To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• Dear Community Managers, don’t be hard on yourself, it’s your company culture that’s not ready to be “social” – The Buzz Bin – "In my ten years of working with corporate communications and marketing pros across Fortune 500, small to medium sized organizations, I have come across two specific types of organizations: i) organizations that have a culture of learning, collaboration and hence find ways to increase efficiencies and ii) companies that have the same beliefs but those beliefs never made it past the MISSION STATEMENT.  I have no problem against the latter as long as you are positively affecting the company’s bottom line and meeting your goals but I do have a few things to say to social media strategists who have been hired to do their job but end up spending more time just wrestling within their office corridors to go “social.”"
• Microsites for Nonprofits: Your Questions Answered | NTEN – "What do you do when you want to give extra publicity to a specific cause or campaign? Featuring one campaign too prominently could distract from other things. If you don't feature your campaign enough, it could get lost in the mix. So what's the solution? One proven method quickly growing in popularity is the microsite. A microsite is a mini-website, generally two to four pages, focused on a specific topic or campaign. These mini-websites are usually graphic-heavy and have very straightforward, action-oriented copy. Actions can include making donations, social media sharing, signing a petition, and more. Microsites can also promote dynamic content."
• Why Being Good Enough Is Never Enough on the Internet – Forbes – This is an important post I think everyone should read! Thanks to Deanna Zandt for being so thoughtful and smart in her analysis: "Let’s break down why the meritocracy myth is both so pervasive and problematic. The Internet is indeed a blank canvas in many ways. The egalitarian nature of the web as platform — for example, technically, no link or traffic is prioritized over another — makes it easier to connect people and ideas that were previously isolated. In the early days of the web, it was stunningly clear to most of us that we could do whatever we wanted, and that freedom was intoxicating. What we weren’t paying attention to was how we brought the advantages we carry in our offline lives– often defined by race, gender, class, and now, technological access and skill– to that blank canvas."
• Ushahidi and the Long Tail of Mapping for Social Change | TechPresident – I couldn't agree more with David's post and analysis of DeadUshahidi, a directory of "dead" installations of the open source Ushahidi mapping platform. Read the full post to hear both David's take, and suggestions for success from Patrick Meier. "DeadUshahidi’s mocking tone towards maps it deems ineffective, without any understanding of the goals of the groups behind them, is problematic. Moreover, mocking people or organizations whose maps don’t succeed hardly seems noble, and could even deter experimentation. In Silicon Valley, they say they celebrate failures and their lessons as key to a culture of innovation and success. While its intentions are ultimately good, it is hard to see how DeadUshahidi fosters such a culture in the world of crisis management."
• Millennial Presence in the Media | Mobilize.org – Did you read the list from ABC4.com of 8 characteristics of Millennials? I think Nathan has a great post here highlighting how off the mark some of those "characteristics" are, especially the idea that all Millennials would be considered Socialists! What do you think?

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• Have you accepted online technology as your organizational savior? – Small Act – “When your leadership has Shiny Object Syndrome, you’ll often come to work to find newspaper clippings on your desk or links in your email all about the Next Big Thing. There will be a note attached that says, “Let’s do this!” You’ll sigh inwardly, instantly thinking of a dozen reasons why it probably won’t work or why you lack the time and energy to give it the best shot possible (mainly because you’re probably still wrestling with the previous Shiny Object du jour), but you’ve fought and lost enough battles of this type to know that you might as well suck it up and do what they’re asking. The problem with Shiny Object Syndrome is that it operates on the assumption that because something is “popular” (like, say, Foursquare), then simply using it will guarantee success for your organization. This isn’t always the case. In fact, it rarely is.”
• 10 Non-Profits Leveraging Pinterest for Social Good – “There’s no question that Pinterest is the hottest social network right now. From your friends and family to celebrities, athletes and designers, everyone’s pinning visually interesting content. But did you know that non-profit organizations are pinning, too?” Have you tried Pinterest? Do you think it would be valuable for your organization or a waste of time?
• Forget Generation Y: 18- to 34-Year-Olds Are Now ‘Generation C’ – Interesting inforgraphic about the “Connected Generation” – what do you think? “It’s hardly news that young adults are the most digitally connected, but now Nielsen has come up with a new name for this group based on their common behaviors: “Generation C.” The C stands for “connected,” and the group comprises Americans between 18 and 34 — who are defined by their digital connectivity, Nielsen and NM Incite’s U.S. Digital Consumer Report says. They consume media, socialize and share experiences through devices more than other age groups.”
• Infographic: Do people still trust the news during election season? – Very interesting new infographic helping dissect data from a national poll examining whether or not Americans trust the media during political peaks. “The survey revealed the dramatic lack of trust Americans hold for sources of election news of all mediums. Of the six media types explored in the survey (cable news stations, network news, newspapers, talk radio, internet news sites, and blogs and social media), ‘traditional’ news outlets scored highest in terms of perceived credibility compared to newer and less traditional mediums…”
• Business competitiveness is defined by social innovation | Guardian Sustainable Business | guardian.co.uk – “There are few companies that can afford to not label themselves as green and something similar is happening to the word social. From corporate social responsibility to social business to social investment, previously limited to charitable activities and workers’ rights, social is on the march to becoming the new green. As with any label, ubiquity is as much a measure of success as a sign of abuse. And as with green we have to smarten up and learn to ask the right questions. For social impact some judge by good intention, while others measure by human development indicators or complicated calculations on social rates of return.”
• Spring of Code – “The OccupyLondon tech team is pleased to invite Occupiers and friends from the Open Source software community all around the world to participate in the biggest series of global Occupy code sprints yet, the Spring of Code.”

Wendy Harman and Suzy DeFrancis, American Red Cross
David Smith and Michael Weiser, National Conference on Citizenship
Moderated by Kari Dunn, Case Foundation

Intro from Kari:

When the Case Foundation was first discussing with partners what they wanted to get out of the Summit, they talked about how to bridge the generational divide. Both of these organizations have both been able to figure out how to bring people together across ages, cultures, etc. We see a lot of attention on next generation leaders, but not on how they will change our institutions. The Red Cross has been around for 130 years and so much has changed – for example with text-to-give after disasters. It’s been met with fear and excitement. With NCC, both the chairman and the CEO were brought in on the same day – one at 27 and one 56 years old.

As part of the rising generation, what do you see as far as myths about Millennials?

Wendy: First, there’s this idea that Millennials want to go their own way and be outside institutions. But what we found was that they had much higher trust in institutions than genx and boomers. It is not so much a distrust, but more that they really want to be part of the change. There’s also the selfish factor. I’m guilty of calling our community on the social web selfish because what it means is that anything we put out, it needs to be useful for them. They need to take it with them.

David: There’s greater trust with Millennials than other generations. Are there really that many differences between generations? I just had the honor of being part of a new leaders group studying how different generations were leading in the work force and we found there were lots of differences between where people were in life. For example, if two people had just had kids, regardless of age, they had more similarities than just age. It also feels that sometimes genx is being forgotten in this conversations. The Millennial generation has more of the perspective that “the leader is me” instead of waiting for the world to change.

Kari: Carol Phillips wrote an article this morning suggesting that the differences in the work place may have less to go do with generational differences and more with trust. Perhaps there is more that connects us than divides us?

Suzy: I know many people think the boomers like structure in the work place, we are concerned with making money – but we were the age of Aquarius! In the work place, what I love about Millennials is that they seemed really focused on their passions, not necessarily their professions. THey can be given more free reign to do amazing things. But also some Millennials are running into the fact that you want to go after your passions but you have to make a paycheck. I agree though, that there isn’t a divide. As a boomer, we want to be more welcome to Millennials – we are revamping our intranet, etc.

David: I agree there are a lot of things about the nonprofit sector that are attractive to Millennials, but hopefully it continues to become more competitive with forprofits for actually making those paychecks. In the for profit world, though, there’s more leadership development. When you take on a job in a nonprofit, you’re normally doing a lot more than you signed for without a lot of structure. If we could do more to support that growth we could attract more Millennials.

Michael: For all their frustrations about unemployment, they should be frustrated. Millennials come to the work place more prepared to teach than previous generations. When you step in the door, you come prepackaged with skills you can share. Technological expertise and an understanding with social media others don’t know. The ability to teach, with patience, is essential. And I think where Millennials make the greatest impact is when they realize their capabilities to teach and that there’s an audience that wants to teach.

Wendy: I had the chance to talk to 10 Red Cross workers from across the country that are all Millennials yesterday and they all had stories about trying to teach colleagues and try to shift organizational culture. It was beautiful to see how much confidence they had but we are also still all learning.

Kari: I’m so glad you brought that up. For so many organizations that are participating in the Summit, you can see these things can work! What are the conversations that should be happening and what advice do you have for organizations on how to be the teacher?

Wendy: If nothing else, Millennials are collaborative. That works really well at the Red Cross. It’s been a fantastic journey to see the cultural shift mirroring the way business changes. I think collaboration and turning organizations inside out is the way organizations will operate in the future.

Suzy: Collaboration is the best skill someone can have. We have to collaborate across silos, organizations, other partners on the ground. You look around the world at the collaborations happening between organizations and governments, etc. Seeing Millennials with those skills is great. Though, you also have to have focus and structure and I think it’s some times frustrating for Millennials to bump up against not having their idea move forward.

David: I think that goes to different ways you can structure how you bring people together. I suggest creating inter-generational working groups that go from ideation to implementation. It helps learning about the process and learning from each other. And it creates informal and formal opportunities for mentorship. I think mentorship can happen both ways.

Michael: I think it does go both ways. There is no substitute for perspective of power of technology. Social scientists will debate impact and influence of social technologies for a long time. But in building a level of trust, particularly with a chairman 30 years senior, is all about an environment where you can learn. Don’t expect to snap your fingers and have people praise your brilliance. It takes the same sort of intrapersonal elbow grease that it always has. And that’s an important lesson to learn.

Kari: We would be remiss to not talk about the technology a bit. Share with us about a little insight about where you innovation and so on?

Wendy: If we take the text to give campaign, we saw a group of people – Millennials prefer to work together, not against each other and it really manifest in the test to give. What we saw was that by 9 pm on January 12th we were able to launch the program and for the next thee days people only found out about it from Twitter and facebook and so many shared it. We also had accountability and that’s what Millennials are expecting – we can share just what the impact of the $10 is. They want to feel that intimacy and belonging.

Suzy: You can only sell so much, community has to sell it for you. We really saw that with the tsunami and earthquake – when it happened, and we came to the office, we were already trending on Twitter and we hadn’t yet done anything. They are different tools from traditional media and we have to learn how to use it, and not just for marketing. It has to be with the community.

David: What we’ve seen as we moved from a brochure website to one where people could interact and post and learn, we saw the traffic going up 1000s of % a year. But we really saw a lot around our conference. Many are adding hashtags and so on, but we started streaming content and letting people engage online we found we were engaging 10-100 times more people than were in the room and we could actually listen to them. So we are pushing on that and trying to do more. How can you engage a wider audience that isn’t just the same audience?

Michael: Working around and against gatekeepers really seems to be the biggest obstacle to tackle.

Suzy: When we grew up learning to develop a message, and write talking points, and stay on message…and now we are in a world where messages are being shared out there and your message is being controlled by others.

Kari: I imagine there’s some jealousy, that they’ve figured it out and others are still big insittutions. What do you think organizations should be thinking about?

Wendy: I do this all day every day. To me, listening is the absolute most important thing to do. If you aren’t doing it, start it right away. One of the keys to our success is that over the last four years we have moved from part of communications to working with all staff. We are good now at explaining just what is happening on the ground anywhere at any moment. There’s a lot of opportunity there for any nonprofit to carry out their mission on the social web using the power of people and collaboration.

Suzy: DOn’t be afraid that you’re losing control, people want to part of your mission. Find opportunities for them to be part of your mission. It doesn’t always have to be “the Red Cross way” maybe they have something else they can do that we didn’t even know about it. You can’t be afraid to let others be involved in your work.

Michael: Appreciate the power of what new media can do, it requires you to think in three dimensional terms. The message is less important than the push and has to be something is authentic. But at the same time, the message is incredibly important because of it’s ability to reach so many people.

David: For people thinking structurally about engaging Millennials, I would say that one of the big questions out there is whether or not they are going to change things, etc. But finding a mentor and a champion, we were able to make things happen.

Michael: All of my partnerships have been with my contemporaries and now I have a great partnership with someone that is the age of my children. I can’t speak to the kinds of opportunities there are in transcending that.

Kari: Whether or not the panelists are Millennials or not.

Suzy: I’m a baby boomer and have raised 3 Millennials.

Wendy: I’m on the cusp of the genx and Millennials.

Michael: I’m definitely a baby boomer but have never self-identified that way, it’s not part of how I think of myself.

David: I’m a Millennial and I stand by it. I fought for the Millennial name back when people were calling us genY.

Kari: Hierarchy within organizaitons – is it a good thing or bad thing?

Suzy: I think it exists and I think for Millennials, learning to work within the hierarchy is important. Learning to work within structure is important but it doesn’t mean you don’t push for your ideas, etc. A bad example: Millennial was given a performance review, the next day her manager got a call from her mom saying that they could work together to get better performance from the child.

Wendy: I think traditional org structures are going to change and aren’t the best. I think we should look more at spoke and wheel and working across the organization.

Michael: I think human beings develop habits and affinities and express those across gender and ages etc. They come together out of their like-mindedness and the more you can enable that the more learning can take place.

David: I think Millennials are looking at themselves as their own brands and what they can bring to the organization and the world. As organizations realize how to get the most out of people, you’ll see more team-oriented structures.

Kari: How do you track text-based giving?

Wedny: it’s very difficult to track. People can opt-in to getting additional messages from us so we may get their phone number but that’s it.

Suzy: the payment is also different so people give right away but we get the funds once the phone bill goes through.

Kari: What do you see as the future for mobile giving and keeping those people?

Wendy: The trust I have is that the people that gave that way know how to use Google – we aren’t hard to find. I’m not trying to hound anyone to stick around. If we aren’t providing value, they won’t. So we have to relevant.

Kari: How do we move people from fear to collaboration?

Wendy: I think it’s through examples – sharing success stories. I’ve been doing this for 4.5 years now and there’s always been a fair amount of fear. Nothing bad has happened. But I think some great stuff has.

David: If you’re raising money and you say this is going to be a new way to do it, you have a bottom line. But when you’re looking at collaboration, you’re looking at what other positive externatlities can come from that. Is it a better project, a better work place, recruiting talent? Is your organizational culture shifting?

Michael: We publish the civic health index which essentially says does it work? do people respond? Our own work to figure what the impact is, we’ve had great response to do more.

Kari – thanks to everyone and please share via #MDS11

Millennial Distinctions

• about 85 Million
• 1st generation raised on mobiles
• 95% own mobile devices
• 83% sleep with mobile at bedside
• 62% connect to internet wirelessly
• more likely than any other generation to post a video of themselves online

Are you Millennial ready?

There are five distinctions of Millennials.

• Co-creation: Millennials want to be part of the creation, they want to create with you and their peers.
• Be Smarter: they want to know how they are making an impact and what you’re doing with their money.
• Two-Player Game: they want to interact, know your leadership and staff.
• No Final Product: this is a social media world now, so there’s an expectation of constant evolution. You can’t stay stale.
• No such thing as un-connected: you have to be relevant wherever they are, when they want.

Why mobile?

Smartphones vs PCs – Smartphone sales beat PC sales with 100.9 million smartphones and 92.1 millions PCs in Q4 2010. This was originally estimated to happen two years later than it did. Smartphones are not just for highly educated groups.

90% of mobile subscribers in the US have internet-ready phones. 50% of Android users under 35, Apple use most under 44, RIM (Blackberry etc.) most over 45.

Start engaging Millennials now to make gains later

How do you do that? How do you use mobile to start engaging and communicating?

Apples has done a great job. They are looking for longevity. You do have to start looking at investing in the next generations now.

Big 4 In Mobile

Mobile Websites

If Millennials can’t find or connect with an organization the way they want to, they will go find a different organization. Millennials want basic information and tools for action. As an example, Soles4Souls.org’s mobile website looks very different than the normal website. It’s also important to have easily readable information via email – so be sure you use mobile rendering options for your emails, especially if you have a call to action and your email and website aren’t mobile rendered, they won’t be able to easily respond.

Smartphone Apps

Engaging with Millennials around volunteering. Millennials who volunteer more, give more. 79% of respondents volunteered in 2010, and they prefer to do it in groups. Develop a mobile app to get people interacting with your organization and encourage, track and inspire volunteering. Using a mobile app allows you as a nonprofit to have a tool where you can push messages out about how to volunteer/give, what the impact is, etc.

SmartOnline just wrapped up an Invent Your Mobile App contest. St Louis Volunteen won, two Millennials are the ones that developed it – geolocation app to find volunteering opportunities, find contests, find things tied to schools, and sharing on social media.

SMS/Text

Most every device can send a text message. Unlike mobile apps, this is something that is virtually available to everyone. Example: PETA anti-fur campaign – sms campaign to engage Millennials in anti-fur campaign against Donna Karen. Millennials were asked to respond Y (yes) to the number that they could then say how many people were voting in support.

The reason sms may be better for activism vs donation is that there isn’t as much transparency about how you’re impacting the world. They know they are voting, vs not knowing where their money is going. The average open rate for email is about 10% but with text messages it is 18%.

There’s an application from the One Campaign and Bono called One that is focused on activism.

Mobile Giving

Trust and donations were huge in the Millennial Donor Report. You must segment your channels of asking. Knowing where Millennials are and which channels do they prefer you use to talk to them is important. They said that they will stop giving if you ask too often. They want to know how their gift will be used.

Ensure your donation forms are optimized for mobile. If it’s a full screen on your computer, and you are looking at it on your phone, it’s impossible. And someone is just going to leave.

58% of Millennials prefer to give online – but they are likely to be accessing your website via a mobile phone. Mobile application giving will grow, 1:4 gave vs preferred. There’s currently very few applications. For example, a bike-a-thon in Texas has a Ride for Life app so that people can keep track of pledges and fundraising, see where others are, etc. Anything that can be game-like is great for an app.

Mobile Roadmap

One of the first things you should do is create a mobile website. Take the most important, relevant, action-oriented information and put it on the mobile version. Ensure your donation page is mobile accessible so that click throughs from emails on phones go somewhere that really works. Apps are a great way to educate and active. Native smartphone functionality is powerful, with geolocation and other services.

What are you doing now? If you haven’t started engaging yet, here’s how to start. Ask initial questions:

• What are you doing already?
• Strong social media presence?
• Activism focused mission?
• Educational programs?
• Large scale fundraising events?

Mobile plan:

• What are your biggest goals?
• What will Millennials and others do with/for you?
• Why would they want to use mobile solutions?
• Who/which departments need to be involved?
• How can enhancements and tools be paid for?
• Find a trusted partner!

Many Millennials have not yet chosen their life-long charities of choice. It’s important you start building trust and accessibility so that you can win them now.

“If your plans don’t include mobile, then your plans are not finished.” – Wendy Clark, Coca-Cola

What did they find out in the Millennial Donor Report?

Last year, we did research on Millennial donors and it spurred us to do it again. Giving, communication and engagement are the three areas of research.

Had respondents from nearly 3,000 participants, 20-35 year olds, with more than 90% with a college degree (nearly half pursued graduate studies and 37% had graduate degrees). The survey was distributed online only.

Giving

They found that when looking at giving, 93% of respondents made a donation in the last year.However, 58% said their largest gift was less than $100. 10% said they gave single gifts larger than $1,000. Millennials are giving small amount to multiple organizations.

This year’s research followed last year’s findings.

58% said they gave because of a personal request. Personal contact is important. The next biggest way to give was online on organization’s website. However, we also asked how they would prefer to give. 49% said they gave via a website, but 58% said they would prefer that way.

Compelling mission or cause for your organization is motivation to give for 85% of respondents, and 56% said personal connection and trust in the leadership/organization. 52% said they gave if their friends or family endorse the organization.

What influences trust? 77% said that if family or friends recommend an organization, they trust the organization. 70% said trust was in understanding financial information and how their donation would be used. 63% said they wanted to meet the organization’s leadership.

When are you likely to donate? 60% said they are very likely to donate if they trust the organization, 43% said very likely if it was a specific project or purpose. 41% said very likely if there was a matching gift.

What makes you stop donating? 79% very likely NOT to give if they don’t trust the organization. 37% said likely and 38% very likely that they would stop if the organization asked too often.

Only 28% of respondents said they would participate in a giving circle but only 22% rejected the notion outright. 50% said they weren’t sure what it is.

Communicating

71% said they learn about organizations through web searches (like Google). 62% said email communications from the organization and 56% said peer endorsement from family/friends. 70% say that when they first visit your website they want to know about your mission and history, and 56% want to know about your financial condition. People want transparency. 65% want an organizatoin’s website to explain how support will make a difference.

43% said they wanted communication monthly, 32% said quarterly, 10% weekly, 11% yearly. 79% said they want updates on programs and services. 70% want to know about volunteer opportunities. 56% want information about fundraising events and about activities for your professionals. Communication preference is email.

Engagement

How do Millennials want to be engaged? Interested in activities with your organization that involve others: dinner with entertainment, private events, social parties with peers, sports and walk/runs. These are also opportunities for them to connect with leadership from the organization.

How often do Millennials volunteer? 44% said a few times per year, 12% once a month, 18% a few times a month, 14% once a week or more, 12% ones a year. The primary obstacle to volunteering being a lack of time.

61% said they want to volunteer with friends and family, 56% said they want an organized group. 44% said they wanted to volunteer on their own.

Young Professional Groups – 40% said they would be interested in joining a young professional organization. Why: 80% said they would join if there was a compelling mission or cause, 77% said for networking and socialization, 75% said professional development.

What does this mean?

Communicating

Multichannel approach: direct mail still works, with a life of about 4-6 weeks. Email is core, but only has a life of about 6 hours. Strongly consider using peers and personal solicitation.

Smaller requests with appropriate frequency – Millennials said they want to hear from organizations, but not get asks all of the time (want info on programs and services monthly).

We know Millennials respond to face to face, the reality of getting out and talking to people to get a $50 gift is often not prioritized by staff – so have it be a peer to peer thing/event/group where they are asking each other.

They recommend you begin with email before you branch into social media, like facebook or mobile. Don’t start with broadcast, you need to engage and connect. Connecting via email is engagement. Work on soliciting a response via email.

Email: asking for $50 or less with a very timely message. Make your call to action in the email a button, including donation call outs. End your email with a call to action. What we see clients try to do is reformat their direct mail content into an email – that does not work.

Talk to Millennials about your goals, for example if you are trying to do something big and raise a large amount of money, break the goal and gifts down into smaller buckets so it isn’t overwhelming. Track your open rates and conversions (do they open the email and then do they actually make a gift) – open rates are important to measure, not just conversions and gifts.

As an example, visit the the ASPCA website – show small gift amounts, provide buttons, focus on impact and have used email campaigns to drive people to website for gifts

Using Google and other search engines is the most common way Millennials find you. Make sure you see how your organization comes up in search results.

Help Millennial donors experience your cause online. How do we tell our story and also engage Millennials virtually? Instead of printed annual reports, try doing a video with interview and clips from what you’ve done the last year. Engage your Millennials as guest bloggers.

As examples, check out Conservation International. They show how a donor has protected an acre of forest and provides ways for people to engage with the website and the mission. Another example is Team Fox, with it’s peer to peer fundraising.

Engagement

Millennials want to change the world and want to be challenged. Organizations need to create a challenge or they will go somewhere else. Ask them to think with us, plan with us, build with us. Share the challenges and the problems we want to tackle and asking them to join us in the whole process instead of just asking them to fund something.

Leadership interaction is important for Millennials. It isn’t that we need to organize them, but we need to facilitate ways for them to organize themselves.

Get the full Millennial Donor Report

You can get the full report, review charts and data, and more at: http://millennialdonors.com/research/report

MDS11 helps to extend the concepts and ideas discovered in the annual Millennial Donors Survey conducted by JGA and Achieve. The summit is an opportunity to build a pool of knowledge for millennial engagement. By bringing thought leaders together for a day of knowledge and inspiration, the summit is the first step for organizations to build a new millennial engagement program and to begin a new shift in constituent involvement in their organization. Download the report by clicking here and visit millennialdonors.com for more information.

Participate in MDS11 and you’ll learn:
• Why engaging Millennials matters
• How to engage Millennials in your cause
• Implications of the latest nonprofit and consumer research on Millennials
• Employing social media to engage Millennials
• Leveraging the online experience with Millennials
• Incorporating the latest trends in mobile technology for engaging and giving
• Success stories and best practices from organizations that excel in engaging Millennials
• Explore real life implications of generational differences in engaging and giving

Check out the full agenda, get the Millennial Donor Study report, and register today!

I’m part of the blogging team who will be posting coverage of the sessions – notes, commentary, and reflections – throughout the day of the event. Be sure to check back on June 22nd to get content as it happens!

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I’ve recently shared a couple interviews exploring two case studies of really successful online fundraising campaigns: SXSW4Japan Raises Over $120,000 and $100,000 in Three Days with #TeamAutism. Both of them involved celebrities. And I couldn’t help think to myself, “oh, so all we need to do to raise funds for a great cause is get a celebrity? That’s not realistic or sustainable!” But, I looked at both case studies again, more deeply, and realized that both of them weren’t really about the celebrity at all. Both campaigns created opportunity for people to participate and then share it with their networks and make personal recommendations. Both campaigns leveraged the community and competition aspects of social media. The celebrity involvement was part of the branding, not part of the winning solution.

Getting Over Celebrities

Then, why do we keep thinking celebrities are so important to raising money? The data says we should move on. Two recent reports share data about the actual role celebrity connection plays in nonprofit fundraising and both say the same thing: forget celebrities.

The 2011 Millennial Donor report, the second in an annual series, focuses on engaging Millennials in fundraising. It’s an interesting and valuable report with a lot of great insights. When it comes to fundraising, though, one of the areas of most interest is motivation – this can help fundraisers and organizations align their message and delivery with the points of interest and the channels that are the most influential to the target audience. The Millennial Donor report uncovered that celebrity is the bottom of the charts:

When asked to describe what motivates them to give, 85% of Millennials pointed to a compelling mission or cause, and 56% cited a personal connection or trust in the leadership of the organization. A friend or peer endorsement compelled 52% to give, while a nudge from a family member prompted 42% to give. Slightly more than a third (34%) gave as a result of a workplace fundraising 52% drive. A compelling video won over 12% of donors, while fundraising contests only    42% inspired 5% to give. That high-profile celebrity 35% or influential leader endorsement? Apparently it’s not worth the effort from a strictly fundraising standpoint: Only 2% of Millennials said they were motivated to give by such endorsements.

Yep, only 2% said celebrities were motivating their actions! But, on the top of the chart: a compelling cause. In the newest eNonprofit Benchmarks report from NTEN and M+R Strategies, it’s easy to see what a compelling cause may be to Millennial donors: disaster.

Online fundraising revenue grew overall by 14% between 2009 and 2010. This rebound was led by an enormous 163% increase in the International sector due to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti and flooding in Pakistan.

Beyond having just a compelling cause, Millennials are looking for trust – aren’t we all? According to the report, 57% of Millennials gave in response to a personal ask and 90% would stop giving if they did not trust the organization.

As Allyson Kapin wrote recently on the Care2 Frogloop blog, “Activists and donors rely more on their personal and social networks today, not celebrity endorsements.” In looking at TV ads, The 2010 Celebrity Advertisements: Exposing a Myth of Advertising Effectiveness,  report showed less than 12% of ads using celebrities exceeded a 10% lift, and one-fifth of celebrity ads had a negative impact on consumers.

Celebrities are out; Trust is in.

All these numbers lead us to ask: “Just how do we earn Millennials trust?”

This is something to continue exploring in posts to follow, but here’s a start, thanks to the Millennial Donors report:

1. Friends or family endorsement– create campaigns, messages, and “asks” that your supporters can modify to make their own, and that are shareable across platforms

2. Report financial condition– transparency is key, your 990 and other paperwork is public data (it’s already posted on Guidestar so you might as well be open about it!)

3. Opportunities to meet leadership– being transparent doesn’t just mean with information and data, but also in being accessible, put your organizations leaders in a place where they connect with the community

Have you seen online donations increasing for your organization? How are you working to build trust with your community? I’d love to hear your experiences and suggestions!

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• Gen-Y Wants More Than Cool Brands – A new 16-country study of Millennials focused on brands has a lot to offer for insight to nonprofit organizations looking to connect with the same generation. Including: "More than one-half of US Millennials (51%) say they influence the technologies their parents adopt and 41% say they influence the products they buy."
• A Mobile World – whitepaper – A new whitepaper from SmartOnMobile looks at how the constituents of nonprofit organizations are using<br />
  their mobile phones.
• Growing Virtual Roots – How our online efforts led to amazing offline results – A great case study in community organizing, on and offline, from Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. "From the perspective of a professional planner, an ideal scenario for planning an event would be to live and work in the community in which you are holding the event. However, in the world of nonprofits, where an organization cannot afford to have boots on the ground full time in all of the cities they have supporters, it is up to the event planner to figure out new solutions to the problem of “you can’t be in two places at once”."
• <b>nononprofitspam</b>.<b>wordpress.com</b> – Check out this new blog and campaign from nptechers like Deborah Elizabeth Finn and Peter Campbell targeting an issue many of us in the nonprofit sector may not think exists, or maybe ignore: nonprofit spam. "Our message to nonprofits: Your mission is noble, and your intentions are honorable. But if you subscribed us to your organization's bulk email list without our permission, then you are sending us spam."
• Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival for Nonprofits – "Lights. Camera. Help., the nation’s first film festival for nonprofits and cause advocates, is officially accepting entries for the 2011 festival. Exclusively dedicated to cause-driven films, the festival and it's cash prizes for winning films gives nonprofits a new forum for promoting their causes. Last year, the festival grew in entries, reach, attendance and prize money with submissions increasing from 140 in 2009 to over 235 documentaries, PSAs and short films focusing on cause-driven issues from around the world. Submissions will be open until May 31 and the submission form can be filled out at the Lights. Camera. Help. web site. It is free for all non-profits and causes to submit their film. The festival will be held July 28-July 30 in Austin, Texas."

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• Advertising Lab: Farmers Insurance Insures Farmville Farms – The “real world” and the virtual world are coming ever-more integrated! Do you have insurance? “Saw this blimp on Farmville’s spash screen today. It turns out that “The Farmers [Insurance] in-game integration will use the likeness of its Farmers Insurance Airship, a 246-foot long Zeppelin. When players place the Farmers Airship on their farm, they receive free “wither protection” for the crops on their virtual farm. In a nod to the security that Farmers Insurance offer its customers, this protection means players crops won’t wither for the 10 days of the promotion.””
• Photographs, Digital Rights & Social Media Events | Geoff Livingston’s Blog – Geoff shares a recent example of his attendance at an event where he was photographed and his images shared. Do you have examples on this topic, has this happened to you? And where you stand on the discussion of copyright, digital rights, online content sharing and intellectual property? Really looking forward to hearing your responses!
• Facebook in Online Privacy Breach; Applications Transmitting Identifying Information – WSJ.com – “Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.”
• Lasa launches Big Society online survey – “The charity Lasa is conducting an online survey, called Big Society, Big Deal? Lasa’s research will explore what third sector organisations in the UK think about the coalition government’s Big Society policy, how they think it will affect their funding and change the way they work with other charities. Charities wishing to take part in the survey have until 5pm on Wednesday 27 October to complete the questionnaire, which aims to discover whether the Big Society policy represents an opportunity or a threat to the third sector.”
• Social Media –– Revolutionary Movement or Enabler of “Slacktivism”? : Center for Social Innovation (CSI) – “Many of us enjoy a good debate, and there’s an important one playing out on our doorstep. Some people say we’re in the midst of a revolution where the new tools of social media are reinventing social activism in vital ways. Others say that social media is a fad that does little more than enable “slacktivism”—that is, engaging in activities (mostly mouse-clicking) that make you feel like you’re doing good but actually amount to very little real change. Where do you stand?”
• SXSW Interactive Festival Non Profit Scholarship Program | SXSW.com – “The SXSW Interactive Festival brings together an eclectic mix of technologists, new media industry professionals, creative thinkers and marketing experts to launch new ideas and solutions into the marketplace. Attendees find inspiration, new business partners, and learn new concepts to take their work to the next level. For 2011, SXSW is proud to add a new scholarship program to make it easier for non profits to be part of the excitement of March in Austin.” – I am so happy to see this scholarship and hope that it ensures more nonprofits are on stage, in the hallway, and part of the vibrant conversations that SXSW is so known for!