People Magazine

Venture philanthropy is a growing movement that includes the idea of a nonprofit selling access to its data for profit. Nonprofits make investments that may pay dividends down the road, somewhat like what big academic institutions have been doing for years. It differs from traditional sources of funding for nonprofits, which most often depend on donations from foundations, corporations and wealthy individuals.

This form of venture philanthropy garnered attention last year when the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation sold its rights to royalties from Kalydeco for a landmark $3.3 billion.

Tweets from the Direct Marketing Association's Email Evolution Conference 2015 (#eec15).

Cari Tuna and her future husband, Dustin Moskovitz, a Facebook co-founder, are emblematic of a new generation of millennial philanthropists seeking to give far beyond their own communities and experiences. Americans have traditionally focused their donations on organizations such as schools, churches and cultural centers close to home. But with the rise of social networks that connect people the world over instantaneously, many millennials have a broader view of charity.

It looks like the future of fundraising is catching up with us. We are afflicted by the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." And in the year ahead, times are going to get a lot more interesting.

Donations climbed 3 percent last year to $335.2 billion after adjusting for inflation, with almost all of the increase coming from individuals, couples and estates, according to the latest figures from the Giving USA Foundation. The gains have been uneven, however, skewed toward groups favored by the upper-income households that benefited most from the rebound in stocks and housing. Groups connected to higher education, medical research and cultural institutions are flush, while growth for those such as the Salvation Army and United Way that rely on smaller individual gifts is lagging behind.

Enjoy the holidays! But be sure that someone is either in your office or easily accessible to donors as they include your worthy cause in their year-end giving!

Recent tweets from folks you should be following.

Recent tweets from folks you should be following.

People on the move in the nonprofit fundraising world, September 2014.

More tweets from the DMA Nonprofit Federation's 2014 New York Nonprofit Conference (#NYNP2014).