Generation Impact, Updated and Expanded Edition

CHAPTER 2Show Me the Impact

Picture a big thermometer, that well-known symbol of many a fundraising campaign. Each donation is documented in red, pushing the “temperature” higher and higher toward the campaign's total dollar goal. That image might be a fitting symbol for a previous generation of givers, but it is the antithesis of what next gen donors want to be a part of today and going forward.

For one, the thermometer metaphor focuses solely on dollars given, not on the results and impact fostered by those donations. The thermometer also makes it seem like the only role donors can play is to give cash—or encourage others to do so. Next gen donors insist that they have valuable assets to give beyond money, and those assets are valuable because they leverage more impact. Rather than measuring their impact as a line in a fundraising budget, next gen donors want to measure the real difference all their contributions make on the causes they care about. Seeing real-world impact is what gets them excited about giving.

Impact Obsession

We'd be hard-pressed to find any donors of any age who say they don't care whether their giving makes much of a difference. But for next gen donors, impact is everything. As the leaders of the new Golden Age of Giving, as donors with unprecedented resources and the power to revolutionize philanthropy, making a tangible difference is their top philanthropic focus. They want an Impact Revolution. They want to reshape philanthropy in ways they believe ...