Kid Philanthropy
Here’s a great story from the Washington Post about young people — ages like 11, 12, and 13 — and their fundraising activities.
Zach Bonner set out to help homeless kids in his area of Florida. Now his Little Red Wagon Foundation has generated 27 trailer trucks of aid, received a $25,000 check from Elton John, and is the focus of a $5 million film.
Brittany and Robbie Bergquist have been earning money collecting and recycling used cellphones, enabling them to provide $5 million worth of prepaid phonecards to soldiers overseas who couldn’t otherwise afford to call home.
More and more there is public recognition for youth fundraising and volunteerism, including valuable scholarships, leading some cynics to question the altruism involved. No doubt there are some kids who "do charity" to round out their college credentials. But I don’t think that’s a scourge to lose much sleep over. And, in any event, if real money and real volunteer time is going to meeting real needs at the end of the day, I’ll take it.
What strikes me about these examples is how "hands on" and — apparently, low tech — they are. How much more effort and commitment they involve than sticking a "badge" on one’s Facebook site. And how direct and uncluttered the connection is between the actual fundraising and the benefit provided.
Retaining the kind of person-to-person spirit and connection illustrated in the Post’s examples is a fundamental challenge for "professional" fundraisers and the nonprofits we serve.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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