By Heather L. Whitley
Not many CEOs would approve a company mission statement of “We make the world suck less.” But for DoSomething.org’s leader, Aria Finger, it’s the perfect message. The 33-year-old entrepreneur heads up a not-for-profit organization that aims to motivate young people around the globe to take action on causes they care about most. DoSomething currently boasts 275 live campaigns and 5.3 million members in more than 130 countries.
DoSomething, founded in 1993 by actor Andrew Shue, wants to do more than build awareness through social media. The organization wants to be an agent of change, according to Finger.
“We harness the power of social media and all of the communication technologies that are out there in order to make an impact both online and off,” she said. “But every single one of our campaigns has an impact sheet behind it, so that we know we’re making a real difference.”
Causes And Campaigns
Finger was just 22 when she started as an entry-level employee at DoSomething in August 2005. Armed with a passion for social justice instilled in her by her parents, Finger said the job was a dream come true.
“I thought I had died and gone to heaven,” she said. “I’m very passionate about the criminal justice system and criminal justice reform, but I’m also passionate about economic empowerment, and women’s rights, and discrimination. So the idea that I got to focus on all of those causes was really exciting and it continues to excite me, because it means when something happens in the news, or our members’ eyes are opened to a new injustice or a new something we should fight, that we can do something about it.”
DoSomething tracks which causes are getting the most attention on its website. Using that data, Finger’s teams then go out and talk to experts in the field to find out what specific needs exist and how they can form a volunteer campaign around them.
“A great example is right now we’re running this campaign called Power to the Period. It’s all about getting period products to people in homeless shelters,” Finger said. “Five years ago, this wasn’t even on my radar. I’m on the board of a homelessness organization, and I didn’t even know that these period products were considered luxury goods!”
DoSomething recently ran another campaign to give homeless children cards on their birthday. Its members created 157,000 blank cards that were delivered to local shelters so moms and dads could personalize them for their kids. Fingers says it’s a simple concept with a large impact.
“I just think it shows you how a little creativity, a little ingenuity, can really make a big difference in someone’s life,” she said.
The Bottom Line
As a self-proclaimed math nerd who majored in economics at Washington University in St. Louis, Finger knows numbers matter. She says many of her fellow classmates in the early 2000s viewed the not-for-profit world as well-meaning but inefficient. She was determined to prove them wrong.
“I think we’re efficient and effective, and that doesn’t have to just be a for-profit idea,” Finger said. “We are an organization that is funded predominately in two ways. One is through corporate partnerships, so we’re really understanding the market and what companies are looking to do today.”
DoSomething’s second source of funding comes from its consulting arm, TMI, or “Too Much Information,” which Finger launched in 2013.
TMI “was born out of an idea that we had so much information and data and learning about this demographic and how to motivate them to make social change, that we really wanted to share it with the world,” Finger said.
TMI helps companies understand, engage with and market to the younger generation. The agency also donates 100 percent of its profits back to DoSomething — a win-win in Finger’s view.
The Secret Sauce
So what is the key to reaching this powerful young generation? Finger employs a new twist on an old strategy — leveraging FOMO (“Fear of Missing Out”), or what used to be known as peer pressure.
“Essentially, that’s what DoSomething is doing. We’re turning FOMO on its head, and you should feel FOMO for not making social change,” Finger said.
Finger believes everyone cares about some aspect of their world. DoSomething’s challenge is to discover the triggers that can move youth from caring about an issue to taking action.
“While we have 275 campaigns, in a way we just have one, and the one campaign we have is taking these young passionate people and giving them the tools to become confident leaders, to be more empathetic, to learn to work together, to open their eyes to the injustice,” she said.
“Everything we do is in service of transforming this generation.”
Heather Whitley is a senior-level writer and producer with a passion for storytelling. She has produced a wide variety of content for both television networks and digital platforms around the globe. Her work has been featured on multiple shows on CNN as well as ABC’s “20/20” and Gannett Digital’s websites.
Not many CEOs would approve a company mission statement of “We make the world suck less.” But for DoSomething.org’s leader, Aria Finger, it’s the perfect message. The 33-year-old entrepreneur heads up a not-for-profit organization that aims to motivate young people around the globe to take action on causes they care about most. DoSomething currently boasts 275 live campaigns and 5.3 million members in more than 130 countries.
DoSomething, founded in 1993 by actor Andrew Shue, wants to do more than build awareness through social media. The organization wants to be an agent of change, according to Finger.
“We harness the power of social media and all of the communication technologies that are out there in order to make an impact both online and off,” she said. “But every single one of our campaigns has an impact sheet behind it, so that we know we’re making a real difference.”
Causes And Campaigns
Finger was just 22 when she started as an entry-level employee at DoSomething in August 2005. Armed with a passion for social justice instilled in her by her parents, Finger said the job was a dream come true.
“I thought I had died and gone to heaven,” she said. “I’m very passionate about the criminal justice system and criminal justice reform, but I’m also passionate about economic empowerment, and women’s rights, and discrimination. So the idea that I got to focus on all of those causes was really exciting and it continues to excite me, because it means when something happens in the news, or our members’ eyes are opened to a new injustice or a new something we should fight, that we can do something about it.”
DoSomething tracks which causes are getting the most attention on its website. Using that data, Finger’s teams then go out and talk to experts in the field to find out what specific needs exist and how they can form a volunteer campaign around them.
“A great example is right now we’re running this campaign called Power to the Period. It’s all about getting period products to people in homeless shelters,” Finger said. “Five years ago, this wasn’t even on my radar. I’m on the board of a homelessness organization, and I didn’t even know that these period products were considered luxury goods!”
DoSomething recently ran another campaign to give homeless children cards on their birthday. Its members created 157,000 blank cards that were delivered to local shelters so moms and dads could personalize them for their kids. Fingers says it’s a simple concept with a large impact.
“I just think it shows you how a little creativity, a little ingenuity, can really make a big difference in someone’s life,” she said.
The Bottom Line
As a self-proclaimed math nerd who majored in economics at Washington University in St. Louis, Finger knows numbers matter. She says many of her fellow classmates in the early 2000s viewed the not-for-profit world as well-meaning but inefficient. She was determined to prove them wrong.
“I think we’re efficient and effective, and that doesn’t have to just be a for-profit idea,” Finger said. “We are an organization that is funded predominately in two ways. One is through corporate partnerships, so we’re really understanding the market and what companies are looking to do today.”
DoSomething’s second source of funding comes from its consulting arm, TMI, or “Too Much Information,” which Finger launched in 2013.
TMI “was born out of an idea that we had so much information and data and learning about this demographic and how to motivate them to make social change, that we really wanted to share it with the world,” Finger said.
TMI helps companies understand, engage with and market to the younger generation. The agency also donates 100 percent of its profits back to DoSomething — a win-win in Finger’s view.
The Secret Sauce
So what is the key to reaching this powerful young generation? Finger employs a new twist on an old strategy — leveraging FOMO (“Fear of Missing Out”), or what used to be known as peer pressure.
“Essentially, that’s what DoSomething is doing. We’re turning FOMO on its head, and you should feel FOMO for not making social change,” Finger said.
Finger believes everyone cares about some aspect of their world. DoSomething’s challenge is to discover the triggers that can move youth from caring about an issue to taking action.
“While we have 275 campaigns, in a way we just have one, and the one campaign we have is taking these young passionate people and giving them the tools to become confident leaders, to be more empathetic, to learn to work together, to open their eyes to the injustice,” she said.
“Everything we do is in service of transforming this generation.”
Heather Whitley is a senior-level writer and producer with a passion for storytelling. She has produced a wide variety of content for both television networks and digital platforms around the globe. Her work has been featured on multiple shows on CNN as well as ABC’s “20/20” and Gannett Digital’s websites.
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