Happy New Year, party people! Before I go and get my bubbly on for New Years Eve, it’s time for you and me to have a little heart to heart. For real.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed this year by all the fundraising campaigns that always kick into high gear around the Holidays. The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t really ever end. No matter where you live or what time of the year it is, charitable organizations need donations. So how are you supposed to decide what to do with your limited resources?
Maybe you’re a bit older and you’ve pretty much got your giving pattern on lock. Good for you! My giving patterns? Not so under control. I’m a young twenty-something who has just begun a professional career. Charities, you want people like me! It’s proven that young people volunteer more than adults. On top of that, our buying habits are starting to be heavily influenced by causes. Children as young as 6 years old are more likely to buy a product if a portion of the price goes to a cause they support. Now I don’t want to end up jaded or frustrated by some horrible giving experience, nor do I want to just sit back and give up. So what do I want, you ask? I want my charitable efforts to be authentic, meaningful, and interesting. I want you to show me how my giving has helped your organization. I want to give online and off – and all the places in between. I want to feel genuinely appreciated for giving, but I don’t want my name plastered on a billboard as a thank you. I want more good stuff like YouTube’s Video Volunteer Program, SocialVibe’s fun apps and blog, my boss raising money by participating in Movember, easy social media actions that give back, and browsing through Craigslist for Volunteer opportunities. I want less of the constant “join my cause!” invites on Facebook, e-newsletters asking me to do a million things, and uninformative charity websites.
I know this is a lot to ask, but I can assure you my twenty-something friends would agree. We want it all!
I’m excited for the new year – new trends, new ways of giving, and new relationships to build. My advice to charities everywhere? Don’t blow it. We young folks have a lot of life to live, and a whole lot of giving to do. As The Beatles sing, “I may not have a lot to give, but what I’ve got I’ll give to you.”
So charities, what are you going to do in 2010 to catch my eye? I’ll definitely be looking for you. And to my fellow party people, what do you want to see them do? Tell us! I’m optimistic and ready to party. I mean give. Either way, let’s drink to that! Happy New Year everyone. Let the celebrations begin!
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Tags: Craigslist, giving back, Happy New Year, Movember, parties, resolutions, SocialVibe, Video Volunteer Program, volunteering, Youth
Well said, and I agree. Here’s hoping a lot of folks our age start to work with these charities to get them to open their eyes a bit.
This is a GREAT post! Charities should definitely work on engaging those 20 something social media mavens. There’s so much potential with the power of social media and we can make it fun, rewarding and charitable. Ever day I see new ways charities are engaging their supporters, raising funds for their causes and getting the word out about why people should support their efforts.
Keep up the great work and we will do our best to keep charitable giving authentic, meaningful, and interesting.
Meaghan Edelstein
spirit Jump Founder
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Hey thanks Brandon for the comment, somehow I didn’t see this until just now! There are a lot of opportunities for young people to help – it’s just a matter of deciding WHERE and WHO you want to put your time/resources/ towards. And with social media being all over the place now, it’s getting harder and harder for charities to compete for our attention
And Meghan – Way to step up to the challenge my friend! I love that you are so open to finding new ways of reaching people in my “demographic”. It’s not that we’re sick of it, we’re just overwhelmed sometimes!
What is most important is to talk about it. Lets keep this discussion ROLLING, and here’s to a fabulous year of charity and online fundraising!!!