Online philanthropy platforms promise to transform the quality and quantity of resources available for domestic and international development, but questions exist about whether they keep promises and are revolutionising philanthropic practice, according to a new study.

Keystone, the citizen organisation providing accountability services within the third sector, has recently launched a study, Online Philanthropy Markets: From ‘Feel-Good’ Giving to Effective Social Investing?, which examines the rapidly expanding phenomenon of online philanthropy markets and details the opportunities that they have to create the informational basis for results-oriented giving.

The study finds that online philanthropy markets are "relentless innovators" with some of their innovations helping advance longstanding gaps in the performance of non-profit organisations, such as accountability to beneficiaries and other constituents of their work.

However, many of the markets covered in the study still promote a traditional ‘feel-good giving’ approach to philanthropy, while those that cultivate a social investment mentality among the users of their platforms remain a minority.

Through the analysis and recommendations of this study, Keystone aims to spark a dialogue about how to achieve the transformative potential of online philanthropy markets and about how to use innovative online tools to create the informational basis for effective social investments.

The organisation welcomes contributions to the debate and offers the study as a free download from its website, with a comment field for feedback