A Farmer's Market: A Better Metaphor for Philanthropy?

I was just thinking about how the number of nonprofits and/or causes sometimes seems to outnumber actual donors/philanthropists. On this site, we talk about how to raise money, and also how to give it. At times, the available advice to fundraisers seems a whole lot more plentiful than help for donors. Then I came across a recent blog post by Phil Cubeta at the Gift Hub

Phil talks about leaving behind the notion of a "philanthropic marketplace," with its overtones of big business and Wall Street, and going back to the idea of a "farmer's market of philanthropy." He says,

"Giving for some of us is our way to participate in a local world, an intimate world, with those we like to think of as neighbors, civic friends, and supporters of our own felt sense of identity. We vote, yes, for all the difference it makes, but giving and volunteering is a way to make a difference you can feel, touch and taste, like an apple in that farmer's market."

That is a wonderful notion, I think, and it immediately soothed me. The idea of intimacy and neighborliness replacing a world where, I fear, donors are overwhelmed with the barrage of messages, and the ever increasing drumbeat of needs. It even seems doable, just like the renaissance of farmer's markets now dotting our cities and towns.

I wonder how, in this overwhelming marketplace of philanthropic choice, we can scale it down, make giving a little more manageable, the way a farmer's market is, compared to a supermarket.

Any ideas?

Photo by Steve Mason/Getty Images