mobilize.org

Welcome to our special guest blog post series - "Millennial Perspectives: Voices of a Giving Generation." We hope you will join us each week until the Millennial Donor Summit on June 22, 2011, as we explore Millennial engagement with a variety of leading experts and practitioners.

This week, we've invited Anne Tillema, Director of Development for Mobilize.org to address how fundraising is evolving among organizations.

As the Director of Development of Mobilize.org, a nonprofit organization that focuses on Millennials and investing in their ideas, and as someone with six years of experience in Direct Marketing (particularly Direct Mail) working with over 20 organizations, my fundraising experience expands across almost the entire spectrum of generations. Working in Direct Mail, my target audience was often 70-80 year olds, while today my fundraising focuses on Millennials and members of other generations who want to invest in them.

One thing I have learned from my experience – both in Direct Marketing and with Mobilize.org – is that you cannot make unfounded assumptions about your target audience, no matter what generation they belong to. I was glad to see that the Millennial Donor Survey is helping to shatter some of the assumptions people make about Millennials and their giving habits. Instead, this survey is helping replace these assumptions with theories based on feedback received directly from Millennials themselves – further broadening our understanding of this unique generation.

Many believe that Millennials are most interested in, and therefore most responsive to, solicitations through social media and email. Yet, according to the Millennial Donor Survey, “91% of Millennial donors are at least somewhat likely to respond to a face-to-face request for money from a nonprofit organization, with 27% highly likely to respond to such a request.” On the other hand, “only 8% are highly likely to respond to an email request.” This tells us that we need to make sure that we personally contact and connect with Millennials in our donor cultivations and requests in addition to reaching out to them online, something that many organizations are currently not doing.

At Mobilize.org, we feel it is important that we engage Millennials in discussions about issues affecting our communities and solicit their ideas for solutions, rather than making assumptions about their perspectives and missing out on their innovative suggestions. This same idea applies to Millennial Donors. We need to continue to engage Millennials in order to find out more about why they give, how they prefer to give, their preferred methods of interaction with organizations, what types of communication they prefer, how frequently the want to hear from organizations and their preferred forms of solicitation. We will not understand Millennials’ ideas unless we ask them directly.

So what does this mean?

We need to continue the work of the Millennial Donor Survey and reach out to the Millennials who are donors, volunteers, staff members and even board members of our nonprofits. We need to engage them so that we can learn more about the Millennials involved in our own organizations and make adjustments to our communication and donor strategy accordingly.

Each organization is different and now that we understand more about Millennials and their general giving patterns, we can drill down and learn more about the specifics as they relate to each nonprofit organization. Conduct further surveys, test messages and techniques (both online and offline), segment your fundraising efforts by generation and study giving patterns to see how Millennial donors are currently engaging with your organization and their preferences for the future. The findings can only help expand the role that this important generation, with over 80 million members, can play within our organizations.

Millennials are already an essential part of our nonprofit organizations – and their roles and importance continues to grow. Moving forward, we must involve all generations connected to our nonprofits as we decide on our strategies and plans for the future.

To learn more about Mobilize.org and our work empowering and engaging Millennials, visit www.Mobilize.org.

It's no surprise that the economic downturn has presented new challenges for many in the nonprofit sector. But as organizations faced tough decisions over how to cut costs, raise new funds and maintain their mission, some nonprofits began to consider new opportunities as well. Although not often a popular solution among nonprofit leaders, some nonprofits even began to think creatively about how strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions might improve their efficiency, reach and services.

Early this year, a pair of Millennial-led organizations chose this path less traveled, and Mobilize.org announced that it would acquire Generation Engage. We wrote about the announcement on Social Citizens, and speculated that this decision to rock the boat would ultimately pay off for the organizations and the Millennials they serve. Now almost a year later, I asked Mobilize CEO Maya Enista to give us her honest take on the growing pains, obstacles, triumphs and benefits of a nonprofit acquisition.

What was the most important factor that set you up for a successful acquisition?

In retrospect, I’m extremely impressed with how well executed the acquisition was. For this, I think Justin Rockefeller and Decker Ngongang, the leadership of Generation Engage, deserve the most credit. They were clear on their commitment to increase the impact and reach of their network and they recognized that Mobilize.org was a good partner in that.

Another important factor that was essential to our success was our ability to articulate our expectations and requests; whether it’s that a logo color change or a staff member’s salary be maintained, we created a comprehensive MOU [(memorandum of understanding)] that outlined everything so we went into the relationship clear on benefits, potential challenges and next steps.

To any organization considering a similar move, I strongly suggest the detailed MOU over the unnecessarily long, legal contract which often does not speak to how staff members will talk about the acquisition/merger, who will hold relationships, what will happen to emails and how the culture of the organization will be maintained or how the history of both organizations will be respected.

What challenges or sacrifices have Mobilize.org and Generation Engage had to face to make this work?

There was significant work to be done, legally, in transferring trademarks and other assets but we had a wonderful team (legal and financial) working with us to make this a smooth process. The challenge that I most worried about was how to integrate the programming and network of Generation Engage into Mobilize.org in a way that was authentic, to both groups, and how the staff members would come together under one umbrella. I was pleasantly surprised on both counts and we now have an even larger, active and engaged network that is managed by a talented, passionate staff that is comprised of former Generation Engage staff members, long-time Mobilize.org staff members and new team members who have joined since the acquisition.

There are definitely times when we needed to clarify roles, needed to change our vocabulary and practice our talking points, but when Decker and I are both asked often to “spill the dirt” on the acquisition and we always laugh about it. We’re very fortunate to have a partnership of mutual admiration, respect and working towards a common goal to make our collective work stronger than the sum of our parts. Most importantly, we have fun and never lose sight of how fortunate we are.

What has been challenging for you personally as the leader of this transition?

Significant growth, literally, happened over night. I went from managing a team of three to a team of eight and a budget that almost doubled. It was an exciting time, although at times, overwhelming. I credit the Board of Directors of Mobilize.org in helping me navigate this opportunity and ensuring that I think through (and prepare for) every possible scenario. I have learned a great deal about organizational management, what I do well, what I do not do well and most importantly, how important it is to appreciate your colleagues and praise them for their unique contributions to our work.

What has the merger allowed you to do?

Work proactively. It’s been such a blessing. I’ve spent a long time working reactively; to funding requests, to media, moving from event to event, and at times – losing sleep about payroll. Due to the increased support, capacity and funding, we’ve been able to take a step back and ask ourselves important questions about our impact, how we’re telling our story, what we’re doing each day (week, month, year) to increase opportunity, access, relationships and resources for Millennials through our work.

What advice do you have for other nonprofits considering a similar move?

DO IT. There’s too much work to be done, and we need to be smart about how we do it and most importantly, we need to do it together. Coincidentally, I’m writing about this on the heels of an interesting article in Fast Company, written by a woman whose work, opinion and energy I admire greatly, Nancy Lublin (Founder of Dress for Success and currently, CEO of DoSomething.org). She hits the nail on the head when she says, we need to work to put ourselves out of business by SOLVING problems, not measure our success of how large our staff is or how much our budget grows. Nonprofit collaborations, true collaborations, are rare and acquisitions and mergers, are even more so and I know it sounds scary, or suspiciously like failure, but it’s not about your ego, or the logo, or what your organization is called – it’s about the work that we (the royal, non-profit we) have ahead of us.

I offer myself, and Decker, as resources in this process and we’re happy to share our experiences and evangelize for the importance of increased strategic collaboration in our field.

What's next for Mobilize.org?

We’re planning our 10th Democracy 2.0 Summit in April, convening Millennials to work collaboratively to propose solutions to the most pressing issues that they’re facing. This round of Summits (called Target 2020: My Education. Our Future.) will be focused on the community college crisis that our country is facing; engaging students in North Carolina, New York, California, Michigan and Florida to take a leadership role in improving access and success for all our nation’s students. During each Summit, Millennials will award funding to the solutions that they believe will be most successful in increasing completion rates in their areas (up to $50,000 per Summit).

You can read more about our upcoming Summits and our Target 2020 work by visiting our website and to receive updates on our work, join the Mobilize.org network.

This week Mobilize.org announced it would acquire the assets, staff and programs of Generation Engage. In some ways, it’s surprising to see this merger because it’s not something done every day. In other ways, it’s not surprising at all.

Generation Engage has worked since 2004 to encourage youth civic engagement and to fight the political isolation of youth, particularly those in community college systems. Mobilize.org was founded in 2002 to get the youth of America engaged in the political process and empower them to influence public policy. Their missions are basically identical. They were both founded and are run by Millennials. They are both based in Washington, D.C. The organizations have worked together on a number of projects, including the 80 Million Strong coalition last year. Their similarities might make you wonder why they didn’t merge before now. This merger will save thousands of dollars every year and, if all goes as planned, truly make the resulting organization “more powerful than the sum of its parts,” as Maya Enista says in her announcement letter.

They are doing what many organizations are unwilling to do – recognizing their many commonalities and merging to form a more powerful organization. While there will undoubtedly be growing pains, I’m interested to see where they are six months or a year from now and how they are able to leverage each other’s strengths to move the dial on youth civic engagement. I’m especially glad to see this move from two Millennial-driven and Millennial-focused organizations. One of our strengths as a generation is our collaborative way of working toward change. And this collaboration is not without sacrifice. Generation Engage chairman Justin Rockefeller put the values and mission of the organization he has spent five years building ahead of his personal ego and his organization’s legacy. Much like I have asked Millennials to consider whether starting a new nonprofit is the best use of their resources and passion, Justin seems to have recognized that his team could better serve its mission and have greater impact as part of Mobilize.

Since the economic crisis, financial necessity has driven more organizations to consider and discuss mergers like the one announced this week between Mobilize and Generation Engage. Twenty percent of nonprofits polled by Bridgespan last year said mergers could play a role in how they respond to the economic downturn. But as Bridgespan points out, tight budgets are not the only reason for considering a merger. Just as hardship and necessity often push people to innovations and inventions they would benefit from under ordinary circumstances, mergers can be a smart strategy for healthy organizations as well. Just because two groups of people can afford to run extremely similar organizations does not mean they should.

While for-profit mergers and acquisitions are often incentivized and orchestrated by strategic planners and financial backers, nonprofits cannot always find the same type of support. This may be changing a bit (for example, The Knight Foundation is helping in the Mobilize and Generation Engage partnership), but nonprofits interested in the possibility of a merger may have to get creative as well. In the Stanford Social Innovation Review last year, consultant Jean Butzen suggested nonprofits look to current donors, capacity-building grant programs in your community, national funding opportunities, and pro bono services. For additional resources on nonprofit mergers, check out the Lodestar Foundation and LaPiana Consulting. For now, I tip my hat to Mobilize and to Generation Engage, wish them the best of luck and will be looking forward to reporting on their progress later this year.

Guest blogger Maya Enista is Chief Executive Officer of Mobilize.org, an all-partisan network dedicated to educating, empowering and energizing young people to increase civic engagement and political participation.

The current economic state for young Americans, and all Americans, is a frightening one. It tells the story of growing national debt; increasing personal debt; many instances of irresponsible spending and lending practices on college campuses and in low-income communities; inadequate health care coverage; and rapidly disappearing safety nets for our generation. These factors, coupled with the fact that we are living in a time of innovation and growth in our country, mandates that we find sustainable and creative ways to solve the problems of our society and ensure that in defining these solutions – we are not bankrupting our futures.

There are many approaches with which one might begin to attack the problems laid out above, but as the Case Foundation believes, most would fail without ensuring that citizens are at the center of solving their own problems. It is this belief, and the support of the Case Foundation, that has enabled us to create the Democracy 2.0 process, where members of the millennial generation work collaboratively to build the democracy that we will inherit.

Given the severity of this national crisis paired with the innovation, collaboration and technological savvy of the millennial generation – it’s imperative that we take immediate and collaborative action to put our economic future on a sustainable and improving path. Mobilize.org has heard this clear call for action from our membership. To respond to the growing concern among all generations, Mobilize.org and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation are hosting a millennial convening to explore the barriers preventing our generation from achieving financial health. It will take place November 18th – 20th in and it will be titled, Exploring the Millennial Generation’s ROI where we will bring together 150 millennials for discussion, debate and action on this important question.

As loyal Social Citizens readers know, the theory of change of Mobilize.org, entitled Democracy 2.0, prescribes that it’s not enough for millennials to identify their most pressing individual issues, but that the millenials must take the lead and work collaboratively to propose solutions to these issues and then obtain the resources needed to implement and institutionalize those solutions. To that end, Mobilize.org anticipates that it will award grants up to $25,000 for selected projects and proposals that rise to the top during our time together, through the use of interactive keypad voting technology. Additionally, funded ideas will become 12-month projects of Mobilize.org, whose partner network and funders are committed to further building their success. Mobilize.org is a millennial built, millennial led organization that understands that the economic well-being of this generation is the key to our success, both today and tomorrow. However, we also know that we cannot do it alone and we see the value in working in true intergenerational partnerships to solve society’s most pressing problems.

To apply to attend the Summit (travel + accommodations are covered by Mobilize.org) or for more information, please visit www.mobilize.org . Our application window is open for just eight more days, and we encourage you to share this announcement with your network of friends and colleagues. Please join us in Chicago for this important conversation, and more importantly – as we seed the action steps that will highlight the leadership, perseverance, innovation and creativity of the Millennial generation.

Today’s guest blogger is Maya Enista, CEO of Mobilize.org.

I’ve come up with one definition for my generation, the infamous Millennials: we don’t like being defined. We especially don’t like being defined by people who don’t have Facebook accounts, don’t know that RSS feeds are a legitimate way to get your news, have never used Twitter, don’t understand that we can text and listen and jokingly tell us that we must be “itching to go to the bar” after a well-delivered power point presentation at a conference at which I’m the youngest one, by years … so, please stop talking about me.

It’s a simple definition, but also intricate and powerful. Probably also scary for those that study our habits and analyze our trends. Although I’ve enjoyed the attention this election cycle has brought, the Millennials are here to stay. And yes, we’ll vote, and yes, technology is here to stay, and yes, democracy will be ok – better, even.

Along with the 4,641 Make It Your Own proposals (an impressive 27% of which were submitted by individuals under 35 years old to the Case Foundation), Mobilize.org is doing our part. Mobilize.org is an all-partisan youth civic engagement organization dedicated to educating, empowering, and energizing young people to increase our civic engagement and political participation. We work to show young people how public policy impacts our lives, and more importantly – how we can impact public policy.

We are a youth-led, youth-run organization that models both the good and the bad of all you’ve been discussing. We’ve engaged thousands of young people from all side(s) of the aisle(s) in a collaborative, technologically savvy process called Democracy 2.0 – our quest to not just define, but to build the democracy that I (and my millions and millions of Millennial friends) will be inheriting and leading. I should note, though, I can only account for 936 of them, as that is how many Facebook friends I have. :-)

Mobilize.org is part of a huge coalition of organizations, funders, advisors and institutions that recognize that millennials are the experts on the millennial generation. So, learn from me, and I’ll learn from you, but please … stop talking about me, and start doing with me.