Boomers aren't so bad after all

A Washington Post article takes a look at the Baby Boom generation with a little less hand-wringing than usual. The first, Boomers: The Real Greatest Generation, punctures the "boomers-as-plague-of-locusts" meme that's so popular these days:

The generation preceding the Boomers gets all the good press: They survived the Depression. They defeated Hitler. They rebuilt the entire world.

The Boomers? Whiny, self-centered, and destructive. But consider this:

. . . boomers have an important story to tell. It's a story about a more inclusive and tolerant America, about women's equality and men's growing respect for it, about an appreciation for cultural diversity too long denied, about a society that no longer turns a blind eye to prejudice or pollution.

The Boomers have made society a better place. Whiny? Sure. Self-centered? Yeah. But their impact for good has been astounding. Changing the world has been one of their defining features.

And that's good news for fundraising. Now the Boomers are entering their donor years -- with more time and more disposable income than they've ever had. And the same desire to change the world. If you can show them you are a great way to help them change the world, they will give to you. They'll do more than give -- they'll volunteer, advocate, and get involved in many ways.

Are you ready for Boomer donors? If you are, you have some good decades ahead of you.

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