Foundation’s Online Grant Contest Receives Thousands More Entries Than Expected

The Case Foundation, in Washington, has announced 20 finalists for its Make It Your Own awards, and will now submit those groups to a public vote to decide which four of them should win $25,000 each.

The Case Foundation is one of a growing number of charities, foundations, and even corporations that have turned grant making over to outsiders. In many contests, judges screen initial applicants and pick finalists, but the decision about which groups ultimately receive support rests with online voters.

When the Case Foundation began its awards process last June, it expected about 1,000 applications. It received 4,600, and decided to train 60 extra judges who could help winnow the number to 100 semifinalists. Each of the 100 finalists got a Web page on the Case Foundation’s site. The foundation coached each one on its application and provided technology assistance so the groups could set up blogs, videos, and online-donation tools.

While many in the charity world are excited about “citizen-centered philanthropy,” some critics are worried about how the process works. Some experts say the votes can turn into popularity contests — a measure not of who has the best ideas but who can marshal the largest number of supporters. Also, the order in which information is presented for voting can make a huge difference: Groups at the top of Web pages tend to get more votes because people don’t bother to scroll down and dig deeper.

To mitigate those effects, the Case Foundation requires voters to select four groups, not just one favorite, and it places them on the voting page in random order, so no group ends up at the top each time. Also, the foundation is giving a bonus of $2,500 to 10 voters who correctly select the final four, money that they can then donate to any charity. The foundation hopes the chance for a bonus will ensure that voters think about which groups are viable and deserve money.

The foundation also will hide the vote tallies throughout the voting period as a way to make sure no groups gain a psychological edge by appearing to be too far ahead for another vote to matter.

Voting extends through April 22, and the four winners will be announced after that.

For more details, go to the contest’s site at http://miyo.casefoundation.org/vote.