Morgan Hennessy
Many think of philanthropy as old, rich men pledging their stocks and fortunes to foundations orat the very least something only established, moderately wealthy people can do. But that face of philanthropy is changing. Young people are using technology in ways that often confuse yet astound the older generation to contribute the greater good. Here’s just a few ways that technology has changed the philanthropic world.
1. Text to give. Have you ever seen commercials telling you text the phrase ”GIVE10” to a short phone number? This gives people the opportunity to give with something they most likely already have on them: their phone! This type of giving tends to pop up after natural disasters or tragedies and is quick and simple, with your phone provider just adding your donation to your monthly bill.
2. Venmo. Around March each year, I’ll often receive notifications from the money sharing app Venmo requesting $1 for Relay for Life. Often time fellow college sudents will use this quick method to fundraise for their personal or student organization’s Relay for Life team. While $1 does not seem like much, your phone’s contacts can sync with the app and anyone whose phone number is tied to a Venmo account can get that notification in seconds. That could mean upwards of 100 requests sent out instantly. $1 might not seem like much, but you with enough people it adds up fast!
3. Facebook Birthday Fundraisers. Facebook has recently added a new feature where you can create a fundraiser for any nonprofit or philanthropic organization and ask for donations for your birthday in lieu of gifts for yourself. Facebook notifies everyone on your friends list that you created a fundraiser, which for me is upwards of 800 people. This is an easy way to spread a fundraiser across a large group of people, with the added benefit of a bit of an emotional guilt trip because it is your birthday and people want to make you happy!
Even though there are many ways philanthropy has evolved over the years, these are just three of the ways that young people are using their tech savvy skills to show the “love for mankind!”