The Agitator has finally done it...

I read the Agitator's blog and if you don't, you should, because whether you agree or not, he at least makes you really irritated or makes you think and nod your head. Either way, he drives an emotional response.

I think one of the reasons this blog does get such a big reaction is because he always comes across as a "whatever I say is the absolute and if you don't believe me then you are seriously ignorant and misinformed." Now that may or may not be the intent, but regardless, that is how it is perceived... by me anyway.

So "The Agitator" aka Tom Belford very firmly believes that Gen Y and most of Gen X are a total waist of fundraising time. I have read his blogs and gotten so agitated at his narrow minded, think inside the box, lack of big picture thinking that I can barely stand it. It may not help that I am an incredibly reactionary person. After reading his post today, I couldn't take it anymore.

Tom points out that while Gen Y may have more people than Boomers at this time, they don't have any money, so spending time on them really isn't worth it... ok, so he actually said this in previous posts and then today talked more about having balance with it. Regardless, it is apparent that what he doesn't understand is that if you don't take the time to cultivate Gen Y NOW, you may lose your chance for the future with them... and let's face it, at some point, those people are going to have the money and power that you so desperately want to have engaged in your organization. So Tom, what happens then? Let's say people think you actually are RIGHT in that we shouldn't care so much about the younger generations because we all want immediate gratification and funding. Heaven forbid we think about the future and what could be possible if we actually did engage this social savvy, connected, influential group of people. You think Gen Y doesn't have influence, power, money? Really? Did you even see the Obama campaign? (I actually hate to use this example because I think it is too heavily used, but it does provide a great example.). Have you seen Charity Water take off? Tom's Shoes? Kiva? Regardless of what you think about the actual organization or cause, you can't argue that these thought leaders and YOUNG innovators have taken the philanthropic world by storm.

What is my point? My point is this, we have a choice to nod our head and agree with those who say we, Gen X and Y, have nothing to offer the philanthropic world at this time but our social networks and word of mouth (which is huge I might add... and to give a nod, Tom Belford did mention this), OR we can actually get our head out of our rears to look far enough into the future to say, huh, I know we have always done it this way, but perhaps it is time we open our minds to a new way of thinking and engaging...

In the end, The Agitator did its job... I am officially agitated!