December, 2019 - Jimmy Lustig | Lustig Family Foundation

Philanthropy is a never-ending endeavor that is designed to promote community well-being and solve problems within a society. Many nonprofit organizations and businesses use philanthropy to change lives and to improve social conditions. The process of philanthropy is always evolving. Every year new trends emerge that help to make the act of philanthropy a more practical and effective activity. The following trends for philanthropy in 2020 will be presented here.

Donors Will Have a More Personal Impact with Giving

Forbes stated that donors want to know that their contributions are making a difference. The amount of money that a donor gives to a cause doesn’t make a difference. Large corporations that give millions want their voice to be heard and so does the average person who only gives a few dollars. They want to tell their story or have input into the best way to change a negative social situation. Nonprofits will have to provide their donors with a platform that will allow them to be heard by everyone.

Nonprofits are Going to Team Up with Third Party Organizations to Reach Donors

Another philanthropy trend that will be present in 2020 has to do with third party donations. According to Nonprofit Tech for Good, third party businesses will be utilized for reaching more donors. Third party businesses used for this purpose will include streaming services, video sites, various mobile applications and through various service orientated enterprises.

Nonprofit Platforms for Building Communities and Keeping Donors

Nonprofit organizations are constantly expanding on mobile platforms for building donor communities. Mobile devices, computers and various forms of electronics are being integrated into an interconnected scheme to keep donors aware a cause. Nonprofit platforms will utilize applications, websites, blogs, social media and mobile advertising to provide donors with information, donation opportunities and updates about issues.

Text Donations will Increase

Donors are going to be giving more money through text messages. This is important because text message giving is easy to perform, and people generally pay attention to what is being sent to their phones. This method of giving will increase throughout 2020 and beyond.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence will be used for more philanthropy efforts in 2020. This means that donors will be able to give more giving to their causes with less efforts. They can simply tell their smartphones to give a donation and an AI program will perform this task. Donors will continue to stay more involved with a cause.

It began as a simple idea way back in 1973. Why not hold a dance contest to raise money for kids battling cancer? Since then, students at the University of Pennsylvania have turned that first dance fest into one of the most successful fundraising movements in American history. THON – short for dance marathon – was the brainchild of then Penn State Interfraternity Council President Bill Lear.

The first THON drew 78 dancers, lasted 30 hours and raised just over $2,000. Since then, THON has raised an amazing $168 million. The money is delivered to the Penn State Children’s Hospital where it is used for the direct care of patients and cancer research.

The annual Penn State THON has spun off numerous “mini-THONs” held at area high schools. These have raised an additional $36 million for Four Diamonds, a foundation associated with Penn State Children’s Hospital.

Today THON events are huge and have become an annual institution for Penn State students. Thousands of participants flocks to the Bryce Jordan Center to either dance or cheer on dancers determined to prevail in the grueling marathon event.

Keeping the events organized and safe requires literally hundreds of highly coordinated volunteers handling an array of specialized tasks. One of the 16 groups, for example, is charged with monitoring the health, hydration and well-being of the “thonners” who may be on their feet dancing for up to 46 hours.

In addition to raising money to treat kids with cancer and pay for medical research, THON events are invaluable for raising public awareness. That’s important because pediatric tumors are so rare, many people don’t know this problem exists. Pediatric cancers are less than 1% of all malignancies and will affect 1 in 200 families. About 16,000 cases are reported annually for people age 20 or younger.

While it’s a good thing that pediatric cancer is rare, it presents problems for medical researchers who are working to treat and cure the problem. Limited awareness makes raising funds extremely difficult. That’s exactly why THON is a blessing for those afflicted and those determined to beat this disease.

THON is the largest student-run charity in the world. It has helped more than 4,000 families and has marshaled the contributions of 16,500 student volunteers.

Jimmy Lustig is an active philanthropist. He and his wife created the Lustig Family Foundation.

Month: December 2019

Philanthropy Trends to Expect in 2020

Student-Run Philanthropy Spotlight: THON