Note: This post is a part one of a three-blog series by Gideon Taub, Ren’s Chief Strategy Officer providing his perspectives on the DAF ecosystem, the latest trends, and insight into Ren’s vision.
In addition to his role at Ren, Gideon leads the content and programming for the DAF Giving Summit. You can follow Gideon on LinkedIn, and join the DAF Giving Summit email list to keep up with the latest event details.
Back in the early days of my career, I was a product manager in the advertising technology (AdTech) space. Similar to DAFs, AdTech is a complicated ecosystem, with many point solutions and niche players. As I was ramping up and continuing to stay abreast of industry changes, I’d repeatedly refer back to the ‘Lumascape’ and ecosystem map published by an investment bank, Luma Partners, that focused on AdTech. It was a real asset in understanding the big picture, who the major providers and vendors are, and how money flows from supply to demand.
Fast forward to earlier this year, we’ve integrated Pinkaloo into Ren, and I’m fully sinking my teeth into my role as Ren’s Chief Strategy Officer AND developing the content and programming for the DAF Giving Summit. I really needed a DAF Lumascape and couldn’t find one.
So I created one and I figured why not make it available to our whole ecosystem. A rising tide lifts all boats, and hopefully some new partnerships can be created as a result of us sharing it. Or a new start-up can better understand how they fit into the ecosystem. Or a provider can see a gap and solve it.
Before I share it:
- This is how I think about the Landscape. Generally, funds flow from the very left (donors) through the supply-chain to the operating charities on the right in this diagram.
- If I’ve miscategorized your firm at all, I apologize. Please reach out to [email protected] and I will fix it.
- It’s impossible to be comprehensive and include (let alone find) every provider. If I missed your organization, feel free to send an email to [email protected] and we will look at adding you to the next iteration.
- If I missed any major category of vendors, please let me know at the same email address as above.
- I fully acknowledge this is self-serving to Ren in terms highlighting the broad suite of capabilities that we offer. If you’re interested in learning more about any of our capabilities, please contact us!
- If your firm’s logo is on here, you should strongly consider having a presence at the DAF Giving Summit.
With that, I offer my view of the DAF Landscape:
