Don't Spend a Lot of Money on Annual Reports - Philanthropy.com

Don't Spend a Lot of Money on Annual Reports - Philanthropy.com: "Many organizations spend significant time and money creating glossy annual reports with the hope that these reports will spur interest.

But if groups really want to spread the word, they should put as little effort as possible into their annual reports, the marketing expert Seth Godin says.

Instead, he says, “I’d create a storytelling document that is aimed at the vernacular of the people you need to read it. Turn it into a PDF and a piece that’s easy to share. Test it and make it spread. No need to conflate the two.”"

Today's Youths Display Commitment to Philanthropy - Philanthropy.com

According to research and nonprofit experts, children and teenagers today are showing increased interest in philanthropic activities, reports The Washington Post.

Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children, a nonprofit network of youths helping other young people, said, “We’re seeing a generation of kids, ages 10 to 15, who are aware of global problems, and they’re really searching to help.”

Nicole Sanchez, co-founder of New Global Citizens, a national nonprofit group that helps high-school students tackle global issues, said young people today are more engaged than prior generations largely because of technology. She said, “They’re hearing stories firsthand about the Darfur genocide or about the mudslides in Indonesia. Most young people’s immediate reaction is, ‘What can I do to help?’ and ‘What do you need from me?’”

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Unchurched

LifeWay: Biblical Solutions for Life - LifeWay Research Uncovers Reasons 18 to 22 Year Olds Drop Out of Church

To uncover the reasons young people leave church, LifeWay Research conducted a survey in April and May 2007 of more than 1,000 adults ages 18-30. Each indicated that they had attended a Protestant church regularly for at least a year in high school.

Should I stay or should I go?

According to the study, 70 percent of young adults ages 23-30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22.

In most cases, the decision to leave was not planned far in advance. Only 20 percent of these "church dropouts" agree that while they were attending church regularly in high school they "planned on taking a break from church once [they] finished high school."

Among those who predetermined to leave church, few told anyone about their desire. One reflected, "I just told my parents I didn’t like it," rather than sharing an intention to actually leave. Another said, "I kept my feelings secret for fear of losing my friends."

Why do most young people leave?

Life changes or life situations cause young people to leave the church. In fact, 97 percent of dropouts list one or more specific life-change issues as a reason they left church.

Six of the top 10 reasons church dropouts leave relate to life changes. The most frequent reason for leaving church is, in fact, a self-imposed change, "I simply wanted a break from church" (27 percent).



The paths toward college and the workforce are also strong reasons for young people to leave church: "I moved to college and stopped attending church" (25 percent) and "work responsibilities prevented me from attending" (23 percent).

In addition to moving to college, others simply "moved too far away from the church to continue attending" (22 percent) and, it can be assumed, did not find a closer church.

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Does College cause young people to lose their faith?

Crocker Chronicle

There is a commonly held assumption in Christian circles that a Christian youth that goes away to college is going to lose their faith and stop going to church. A recent report seems to contradict this. Some researchers at The University of Texas found in a recent report (you can read more about it here) that college is not the danger that many believe it to be when it comes to matters of faith.

Read the whole thing.

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New Data on this year's crop of students

Read the whole thing.

Class of 2011 Heads Back To Campus Wielding More Connections, Concern and Consumer Clout Than Any Class Before Them

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The curriculum may not have changed radically since their older siblings graduated, but for the current crop of matriculating college students heading back to school this Fall, campus life has taken on a significantly new face. In findings released today, Alloy Media + Marketing’s (Nasdaq: ALOY) 7th annual Alloy College Explorer, powered by Harris Interactive®, illuminates the contrast of today’s collegiate perspective from that of four years ago.

The largest college class in history (students ages 18-30) has evolved in three key areas: communication modality, purchase behavior, and concern over world issues. First and most operative distinction, technology has taken students out of the dorm room and morphed communication into mobile rapid fire exchanges fraught with ‘pokes’ and alerts. Four short years ago, being “wired” referred to an over-caffeinated all-nighter, and friends met up on the quad without the option of today’s “online” student union. “Friending” your professor may not seem the proper student-teacher etiquette to the old brigade but for today’s class, it’s the most efficient way to get the grade.

“The distinct comparisons we’ve seen from the 2003 study will have considerable impact on how groups eager to attract the attention of this ever-growing and powerful consumer group should be reaching them," stated Dana Markow, VP Research, Harris Interactive. “Perpetual advancements in technology have had notable impact on students’ daily conduct and as we head into an election year, we’re seeing a class that’s assuming more control over their future.”

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Everyone on Facebook

Facebook Grows Up: Can It Stay Relevant? - Kaplan College Guide - MSNBC.com

This would not be surprising if Karasic were a college student. Facebook is as much a part of campus as finals, iPods and beer—the contemporary equivalent of jamming several people into a phone booth is squeezing one's entire social life onto a series of photo shows, news feeds, invitations, friend requests and status updates on the spare blue-and-white grid of a Facebook page. Nor would it be remarkable if she were in high school, where millions of Facebook users, feeling very much like their big brothers and sisters in college, log on as soon as they toss their books on the bed, forming outrageously named groups and moving their lunchroom cliques and locker-room gossip online. Shara Karasic, however, is 40 years old, a Santa Monica, Calif., working mother with a young son. Despite a suspicion that the site was only for college students, she signed on a year ago and found professional people like herself; she quickly got requests to be "friended" from two 40-year-old cousins. And on July 31, when she couldn't get in for a few hours, she realized something: "I'm addicted to Facebook."

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