Our History
The Philanthropist Party and Purple Dot model build on years of donor conversations, values-based investing ideas, public events, field studies, and platform work.
August 1999
Eric Melin writes an 85-page business plan for “ValueSystem.com” (www.ericmelin.com/cagbusinessplan.pdf) at the height of the dot-com boom covering many of the ideas in philanthropist.org and philanthropist.run later to be known as Values-Based Investing, Socially Responsible Investing, Triple Bottom Line Investing, Green Investing, ESG, and related frameworks.
April 2006
Seven founders from BU, BC, UVM, UPENN, MIT, and Harvard Business School meet in Boston for a kickoff Founder’s Meeting specific to philanthropist.org.
September 2008
Eric Melin sponsors the Harvard Democrat vs. Harvard Republican Debate Club Teams in a Red vs. Blue Paintball Match to attempt to create the perfect “purple dot.”
December 2010
Philanthropist.org hosts its first Annual Philanthropist Party fundraiser with over 200 world leaders at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
February 2011
Philanthropist.org completes the first of several Field Studies, including mission-trips overseas and early prototypes for a technology platform.
December 2014
Eric Melin rebrands The Philanthropist Party from a nonprofit networking event to a more purpose-driven public policy group and begins paperwork for a future nationally recognized political party.
February 2020
Philanthropist.org completes a year-long fundraising effort to secure capital and major gifts to support full-time operations and staff up offices. Then COVID changes the operating plan.
January 2024
Post-COVID, philanthropist.org, Inc. is restructured to separate philanthropist.site from philanthropist.org, philanthropist.run, and other brands.
June 2026
philanthropist.run begins a Purple Dot campaign to bring awareness and raise money for platform operations.