Paper short abstract:

My paper reflects on the change in the tradition of donating for cultural purposes. How have the concept of giving and the experiences and motives of the private donors changed with the globalisation and the digitalisation of the society.

Paper long abstract:

Finland has a strong tradition of cultural philanthropy. However, the ways of donating change along the society. Collections knocking from door to door have been replaced by the virtual endowment.

Some of the motives to donate have remained, some have changed. However, the means to donate are fundamentally different. The hat does not circulate oppressively towards you, but you have to find your way to the cap of your choice.

Crowdsourcing is a form of civic activism in the digitalised society. Private people donate their time, work or other assets to projects that they consider valuable.

The popularity of crowdfunding platforms in the Internet is on the increase worldwide.

Why does a person donate to a cultural purpose? Is philanthropy always altruistic? Why did the public take part in the fundraising ventures of the 20th century? Why does someone want to participate in the crowdfunding today? What makes a donor to choose a certain campaign? Do these motives have anything in common?

I studied the motives and experiences of private donors examining two cases: the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Mesenaatti.me.

The paper presents some of the results of the qualitative analysis. The data consists of written oral history and interviews of the donors, and written answers from the crowdfunders.

The collections (1938-1939 & 1964-1965) of the private Finnish Cultural Foundation are the most extensive ones ever organised in Finland. The Mesenaatti.me is a Finnish crowdfunding platform, currently the most successful in the Northern Countries.