What It Takes To Open Your Wallet

From the days when I carried around a UNICEF box during Halloween as a kid, to buying a Street Sense from the same homeless guy each week, the act of donating money, and collecting donations, has always proved confounding. There are so many things to care about, but no way to reach them all. And there's always the added confusion of accountability and impact.

But a recent 'fundraiser' made me realize what it takes to have someone actually donate their hard-earned cash, and do it with joy. The lessons I took away from the experience also fit perfectly with what I learned from Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard, which I'm kind of obsessed with this year.

A college friend of mine sent out a private Facebook invite to a group of maybe 50 people, asking us to give a monetary gift for another friend's birthday so that he could travel to a sacred spot that was significant in both his personal life and ongoing study of religion.

The response was immediate: people were posting that they had donated, and urging their friends to join in. It was personal, sweet, and a kind of instant community built around our mutual respect for him and this trip. I'm not close friends with this guy, but I donated a small amount of money with no hesitation.

Within a few days the goal was not only reached, but surpassed, and the friend who had organized the whole thing put up a glorious video of the birthday boy's reaction to the posts, messages and money for the trip. It was warm and fuzzy to the nth degree.

Having seen the beauty and efficiency of this process, I started to identify what made this different than all the Save the Children campaigns we pass by every day, at the grocery story, or the Facebook posts about friends running for cancer. 

1) The goal was clearly defined. We knew exactly where our money was going, and who would be using it. Trying to put a dollar amount on top of a huge initiative like women's empowerment doesn't exactly give you a picture, or too much confidence, that your small contribution could make a difference. In this case you knew exactly how much you could impact the situation.

2) The outreach was targeted, limited and relevant. You know spectator's syndrome? Where everyone in a crowd sees someone get hurt by doesn't do anything about it because they diffuse responsibility? I feel like that's how it is with some campaigns. My friend was smart enough to make a closed group that included only people he knew had some sort of attachment or emotion connected to the 'cause'. When there are a limited number of people, they know they have to rise up to the occasion.

3) Emotional connection. Senator Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, attracted lots of attention when he decided to suddenly support gay marriage after his son, Will, came out. A lot of times it takes that moment of humanization -- that friend with cancer, the sweet rescue dog, to feel the weight of a cause. In this case, it was a friend that makes it so easy to love and respect him because of his quietly passionate way of living. The connection was immediate, so the reaction was too.

4) End game. Seeing our friends face light up was more than enough pay back for the donation. But even if you give selflessly, without needing a return on your investment, that moment is so fulfilling and necessary to come full circle. Some organizations have tried to do that by providing pictures of the child you are supporting, but it needs to be stronger, and more consistent. It can't be a one way street.

So, anyhow, this is my recipe for how to make people give you money. In a world with such stark differences in resources, maybe this will help someone.

Amici

Now for a post about how my friends are awesome. Keep in mind that I'm only highlighting those that are Web-friendly in their adventures and honors. Believe me, there are many more.

On Foot
If you think I have wanderlust, check out Ankur Shah. He traveled through India on foot with one bag and little money (actually, I don't think he believes in money), to discover the Gandhian path. Lucky for those with desk jobs, he wrote a book of his journey called Sometimes We Walk Alone. He also opened up a restaurant in Brazil with some friends, the fruits of which are in his cook book: Cooking Com Bigode. He heads out to Liberia this week.

Snazzier Snapshots
My buddy Abhi, who we dubbed Abu a decade ago in 7th grade, is powering a startup called Fracture with a business partner. After figuring out how to print pictures directly on glass, Abu and crew are planning to change the bulky, expensive framing industry with these sleek new pieces. I got a couple for my mom, and they look pretty fantastic.

Desktop Dance Party
Sammy Tarantino, a high school friend and musician, is the CEO of Grooveshark. Ask any government employee how they listen to music at work, and they'll usually cite this sly guy. It's like Pandora, but actually gives you what you want. With folks like Vishal Agarwala, it's a recipe for smash-hit success.

Free Food
If I haven't plugged Karma Kitchen enough, I'm doing it again. Aparna Kothary -- who pretty much everyone in DC knows and loves -- was a co-founder of this little gem in DC. But the idea stems back to Karma Kitchen in Berkeley and Seva Cafe in Ahmedabad, India. Food tastes better without a bill.

Risky Business

What if your food came with no price tag? What if you were the CEO who measured his profits by the amount of people you helped?

It's not idealism. It's happening, and not just in the free love world. It's happening around the corner and down the street.

Last Friday I was lucky enough to see Muhammad Yunus speak. If you haven't heard of Yunus, or Grameen Bank, then you must have at least heard of microfinance.

Yunus is a brilliant economist, scholar, businessman (D: all of the above), and has literally led kids to the light with his idea of Social Business. In his world, you don't make companies to make money. You make companies to help kids regain vision at night, or to empower women so that they will be their own type of CEOs and CFOs.

Yunus, in all his homespun-cotton-wearing glory, asks more from his partners than out of the box thinking. When he partnered with Dannon to make yogurt for malnourished kids, he asked them to go one step further than a biodegradable yogurt container: he wanted a container that they could EAT. And no, an ice cream cone will not do.

Moving on to smaller, but just as inspiring initiatives. I've been lucky enough to be involved with Karma Kitchen since I moved to DC. Every Sunday the team takes over the Polo Indian Club restaurant in Dupont Circle and serves delicious Indian food. The bill at the end says $0.00 and all donations are anonymous. Serving at Karma Kitchen gives me a new appreciation for waiters, and a fuzzy feeling that people walk away with more than a fully belly.

And this idea, the idea that not everything has a price value, seems to be catching on. The CEO of Panera, Ron Shaich, stepped down from his post, and then stepped up to the plate to help introduce a non-profit version of the yummyness. Think paninis and muffins for whatever price you feel like paying. Not too shabby, especially for the college wallet. Now if we can just get it to be local produce...