Average Joe Philanthropy

Last year, I made the biggest donation to a nonprofit that I’ve ever made – a few thousand dollars is no small amount for me. And without disclosing too much of the personal financials, I’m a great distance from being considered wealthy. Oh yeah, and I’m a millennial.

Millennials get a bad rapport in the nonprofit community for their lack of generosity. They are often considered a selfish consumerist generation whose primary goal it make it rich and enjoy the Tim Ferriss 4-hr work week. And to some degree, that’s not an entirely wrong assumption.

As a generation, we millennials enjoy consumerism?—?and we see consumerism and philanthropy through the same lens. We like TOMS Shoes because when we buy a pair, they donate one; no extra steps necessary. The list goes on: Warby Parker, Newman’s Own, Brown Paper Tickets…

It’s not like millennials aren’t aware of the thousands of worthy and important nonprofit causes around us. Obviously, giving to a homeless shelter or your local orchestra is a really good thing to do. It’s part of our civic duty in being a part of our community.

But how often is something that is a “duty” or responsibility something we also thoroughly enjoyed? Think about it. It’sgood to floss our teeth?—?we know it’s our duty to get it done every day. But when was the last time you walked into a room and told someone, “Hey, check this out… I justflossed my teeth!!”?

So then, why be generous? Why give to charity? Why enjoy philanthropy? It’s good, but is that the reason we do it?

Let’s bring in the studies, shall we? According to The Wall Street Journal, giving to charities has the same effect on your brain as eating chocolate or having sex. That’s some pretty amazing stuff, right? Sure, but it’s way cheaper to buy chocolate than to give a hundred bucks to a nonprofit. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about my millennial colleagues, they are very bottom-line focused. If something won’t make money or if the cost is too high, it’s time for them to move on.

Again, why give? Clearly money given to a charity doesn’t become money back in our pockets. Being philanthropic doesn’t come with a personal ROI.

I’d like to propose that beyond the “doing good” aspect; beyond the psychological benefits; beyond our civic and community duty; and beyond personal gain… there is only one reason that you should give generously as to a cause you care about…

 IT’S JUST PLAIN FUN.

Nobody ever talks about how fun it is to be philanthropic. It’s like shopping, but instead of a receipt and some crap you don’t need, you get a phone call from a nonprofit fundraising professional who?—?frankly?—?would love to be your friend and connect you to a circle of other people who are just like you.

Especially for millennials, there are plenty of nonprofits who have under 40’s clubs. Why bother trying to meet people at a bar when you can automatically find people who share the same interests as you?

Then there’s the status reports. Nonprofits will check in every now and then and say, “Hey, remember that super generous gift you gave us? Here’s the amazing work we accomplished with that. We couldn’t have done it without you!” Aside from the personal benefits of being philanthropic, you get to see the world around you become better.

At the end of the day, if none of that feels like enough, just try it. Look at your bank right now, take an unreasonable chunk of the money that’s just sitting there, and send it over to a nonprofit you only just found on a quick Google search. Enjoy it!

And you can add “Philanthropist” to your LinkedIn title, too.