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It's time to work together. Increase the pie, not the piece.
Updated Aug 8, 2009 by jjb...@gmail.com

Open Philanthropy

Open source software exists in the computer industry. Open architecture exists in the construction industry. Yet only recently has there been a push for standards in communication of the philanthropic industry. The time is now.

Open Philanthropy is about sharing. Open Philanthropy is about community. Open Philanthropy is about working together to increase the size of the proverbial pie (not the piece).

Taxonomy

There are many ways to categorize an organization's mission, and it seems like many sites all reinvent the wheel. Guidestar follows the IRS' categorization scheme, but it seems to leave the end-user confused. Charity Navigator does a good job at simplifying this list, but some of the trending categories, like water, are not explicit. The changemakers site by Ashoka does a good job as well. It is imperative that when an end-user sees this category list, they can immediately identify topics they feel for. This initial list has tried to combine the best of both those lists.

These categories are by no means final, but hopefully with the help of the community, they could become the standard. Please comment below if important categories have been missed (e.g. not represented by one or more of the existing categories below).

  • Animals
    • Animal Rights
    • Wildlife Conservation
    • Zoos and Aquariums
  • Arts and Culture
  • Education
    • Children's education
    • Education Programs and Services
    • Universities
  • Environment
    • Agriculture
    • Conservation
    • Energy
    • Water
    • Waste and recycling
  • Health
    • Food and hunger
    • Diseases and Disorders
    • HIV/AIDS
    • Sanitation
    • Treatment and Prevention
  • Human Rights
    • Abuse and exploitation
    • Children's services
    • Civil Rights
    • Equality
    • Homelessness
    • Human trafficking
    • Fair trade
    • Land rights
    • Voting
  • International
    • Development and Relief Services
    • International Peace, Security, and Affairs
    • Humanitarian Relief Supplies
  • Religion
Comment by luise.ba...@gmail.com, Nov 25, 2009

How about economic development/job creation? IssueLab? is an open access publishing forum for nonprofit research, and we based our 34 top-level categories on previous standards as well. Might help to take a look: http://www.issuelab.org/browse/issue_areas

Comment by ScottAnd...@gmail.com, Nov 25, 2009

I think "health" should include a "mental health" option.

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