Log on and Save the World: Part I

Log on and Save the World
the iGeneration, technology and the future of philanthropy

In case you haven’t heard, the days when you simply wrote a check to charity – when you left money with a community foundation, association or organization and let them go about dispersing it – those days are over. A new generation is writing the checks, (or actually using PayPal) and they are fundamentally different than any generation before them. If you think Millennials (those born between 1979 and 2000) are apathetic or lazy, you have Millennials all wrong. They want to make a big impact and, different from generations before them, they’re thinking “technology first” on their way to save the world.

At heart, the iGeneration is made of change agents. They take to the streets when they think it matters, as with Darfur. They believe in service and want to make a difference, both locally and around the world.

At the same time, these new iInvestors, (as in Impact Investors as we like to call them), are a generation that grew up with and is in some ways fundamentally defined by the Internet. For them there really never was a world before text-messaging and hands free devices, ATMs or digital cameras. Millennials use the Internet to eagerly identify alternative spring breaks and cultural exchanges to Africa or India. They engage the world through Wikipedia and MySpace and YouTube. They make their voices heard through on-line message boards, fill out on-line petitions, and post to blogs, they text-message with their friends around the globe.

But, most interestingly, the iGeneration is already taking philanthropy seriously – and in this way they are also different than any generation before them. Millennials take university courses on corporate social responsibility, environmental protection and social investing. They form their own foundations, after-school clubs in middle-school to learn about giving. You’ll find organizations and associations springing up across the country seeking to attract and provide a philanthropic learning experience for them and their counterparts – including wealth management, grant-reviewing, selection and cooperative giving.

So, the question is… what will we do with our money? Will our approach to philanthropy spur the interest and of others who have come before us and those who will follow? Have we learned from the past, or will we repeat the mistakes we’ve made? Can we contribute to changing the world?

I think we can, if we develop a vision to match our enthusiasm and engage and improve our understanding of technology. Stay tuned…

Welcome to the Millennial Challenge

In the new millennium, unlike any generation before, change agents and their social causes have a digital billboard from which to "broadcast" and "engage" millions of people. The platform is on-line, whether via mobile device or on YouTube, and it's 24/7. New and personal media is changing the world and it is not a short-lived fad; it's here to stay.

Millennials (those born between 1978 and 1998) are at the forefront of those using technology to enable social change. They learn about issues from web sites, blogs and emails from friends and counterparts in emerging market countries. Millennials donate to pet causes online and use technology to spread the word about efforts to fight genocide, hunger, and poverty in our time. They also use the web to find the cheapest air-travel to Kampala or Cambodia for a spring, summer or winter break cultural exchange.

Questions and challenges, however, remain:

-Will Millennials learn the lesson that band-aid approaches to development are not sustainable?

-Are they ready to nurture and incubate ideas and solutions with their counterparts in cities, states and countries around the world?

-Are Millennials up and ready for the long-term challenge?

My name is Jeremy Goldberg and I will be your emcee [MC] to understanding the new ways young people are approaching changing the world. I bring with me the perspective of a millennial who has participated and facilitated conferences from the US to Morocco to Uganda, worked with and run NGO projects, organized and mentored young people at high-schools and universities, engaged in networks for young professionals working in the private sector, and attended youth summits in the United States and Africa.

These experiences have given me a fresh and informed view about millennials’ innovative nature, their trends in giving and service and development around the world. This blog, Millennial Challenge, or MC, is dedicated to exploring how today's IGeneration approaches social change, building global networks, and philanthropy – for many Millennials changing the world is experiential, not just sending a blind check MC will also look at the personal media and other technology Millennials use to address serious global development issues and challenges.

MC will cover a broad range of topics including my work with youth in Africa and Latin America and conversations with young philanthropists and social change agents in the United States and abroad. Some of my articles will address my trips to Africa, visits to U.S. universities and donor agency seminars, social marketing events, and a look inside the Washington, DC NGO beltway. I will also blog about topics in which Millennials are engaged, as well as what is on the horizon. I'll also interview and share insights from leading experts in the field of philanthropy, technology and social investment. Monthly, I'll have a "Guest MC" featured on the blog.

These are exciting times and I look forward to having you join me in this new and up-beat conversation about them.

Let the challenge begin.

Can a ball change the world? Yes... it can.

Sports today are nearly everyone’s global obsession, but did you also know that they are also a new trend in international development? Donor agencies from Sweden and Norway along with the United Nations and sports outfitting companies like Nike and Adidas, have all joined the “Sports for Social Change” movement. Sadly, most donors – like most sports fans around the world – haven’t taken advantage of the excitement this new phenomenon is generating. However, this game is just beginning…

In addition to the millions of dollars we spend on bags of rice and cooking oil to throw at the world’s poorest communities, why not throw them millions in soccer balls and sports programs as well? In the service of economic development, why don’t we make a serious effort to harness the power of sports?

To make this point, allow me to introduce Jeremy’s Top 6 Reasons why donor agencies – and sporting types everywhere – should add “Sports for Social Change” to their development (and charitable) playbooks:

1. Sports are empowering: Most sports begin with chasing a ball “Sports for Social Change” projects encourage youth to also chase their dreams and PLAY, like in Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. Sports enable youth to think positively about their futures, and encourage teamwork as a way to accomplish big things. Whether as an individual and as a team member, sports are empowering.

2. Sports programs are pro-health: In addition to obvious fitness benefits, sports also increase psychological health. Research has shown that impoverished youth who play soccer feel they have an opportunity to rise above crime and delinquent behavior. Don’t just take my word for it – check out an increasing array of scientific evidence from groups like the International Platform for Sport and Development. Sports are good for body and spirit.

3. Sports programs are intuitive and fun: Young people around the world may not be able to discuss the intricacies of development economics, but give them a soccer ball and they know what to do. People can relate to sports, and through the platform of sports, they can be exposed easily, naturally to important messages that can make their lives better. After all, would most kids go voluntarily to a lecture on nutrition? Of course not. But if they got nutrition information was part of their team training and if messages were repeated during league games, well…

4. Sports make sense to funders: Many development schemes seem unusually complicated. Terms like “sustainable development” just don’t resonate with people outside the development biz. However, nearly everyone PARTICIPATES in sports. That makes it easy to understand how young girls in Africa are learning about HIV/AIDS prevention on the soccer pitch.

5. There are sports funders out there: From the Mia Hamm Foundation to the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program, sports come with the star-power and the financial resources that can take an initially small project to large scale. In fact, nearly every big-name sports star in the US or Europe has some sort of charitable presence these days. Moreover, there are big-name, big earning sports stars from the developing world who can – and are – willing to put in some of their money. For a sports star, what could be more natural?

6. Sports are unifying: Long term development depends on working together. Especially in the many communities rebounding from conflict, sports – limited, rule-based, for-the-fun-of-it competition – provides a new, positive alternative model to conflict and violence. Sports can bring old enemies together. Successful basketball programs for youth in South Africa and sports teams comprised of Palestinians and Israelis show that the language of sports is universal. As they say, there’s no I in team… and as it turns out, no I in development either.

So by now I am sure you are convinced. But if there are such clear benefits to Sports for Social Change, why have donor agencies been so slow to encourage and fund these programs?

Probably the most commonly expressed concern is how to effectively monitor and measure the impacts of these programs. Donors want to know “How does a community playing soccer stack up against a group that doesn’t?” Fortunately, there are new advances in programming that are addressing just these issues.

Last month in Nairobi, Care USA and Nike launched a public-private sports for development partnership, establishing a network for East African sport organizations to share and document the best practices of Sports for Social Change. The partnership will collect data to show in specific terms how and where sports help further the cause of development. As part of the plan, the partnership is using the proliferation of new media, the Internet marketplace and ePhilanthropy to support its work and share results.

And, at the grassroots level, monitoring and evaluation is, if anything, easier. Going to the field and talking with young people and communities about their sport experiences provides a wealth of information. As the Global Youth Partnership for Africa (GYPA) has seen in Uganda, youth will tell you that they are more likely to attend programs because sports are now a part of the curriculum. Improved attendance rates directly indicate a measure of success. Groups like GYPA, Grassroots Soccer and Playing for Peace are working together to add real-life stories to the broader data picture.

So there you have it. The game is on. Are you ready to get on the team?

Well, if you’re wondering where to start, the Internet is a good first stop. Check out the Homeless World Cup (HWC), which this year celebrates its 5th anniversary of bringing together the world’s homeless for a week of soccer for social change. Look at the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, which uses soccer as the vehicle for education and leadership development for young Afghani girls and women. The program received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at ESPN’s 2006 ESPY Awards. But, it doesn’t end there…

Thanks to new media tools like blogs and YouTube, sports for social change have gone beyond the old organization-to-organization setup, and can now be a real person-to-person experience. I can tell you firsthand that blogs helped us bring a team of young Ugandan men and women to the Homeless World Cup. In the six months leading up to the HWC, the Ugandan players and coaches posted diaries and streaming video on the Katalyst Consultancy blog, building a network of supporters that played (and continues to play) a significant role in the success of the Uganda program.

Sports work. And through today’s new technology every fan can get involved. The time has come to recognize Sports for Social Change as a legitimate development tool, and provide the funding to take this to scale. Starting with the donor community and reaching down to every one of us that laces up a pair of sneakers or picks up a bat or racket.

All it takes is a little funding and we will see. It’s time for all of us to get in the game. A ball can change the world…