Chronicle of Philanthropy Discussion on Millennials

This Tuesday, the Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted a live discussion-"Engaging Millennials for Social Causes" with guest host Allison H. Fine, a senior fellow at Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, in New York, and a writer. Ms. Fine also recently published a very interesting paper- "The Social Citizen" -on the Case Foundation's Social Citizens blog.

This paper is a MUST read.

Here is a sample Q&A from the Chronicle discussion. Read the full transcript.

"Question from Sara Koppelman, Sports 4 All Foundation:
What are the top three ways you think nonprofit groups can communicate with millenials?

Allison H. Fine: Hmmm, just three, OK, lemme try:

1. Go where they are. I would not advise a group to start their own social networking site (unless there are security issues they are concerned about) but go where people are already gathered.

2. Listen. I will start to sound like a broken, well CD, I guess, but try to break the organizational habit of assuming that you know where people are and what they want. Ask them -- and then listen to their response!

3. Stay Flexible. As I mentioned above, the tools are changing at lightning speed. Don't invest too much in any one platform or tool, stay light and flexible."