social citizens

During D.C.'s "historic" snowstorm this week, I read, among many things, a funny (and informative) article on "How to Date a Lawyer." Since the overwhelming number of lawyers in D.C. is only rivaled by its number of young nonprofit professionals and idealists and since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought it might be helpful to make a little how-to guide of my own. Let's face it, lawyers might be a popular choice, but if you're really looking for someone you can write home about, you're probably in the market for a social-web savvy, cause-oriented team player. So, I give you: how to date a social citizen, in seven easy steps. 

1. Get out there and volunteer. There are tons of volunteer opportunities available through serve.gov, where you are sure to meet social citizens who are impressed with your commitment to serving the community and your mural painting prowess. Some organizations, like One Brick, even combine service with social interactions where you can mix and mingle with fellow volunteers, or you can always demonstrate your leadership skills by organizing an impromptu happy hour following an afternoon of service.
    
2. Dress the part. You are sure to catch the eye of a social citizen in TOMS shoes, Yellow Bird Project t-shirts and, when there's no time for subtlety, a StillerStrong headband.
    
3. Learn the lingo. Keep up with social citizen-friendly blogs and be prepared to drop key phrases into conversation. Beth's Blog, the HuffPo Impact vertical, Change.org, and Philanthropy 2173 are good places to start. Using phrases like "high impact," "crowd-sourcing," and "triple bottom line" and generally adding "social" to most nouns will be music to a social citizen's ears.
    
4. Keep all your social media profiles updated with your favorite causes. When your social citizen sees that you've started a cause to raise money for your favorite nonprofit, added a twibbon to your avatar, and voted for a worthy nonprofit in the latest online grant competition, they'll be wrapped around your little finger.
    
5. Give gifts that give back. When your relationship reaches a gift-giving level, score extra points by giving your social citizen something that also benefits her favorite cause. If you need something stat, the Case Foundation's Megan Stohner recently compiled a list of Valentine's Day charitable gift ideas.
    
6. Be connected. Respond promptly to facebook messages and wall posts, DMs and @replies, blog comments, texts, and all forms of Google communication, including but not limited to, chats, emails, reader comments, buzzes, and waves. (Notice that I did not include Facebook pokes. You are not obligated to employ or respond to pokes, as they are ambiguous and uncomfortable.) Using your smart phone to show you can stay in touch on the go will impress and delight your social citizen.
    
7. Be transparent. Even if this goes against your dating instincts at first, demonstrating transparency is a sure-fire way to show your social citizen love interest that you're worth his or her time. Showing that you value the unique blend of your personal and professional lives and that you resist the urge to be a different person at home or at work will make every social citizen feel at ease.

 There you have it. Happy Valentine's Day and good luck!

Howe and Strauss, authors of Millennials Rising, predict that based on generational trends, the Millennial generation’s “complete breakout” will be around 2010. We should be hitting our peak right now, really coming into our own, and attracting a lot of attention for it. And I think, in many cases, we are. Many of the conferences and affinity groups in our sector are starting to provide significant roles and development opportunities for the “next generation,” our generation’s role in the 2008 election is still being analyzed by experts, and let’s not forget the hubbub created around the Morgan Stanley superintern’s report about How Teenagers Consume Media.

Next, however, will come the ebbing of public interest, when people are tired of hearing about who we are as a generation, what we care about and how we are different from those who have gone before. Based on the cycles of previous generations, Howe and Strauss say this should happen in the oh-teens, although it’s possible that social media will speed up that timeline a bit. Then what will we do with ourselves??

This reminds me of a post I read last year by Len Kendall about why he stopped writing about being a Millennial and why he advises others to do so as well. Len practically begs Millennials to distinguish themselves as something great, regardless of age and to resist the urge to use the gimmick of being young, while we can. Yes, there is another generation behind us. Yes, they’ll start getting more attention than us in a few years. They will be the new twenty-somethings with great ideas and new ways of doing things, and we may, for a moment, feel like the forgotten middle child.

Rather than exploring how I am personally distinguishing myself beyond my youth or how this blog is going to stay relevant when the next generation is the hot topic, I’m concerned with how our generation is going to continue to be relevant, influential and impactful. Our true relevance isn't based on youth. As we’ve discussed before, social citizens can be any age, but the Millennial generation has defined the social citizen. Millennials’ relevance is now, and will continue to be, based on our unique way of looking at problems and shaping our society. And rather than lamenting our generation's inevitable fade from the list of hot topics, I’m frankly looking forward to being a person with a unique way of meeting a challenge and not a YOUNG person with a unique way of meeting a challenge. We don’t need youth as a novelty to gain a seat at the table.

Just as Boomers continue to be relevant, we will stay relevant as we come of age. We will always be Millennials. As the buzz around our generation is dying, we will also begin taking the reins in business, politics, government, media and nonprofit work. I get all tingly dreaming about some of the ways the characteristics that make us Millennials will continue to impact all aspects of our society.

We prefer partnership to hierarchy. Will we improve the way that our organizations, and even governing bodies, work by releasing more control, collaborating more than we are competing and eliminating careful bureaucracy? How will we treat the generation entering the workplace behind us, and how will that spur innovation?

We blend the sectors and structures. As is already being demonstrated with our affinity for social enterprise and cross-sector partnerships, we connect our values and causes to our jobs and our shopping habits, and we reject the belief that doing good is the responsibility of just one sector. As our buying power increases, will we force business, more broadly, to make more environmentally and socially responsible decisions? Will we demand that nonprofits function more like businesses? Will models like TOMS Shoes replace business models that are purely profit-driven? What will the new standards be for Corporate Social Responsibility?

We value transparency. With online personas created by all of our blogging, facebooking, and tweeting, it’s nearly impossible for individuals to set a hard line between professional and personal and for organizations to limit the information circulating about them to what comes out of their communications shop. Will our standards be compromised as we knock down the walls between our personal and professional lives? Or will we set new standards for transparency and openness?

We are globally aware, globally connected and globally concerned. The effects of globalization and technology have helped us to realize that it IS a small world after all. Will our increased concern, connection, and sense of responsibility regarding our neighbors in other countries and cultures make a significant impact on their lives? Will our institutions be more active and quick in preventing genocide, oppression, and other injustice around the world? Will we be more peaceful?

We are idealistic and optimistic. Having rejected the cynicism of the generation before us, we are convinced that change is possible and that we can make a difference. Will this lead us to try outrageous things that others haven’t? Will it increase our willingness to put trust in each other and institutions to do the right thing?

Our environmental resources are diminishing, our economy is crumbling, and according to a Washington Post Breaking News Alert that came in as I was writing this, “more Americans are going hungry” (49 million to be precise). Even as our problems seemingly become more and more complex, we are also being asked to take the reins, to look to the future and to predict what’s next for the nonprofit sector. We know that business as usual (if ever there was such a thing) is no longer going to cut it and it seems we’ll never go back to our pre-crisis standing. So, how do we take hold of this moment in time, and what role will the rising generation of Millennials have in helping lead the change?

Earlier this month, the James Irvine Foundation released a new study, Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector.  In it, LaPiana Consulting outlines five ways the nonprofit sector will be redefining its role, noting that, “The nonprofit sector is at an inflection point that will fundamentally reshape it long after the recession, when surviving nonprofits find themselves in a new reality — not just economically, but demographically, technologically and socially.” The five trends focus on the following areas:

• Demographic shifts that redefine participation
• Abundant technological advances
• Networks that enable work to be organized in new ways
• Rising interest in civic engagement and volunteerism
• Blurring sectoral boundaries

While reading the report, I couldn’t help but reflect back almost two years ago, to the beginning of Social Citizens. As I worked with Allison Fine to develop the key themes of the report, you’ll find some commonalities.  Remember, our goal was to see how the future of the nonprofit sector was being reimagined through the lens of the Millennial Generation. We defined a social citizen as someone who is, “energetic and passionate about social causes; brimming with new approaches and ideas for problem solving; disposed toward sharing the responsibilities and rewards of affecting change in the world; and using digital tools and people power (on and offline social networks) to make it happen.”

We found some distinguishing characteristics of “social citizens” – let’s take them point for point in comparison to the above study.

• Demographic shifts: Millennials are the most ethnically diverse generation in our history
• Technological advances: Millennials are net natives, growing up with cell phones in tow
• Organized Networks: Millennials go against hierarchical structures and have adopted a new collaborative style of leadership
• Civic engagement/volunteering: Millennials are volunteering at the highest rates of any generation
• Sector Boundaries: Millennials are merging lines between for profit and nonprofit structures and concepts. Social activism has become a new marketplace where goods and services are exchanged not just for money and profit, but good social outcomes.

I applaud the Convergence report for pointing out what’s changing and what it will take to survive amid these changes, and I hope that as a sector we’ll begin to break down some of the generational boundaries that still abound.  Call me naïve or an idealistic Millennial, but there has perhaps never been a better time to experiment, to let go of the status quo, and to embrace new opportunities for change.  We need to look at the world through a new lens.

The rising generation has a lot of ideas, and we’re being invited to more tables as evidenced by the record number of NextGener’s who participated at the Independent Sector Conference earlier this month.  Since Millennials seem to be inclined toward the types of behaviors that will shape the future of the sector, don’t you think greater cross generational collaboration could help ensure a smoother transition? How can we continue to bridge these generational gaps and recognize we're all in this together? 

Today's guest blogger Monisha Kapila shares some thoughts as she begins channeling her decade of experiences in the private and nonprofit sectors into the launch of ProInspire.  Her ambitious new venture is aimed at bridging the gap between nonprofit organizations that seek a broader pool of talent with business professionals who want to transition into the sector.

One of the exciting movements among social citizens is increasing interest in jobs that “do good.” People are looking for ways to find meaning through work, and this is particularly true with Millenials and Boomers. The growing number of applications in recent years to programs such as Teach for America and the Broad Residency are a testament to increased awareness and interest in giving back through a career.  The current economic downturn and President Obama’s call to service have also caused many people to think about nonprofit careers from a new perspective. 

To wrap up our series of Social Citizens Makeover "before" snapshots, we have Rabbi Erica Rosenkranz, 31, of West Palm Beach, Fla.

Erica says she has known for most of her life that she would become a rabbi, but it was not until 2002 when she went to rabbinic school. She is passionate about her work within the Jewish community because she has the opportunity to help, counsel and inspire people. Since Erica was ordained in 2006, she has chosen to work predominantly with teens and college students because she believes it is important to invest in tomorrow's leaders, so they are equipped to address the challenges of the future.

Erica currently uses email, phone calls, and Facebook to communicate with potential collaborators and partners, but she's sure she could reach a greater audience if she had some Social Citizens tools and a little guidance from our social media expert. At the Commission for Jewish Education, Erica ran the Teen Tzedakah Project, a program meant to help teens understand the importance of helping others by giving of both their time and money. The project has a Facebook profile, which it often uses to communicate with potential members. Erica wants to learn how she can use social media and viral techniques to better communicate about initiatives like that. 

Erica hopes that with her makeover, she will be able to spread the word about what she's doing and inspire others to get involved.

Don't forget to check back in June when we will catch up with each of our makeover winners to see how they have been transformed into Social Citizens.

For those of you following our Social Citizens Makeovers unfold, today we introduce you to Matt Chesney, 19, of Valrico, Florida.

Matt has been involved in the Little Red Wagon Foundation since his younger brother Zach started it at the age of six. He says his now 11-year-old brother’s passion for helping underprivileged kids, and specifically homeless youth, is contagious.

After bringing attention to the cause and raising $25,000 by walking from Tampa to Tallahassee in 2007, Zach is planning a 625-mile-walk from Atlanta to Washington, DC, this May to raise awareness around the more than 1.3 million homeless kids in the US. Matt says they hope to mobilize 1,000 kids to walk the last mile to the White House with them to draw attention to the country’s homeless youth.

This March, the Little Red Wagon Foundation will execute its fourth annual “Project 24 Hours,” a fundraiser and awareness event during which they organize Florida middle, high school, and college students to simulate a day in the life of a homeless youth.

Matt is already using Facebook, YouTube, email, and the Foundation’s website to reach others who might want to get involved by attending events, participating in campaigns, making donations or voting in contests. He hopes that a Social Citizens Makeover will help him share the inspiring story of his little brother’s Foundation with a greater number of people and allow them to make a difference for kids in need.

Watch this video about the Little Red Wagon Foundation.

Have you always wondered what kind of social citizen you are? Chances are, you've probably never thought about it - but now you have no excuse not to. Take our new Social Citizens Quiz and reveal your true social citizen savviness in just eight quick questions. 

Plus, as a bonus, you can enter to win a Social Citizens Makeover complete with all of the tools to help you promote your cause and spread social good. Five lucky winners will receive a Flip video camera, a $100 Apple gift certificate, and a suite of tools including a WordPress PremiumAccount,  Flickr ProAccount, and two hours of consulting time with a social media expert. Read more »

As this post goes live, Alex Steed -- a straight talkin’ millennial, frustrated by the way his generation is perceived by the media -- is setting off on a 30 day cross country trip.  Who does he want to meet? Social citizens like you. If he hasn’t already found you on couchsurfing.com or Craigslist – it’s not too late to find him.  You can keep up to speed on Alex’s journey here on Social Citizens and through video and blog posts along the way. Without further adieu…here’s Alex.

This is the first day of the Millennials Changing America Tour. The journey across the United States will bring me face to face with young activists who are tapping into technology to help create social change. I'll be posting my findings here and on a series of other blogs along the way. I am extremely grateful to the Case Foundation, which has partnered with the tour by offering to match the first $5,000 in person-to-person support we get on our website. So many thanks to them. Read more »