Why My Colorado?

The initial idea for My Colorado was sparked when Alyssa Kopf got fed up with answering the question, "Why aren't young people giving to charity?" As Campaign Director for Community Shares of Colorado, Alyssa worked with local companies to offer workplace giving campaigns to employees. As participation rates declined and long-time donors retired, Community Shares continued to look for new strategies to convince young people to give through paycheck deductions.

When repeatedly confronted with the question, "Why aren't young people giving to charity?", Alyssa suggested a better question was, "Is there a better way to ask young people to give?" Alyssa knew the vast majority of her friends were giving to charity but they weren't showing up in the reports that tracked traditional philanthropy. Her friends signed up for fun runs, went to rallies at the State Capitol, sponsored each others' charitable efforts, tried to be responsible consumers, and sent each other news stories that demonstrated they were very much interested in giving back.

Community Shares decided to create a new giving program to welcome young people as givers, help them target their funding to mirror their values and interests, and engage their friends in shared volunteer and giving projects. We also are trying to integrate social media to allow people to work together to make community change. Share some news, learn more about a local nonprofit, create a Personal Philanthropy Plan, and start a giving group with your friends. Building stronger communities is simple, fun, and only a few clicks away.