ML's blog: Cause Consumption, Green Consumers and then some

Micro-philanthropy:  Less is the new more

Donor as investor: return on social investment= emotional satisfaction

Keeping my money in the community: Giving locally

Beyond the cash: Active donors- money just isn’t enough,

Giving together:  As many as 1,000 giving circles have formed in the past three years to focus on causes their members decide on.

Donor notes:

New philanthropists: Affluent givers, often from the VC sector, who are passionate about their cause and cautious about where their money goes: Gifts include time, skills, strategy consulting and monetary donations.This new breed of philanthropist also wants to be given a clear path in how they can give of their time and skills to create the greatest impact.Many are looking for ways to measure their investments.

Comfort zone: Established charities play on donor need for security and concern in a climate of mistrust (see: AIG, Madoff, etc). Blue Frog surveyed 2000 people 12/08 and  found that 28% of all those interviewed (that include current non-donors) said they were less likely to start supporting a new charity. This rose to 34% amongst those aged 65 and over (and up to 40% amongst those 65+ that described themselves as donors)

Micro Philanthropists (skews younger) : donors who give smaller amounts, want to track the money and connect with end results.

Types of contributions:

With the economy in the trash, we see more empathy from consumers than ever. They believe “we’re all in this together” (against the man) and are concerned about themselves and their neighbors.
Giving DIFFERENTLY
-Consumers are likely to give differently- using different vehicles for giving in the recession (volunteering vs. donating) and being even more thoughtful about where there money goes and how it is used.

-Giving LOCALLY — to organizations that are providing resources in their communities

- Giving with TIME. Renewed volunteerism? Direct volunteerism has been down (as well as direct charitable giving) but with money stretched consumers may return to volunteerism  (family together time, teaching lessons about what’s happening in the economy, internships between jobs and training in order to be ready for job cuts,etc)

-Choosing the cause: Consumers want to FINGERPRINT their cause and they want some CONTROL. See: Tis Best gift card, Subaru Share the Love, Kenneth Cole/Charity, GOOD Magazine (choose your price and your charity).

-New/old causes: We’ve seen April = green…and with hunger/homelessness top of mind, we’ll see more emphasis on these causes throughout the year. (AIDS in Africa and the Rainforest feel FAR away and much less releveant)

-Giving in groups: Mobilization 2.0, pooling funds, texting to give, using facebook cause app, twestivals… giving as we once new it has changed a lot.