major tech promises and lots of tech jargon. Those of us in the nonprofit and philanthropic world should put on our skepticism goggles for much of what’s coming. But beyond the individual terms, the list as a whole does offer plenty of room for thoughtful, equity-based analysis of the big buzzy possibilities in 2022. Here are the words to watch, drawn from my Philanthropy and Digital Civil Society: Blueprint 2022, which was released today.

DAOs

Embraced by cryptocurrency enthusiasts, DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations, are new organizational structures that bypass bureaucratic norms, including the need for managers. Instead, decision making is governed by rules encoded in transparent software code, which is controlled by the organization’s members. A recent search turned up 470 DAOs, one of which bid on a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Many are focused on artists, art collecting, and art investing. (See bonus buzzword, NFT.)

Dark patterns

ADVERTISEMENT

Dark patterns are user interfaces on websites and apps designed to deceive or manipulate people into taking actions against their best interest, such as buying products or signing up for monthly services they don’t need. Fundraising sites that default to recurring payments raised awareness of the practice in the area of political donations, suggesting a need for further investigation of these tactics in the larger fundraising world.

Dataraising

This is the practice of encouraging people to donate their data for a cause. Examples include a request by Consumer Reports for people to share their cable bills for an investigation into how cable companies use hidden fees to raise prices. Another increasingly common example is invitations to participate in medical research by contributing mobile health data. These efforts raise questions of consent, usage, security, and governance, all of which will shape if and how people retain the right to donate their data.

Data subject access requests

Individuals in the European Union and California have the right to request the personal data an organization holds about them, including how they intend to use it. People can assign their rights to such data to third parties, such as a union, collective, or nonprofit, which can use the aggregated data to build “mirror databases” (see below) to inform their advocacy or organizing. One example is the Workers Info Exchange in London, which helps create fair and transparent work conditions by collecting data that rideshare companies hold about their drivers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Geofence

This is an invisible digital boundary set up by an entity such as a retailer to send messages or ads to all cell phones within a prescribed distance of a store or other physical space. Geofences are used by political parties to send messages to people in a specific location, such as a house of worship, or to get out the vote. Nonprofit communications consultants are promoting geofencing to their clients, so expect to hear much more about this.

Givingscape

The landscape of giving products now marketed across the United States and elsewhere. This includes text message giving, rounding up receipts, cash register donations, donor-advised funds, and foundations. We’ve been promised democratized giving, but what we’ve got is a marketplace of giving products. I explore the givingscape

in detail, including the ways data and money flow through it, in my book How We Give Now.

GPT-3

ADVERTISEMENT

This is a machine-learning model, trained on internet data, that produces human-like text. Developed by OpenAI, it allows anyone to enter a small amount of text and receive large amounts of copy produced by computers. It has been used to write news articles, product descriptions, and at least one book, Pharmako AI. You may have read text generated by GPT-3 without knowing it. For better or worse, this piece was generated by an actual person — Lucy Bernholz.

Metaverse

Originally a term from fiction, the simplest way to think of the metaverse is as life inside the internet where all our interactions exist in connected virtual environments. Why does this matter to you? If your boss makes you use video-conferencing software where photos of your colleagues float above a conference room background, that’s the metaverse. Look for nonprofits and foundations to get bombarded with hype about it in 2022. What’s really being sold here? Ever more data-extractive workplace software.

Mirror database

These are databases built by academic researchers or nonprofits to mirror the databases held by companies or governments. This information is increasingly available through data subject access requests, as discussed above. Mirror databases are used to better understand what information companies hold and to discern patterns about how the data is used, making them important advocacy and negotiation tools for consumer- protection organizations and labor groups. The Mozilla Foundation recently launched an open-source browser tool called Rally to enable more such research and address the information imbalance between people and companies.

ADVERTISEMENT

Urgency

Global warming has passed the point of no return. The experts tell us we have eight years to slow things down before the world faces climate catastrophe. Democracy in the United States is under direct assault, and an electoral crisis in 2024 appears more likely than not. Foundations, governments, and the media will bombard us with a sense of urgency. But the real question is, how much will actually change? Continue to look to communities, activists, and online networks to drive true change.

Bonus Buzzword

NFT

You may have had enough with all the talk about blockchain and cryptocurrency. Sorry, here’s another one to brush up on. NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, are a way to make digital items distinct and non-interchangeable. For example, digital photos are easily copied and abundant, which limits their financial value. But associating an original photo with an NFT allows it to be distinguished from copies by, say, encrypting it with the artist’s signature. Since capitalism depends on scarcity for value, NFTs are a way to make digital items rare and collectable. NFTs had a big year in the art world in 2021 — the first NFT artwork sold at auction for more than $69 million, and charities are already experimenting with them. Crypto-Based Digital Art Frenzy Draws in Charities

ADVERTISEMENT

Expect more buzz about NFTs in 2022.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Communications and MarketingFoundation GivingPhilanthropists
Lucy Bernholz
Lucy Bernholz is director of the Digital Civil Society Lab at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.

Op-Ed Submission Guidelines

The Chronicle’s Opinion section is designed to spark robust debate about all aspects of the nonprofit world. We welcome submissions that provide new insights and promote innovative thinking about leadership, fundraising, grant-making policy, and more.
See details about how to submit an opinion piece or letter to the editor.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Latest Articles
    • Get Newsletters
    • Advice
    • Webinars
    • Data & Research
    • Magazine
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Latest Articles
    • Get Newsletters
    • Advice
    • Webinars
    • Data & Research
    • Magazine
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Work at the Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Gift-Acceptance Policy
    • Site Map
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Work at the Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Gift-Acceptance Policy
    • Site Map
    • DEI Commitment Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Organizational Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Organizational Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Philanthropy
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • pinterest
  • facebook
  • linkedin