I had the chance to speak at #MCON last week. Led by Derrick Feldmann of Achieve, this forum promotes Millennial engagement (or to use his words, “people who give a damn about social change.”) This year 20,000 people tuned in, both online and in person.
For me, it was a terrific opportunity to talk about the relationship between food waste and hunger in America. I blogged about that topic in the Huffington Post last week. This week I’d like to continue sharing my thoughts on Millennials, but look at how they volunteer.
The Millennial Impact Report, sponsored by the Case Foundation and powered by Derrick’s organization, offers the most comprehensive research to date. To some extent, the study confirms what many of us know firsthand: Millennials are often purpose driven and want to ‘move the needle’ on causes important to them. What I found astonishing in the study was that “77 percent of Millennials said they’re more likely to volunteer when they can use their specific skills or expertise to benefit a cause.”
At Feeding America, we are fortunate to have 2 million volunteers helping out across our network. They can get involved in any number of fields such as accounting, marketing, IT, and logistics. Some projects are small; some large. Some take place on weekends, some weekdays.
No one has all the answers on how to best harness the enthusiasm of this younger generation. But nonprofits, B-Corps, and others in the social sector would do well to customize volunteer opportunities so they can put their skills to work for causes they believe in. In addition, I’d strongly suggest pointing out how their individual contributions are making a difference. Meeting Millennials where they are is, in my book, the secret to creating a win-win-win scenario for them, nonprofits, and millions of people who benefit from their genuine desire to help.
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