Millennials are Philanthropic and Charitable, Empowered by Tech Tools
The tech-driven millennial generation engages with philanthropic causes on an ongoing basis. They’re instantly granted access to localized information on the causes that matter to them most due to modernizing technology. Ultimately, this connection to philanthropic efforts has helped to shape the members of the millennial generation, helping them to affect real and social change.
Women and men born in the 1990s and 1980s differ from their parents and grandparents, who established and fostered community in organizations and churches. Instead, they’re more likely to crave short-term engagement; they tend to change employers several times over a lifetime, and they change industries and interests. Employment trends among millennials suggest that an employers’ social responsibility and cause-related work can be a huge determining factor throughout their job search.
For millennials, a company’s social responsibility ranks just below salary and benefits when they are selecting positions. Businesses are quite aware of this, and they’re often willing to accommodate attitudes about volunteering and giving. In fact, the American Red Cross reworked its business plan to offer frictionless opportunities to fuel a specific goal. Like other generations, millennials want to work collaboratively to stimulate change.
The available technology allows for this populace to connect with one another at an accelerated rate, this has increased peer influence. The spread of data, the movement of news, and the purchasing of products are procedures that are more in line with the value of millennials, which overwhelming supports philanthropy and the environment. Today, there are far fewer barriers to philanthropy, and impact investing and social entrepreneurship is becoming a mainstay.
Millennials have reshaped charity through online giving, which hints at the massive generosity of the subset. Approximately 84 percent of millennials made charitable donations in 2014 while 70 percent spent at least an hour volunteering. The desire to take on roles within philanthropy and leadership has manifested in the form of dollar donations, as well as a focus on local causes, which made further accessible thanks to email blasts, charity apps, and text messaging. GoFundMe, GiveEasy, and JustGive have perfected the one-touch donation.
Millennials have embraced donation and investment, and many have recognized that participation can be made possible through digital tools.They’re investing their capital and time emotionally.
