Generation Y: Breaking Stereotypes by Raising Funds and Doing Good

Another great example of DiceWorks’ excellent use of social media is how it decided to use collaboration when administering the Facebook page for the event.

“I made each of the cast members an administrator for the Facebook event page. This allowed each cast member to invite their own set of friends, e-mail out to external accounts, tag friends, upload images and share on individual Facebook profiles,” Dice said.

I asked Hackman what he thought was the most important thing he learned from the experience, and all three individuals — Dice, Hackman and Garcia — had similar sentiments.

“I would say the most important thing was simply the influence a small group can have," Hackman said. "DiceWorks’ goal was to raise $2,000 and sell 200 tickets while incurring no expenses. We were able to not only meet but exceed these goals with very hard work from a few individuals, which then inspired personal investment from a small army of others. Effort begets more effort, and a cause is infectious so long as people jumping on board know there's already those there that will work alongside them and more.”

So what does all this mean? Here are my takeaways from interviewing these anything but lazy and apathetic Gen Yers:

1.) Rather than focusing on how to target Generation Y, focus on the mission of your organization and try and make it as compelling as possible. Tell the story, skip the fluff and get to the point — tell us what we can do and make it more than just a donate button.

2.) Social media will continue to be a factor in acquiring new donors — but perhaps in a way different from the standard methods. As you can see from the two examples, do-it-yourself philanthropy is becoming increasingly popular among Generation Y, and social media is the most logical place to promote causes. Find your advocates (Garcia in the above example), and they will help you find donors you may never have had a chance to reach by utilizing their networks.