The Map of Possibility: Philanthropy
#inspirationiscontagious
For Funders Looking to Go to New Places
© 2025. The Map of Possibility is created by Ignited Word LLC and is openly licensed via CC BY 4.0.
The Map of Possibility Expands the Horizon
The Map of Possibility: Philanthropy is a crowdsourced imagination and storytelling initiative being conducted by Ignited Word LLC, along with interested partners and sponsors. By aggregating examples of where change is already happening—and what future philanthropy could look like—its primary purpose will be to inspire a shift in U.S. philanthropy towards a daring and smartly-deployed largesse and a justice-centric partnership with civil society.
An issue that we encounter frequently in our work is that while imagination is understood to be vital for seeding innovation and society-changing narratives, there is little hands-on support available for rigorous learning-and-imagination work. As such, the map will be brought to life through a series of facilitated dialogues for funders, philanthropy networks, philanthropy effectiveness organizations, and kindred organizations. It can be thought of as a sort of traveling interactive exhibit, though it also lives right here.
The Journey Starts Here
Make the Journey. Contact info@ignitedword.com for a facilitated journey through the map. This virtual conversation will allow up to 20 participants from one or more philanthropic organizations to reflect together on where on the map their own practices lie (what has been their journey and what have they done, learned), and to add their examples to the map. #inspirationiscontagious.
Chart Your Future. The journey will also involve a future stories exercise where the participants imagine and articulate their future philanthropy. These future stories too, can be added to the map as a shared record and to inspire others. #inspirationiscontagious.
Share Your Leadership. Through a share-out session, storytelling deck, and/or social media package, Ignited Word will help you share your organization’s journey as a testament to your leadership in this current moment. #inspirationiscontagious.
"The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens."
—Rainer Maria Rilke in "Letters to a Young Poet"
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Current Travelers
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Your stories on our socials—or yours
The Ignited Word team regularly features stories from the Map of Possibility: Philanthropy on our social media to spark discussion on the social sector's biggest stories and trends. Contact us to learn how you can do the same on your platforms.
A deeper exploration
We designed the Map of Possibility: Philanthropy as a tool to aid creative problem-solving and storytelling in philanthropy and the social sector. Take it from us—it's very inspiring to go through the map and imagine all the potential futures of social and development work!