case foundation

By all accounts, 2010 was a big year for Millennials. The year brought a number of memorable challenges, changes and events that impacted all of our daily lives. For many, 2010 will be remembered as the year Chilean miners survived underground in a collapsed mine for 69 days; record unemployment hit the US; and when natural disasters left a trail of devastation and destruction around the world.

For Millennials, these are some of the monumental “firsts” that will define and shape their generation.

With such an eventful year about to end, we at Social Citizens wondered how Millennials might reflect on it. We turned to some of our very own Millennials at the Case Foundation and asked them what it means to be a Millennial and what the future might hold for them and their peers.

Josh, Molly and Rachel share their thoughts about hope, community involvement and the promise of an uncertain future. 

Americans know how to give, and in this day and age of social media we are identifying countless ways to better support nonprofits and cause related issues. Take for example, this video (with more than 1 million views already) for GE's "Tag Your Green" contest. The campaign encourages people to suggest eco-friendly ideas through online multimedia sites in an effort to get people to rethink how to be green. As programs such as this one highlight the potential of social media for social good, we see how the application of social media is creating a shift within the American service culture.

What Do the Numbers Show?

The Corporation for National and Community Service released a report earlier this year showing the largest increase in volunteering in the last six years. Despite the economic downturn and other hardships of 2009, 63.4 million Americans—of which 10.8 million were Millennials—volunteered with an official service organization. Cumulative efforts totaled more than 8.1 billion hours of service that was worth an estimated $169 billion. The top four service activities reported by respondents included: fundraising, collecting/distributing food, providing general labor or transportation, and teaching or tutoring—in that order.

Noticeably absent from this volunteer report is any reference to online service, acts and support. What would a breakdown of contributions look like if social media and online activities were included in the survey? I can understand why they aren’t referenced in this particular report though, for there are still many questions and validation issues with which to contend. I can’t imagine however, that these benchmarks are too far down the road...

It's a Question of Value

Aside from the quantitative value of social media, we must also look at how these acts might be weighted when it comes to evaluation metrics. Ask yourself… Does downloading a cause’s Twibbon to my Twitter profile photo or “donating” my Facebook status to a nonprofit’s message for a day constitute service? What about a $5 donation to a cause via text, is that person a donor or a philanthropist? Does checking in at a volunteer event via Gowalla make my support any more important of valuable than that of someone who is standing right next to me, but chooses not to use the location-based application?  

Essentially, how should we classify these new forms of action and are they creating a positive change? Are these examples of activism 2.0, or just more forms of slacktivsm as referenced in a previous Social Citizens post?  

It’s difficult to say how these new applications will ultimately impact and shape the service sector. One thing is clear though, we are moving beyond the integration of social media tools into an existing campaign and towards the creation of full-fledged, independent social media campaigns that place value on the individual’s online “service” and “contribution” to an issue. This is of particular relevance when looking at how best to inspire citizen-led engagement among the Millennial generation and digital natives.

Here are several examples of creative campaigns and initiatives that focus on acts of service online:

Tag Your Green: GE is hosting a multimedia eco-challenge unlike any other to encourage people to think of “green” in an entirely new way.

• Photo: In partnership with Flickr, GE invites people to upload photos representing water, light or wind. The best part is, in return for your photo, GE will donate a form of energy to a group in need. 
• Video: As part of GE's ecomagination campaign, Howcast invited some of the most popular YouTube stars to get develop innovative “eco-themed” videos challenging viewers to submit creative green ideas that the stars could bring to life and tape. The goal is for the videos to reach a combined 10 million views and inspire viewers to rethink how to be green. The program will benefit charity: water, a nonprofit that brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

One Tweet or Text at a Time: The Case Foundation partnered with Twitter, Malaria No More and TwitPay earlier this year in honor of World Malaria Day. Simply by retweeting a message with specific hashtags (including #endmalaria) or by texting a special code, tweeters could make a $10 donation to Malaria No More. In addition, when you added these special hashtags to your tweets, it would trigger the addition of a clickable mosquito icon to further raise awareness about this life threatening issue.

Cat Nap with Friends for a Cause: Purina Cat Chow recently invited consumers to visit its Facebook page, become a Fan and register to take a “cat nap” with their cat to raise awareness for breast cancer. For every registered “napper,” Purina made a $2 donation (up to $150,000), to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

I see the rise in popularity of social media as a wonderfully effective tool for nonprofits that will never replace traditional forms of civic engagement or acts of service. Instead, these evolving applications offer us a new standard for service engagement that will help reshape the identity of the modern day social citizen. 

What do you think about the trends focusing on online engagement in service? Does this shift in our culture take away from or help traditional campaigns? What value do you place on online campaigns?

Feeling much like an entry in the entertaining “Worst-case Scenario” survival guides, I was faced with my very own online life-or-death challenge the other day—whether or not to friend my mother on Facebook. I remember logging on to the popular social networking site and wondering just who was behind the harmless little red notification flag that serves as an alert for new Friend Requests. I soon discovered, with what can only be described as a mixture of shock and chagrin, that it was my very own mother. Instantly, my entire Facebook life passed before me—every photo, every comment and every video. You get the idea.

Where do you draw the line with connections on social networking sites?

At this point, the “Ignore” button was looking increasingly attractive. Fortunately, I’ve never been one to over share so I soon realized that this situation might not end so badly. After all, Facebook has privacy protections and I can be selective about what I do and do not share. Choosing to look at the bright side and pushing aside any lingering thoughts about potentially embarrassing content, I hit “Confirm” and posted a welcome message on my mom’s wall.

At the end of the day I emerged with one more friend, but my online world would never be the same. Before this experience, Facebook represented a familiar online space where I went daily to see what my friends were up to, to post something entertaining from LOL Cats or to read the latest news from the Case Foundation (yes, that was a shameless plug). Things change though when familiar relationship roles are abandoned and the traditional rules no longer apply.

The reality is that social networking sites are rewriting the rules of etiquette, relationships and even friendships. This evolution of how we interact with one another will be particularly challenging in the coming years as different generations intersect in the online space. A recent study from the Pew Research Center revealed that while young adults still dominate the online space, older Internet users are growing exponentially. According to Pew, “Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010.”

I have to wonder how my own mom, and those who didn’t grow up with computers and social networking as part of their daily lives feel about the ongoing shift in technology and communications. With this growing rate of online use across age groups, the question now becomes whether or not we will merge together or collide when we meet at this important online intersection. To be sure, it's a tough intersection to find... my mom and I will see you there!

For the past week or so, my colleagues and I have been feverishly working to unveil a new online civic engagement campaign, "Change Begins With Me." One lucky person (and their guest) will have an opportunity to participate in the 44th Presidential Inauguration and MLK Day of Service related festivities in Washington, DC.  The concept is simple, no idea is too big or too small - just tell us how you commit to "change" your community, neighborhood, or nation...and you'll have a chance to win the trip.

But, last night as the site went live and we all went home to take a deep breath - something funny happened. We started exchanging emails and asking each other - "what would you commit to change?" And it became obvious that if we had an opportunity to participate and post our commitment for the world to see - it would be difficult to narrow down what it was that we wanted to change, especially in the 250 character limited space. 

This holiday season you don't have to be "Mr. Obvious" to realize that budgets are getting tighter, and needs greater.  But one thing is certain -- individuals and organizations are taking this opportunity to get a little creative.  My colleagues at the Case Foundation have just launched the new and improved Guide to Good Giving. Whether you want to purchase a gift that gives back, or you prefer to find a way to donate your time and talents, there are countless ways for you to spread the spirit of giving.