June 4, 2010; Source: Puget Sound Business Journal | Doing good while having a good time seems to be striking a chord with a younger generation of would-be philanthropists. Combined with the power of social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to mobilize groups (read throw a party!) and the urge to be just plain social, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports that young professionals in the Seattle area in their 20s and 30s are turning out by the hundreds to attend social mixers organized by nonprofit groups—a trend the paper dubbed social philanthropy.
Savvy nonprofits are using social media to merge their online communities with more traditional fundraising events. “So many groups of friends go out on a Friday for a happy hour, why not make it a benefit of sorts,” said Lesa Linster, director of foundation and corporate relations at the Moyer Foundation, a charity started by former Seattle Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen.—Aaron Lester