The Impact of the Digital Revolution

Even though we’re two decades into the 21st-century, I sometimes feel as if I am still being drug into this new century when it comes to technology. I’m old-school. I don’t have a Facebook account… don’t have a Twitter account… don’t have an Instagram account…and I’m not quite sure what the Hulu is. But I would be remiss if I didn’t say that technology is changing fundraising.

Facebook just announced that since its inception, it has generated, on its platform, $5 billion in donations for various nonprofits. That is a remarkable statistic. Ideas like the Ice Bucket Challenge became viral fundraising sensations, generating immense support. The vast amount of attention the Ice Bucket Challenge brought to Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) most likely would not have been realized without social media. Facebook has added the ability to post fundraising events in life streams, taking a little bit of the excitement away from traditional special events successes.

When you add on top of the aforementioned that our youngest two generations have the most exposure and the most experience with digital media and that someday they’re actually going to also control majority of the wealth, it makes it more imperative than ever to try to better understand and embrace the idea of digital content and outreach. And thus, I’ll depend on those I trust to keep dragging me into the 21st-century so I too can join this amazing digital revolution.