By Evan Kirkpatrick, Source: Forbes

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The Nexus Global Youth Summit on innovative philanthropy & social entrepreneurship “introduces global leaders from business, philanthropy, non-profits, social enterprise and government” states Nexus co-founder Rachel Cohen-Gerrol. I attended the event alongside a motivated group of my millennial peers to connect with others interested in overcoming some of the world’s most difficult problems.

With over 600 attendees representing 70 countries at the United Nations in New York City, the millennial generation has spoken. We are incredibly optimistic about the future & simultaneously disgusted with the atrocities taking place such as extreme poverty, hunger, & lack of accessible sanitation in developing countries.

So what will we do about it?

“Nexus was founded on the hope of hurrying history” Rachel continues. “We believe that connections made at Nexus will enable global partnerships for change to happen faster than they naturally would and thus international efforts around critical issues can take shape in more efficient ways.” Jeremy Vallerand, President of Rescue: Freedom which brings freedom to victims of human trafficking, attended the summit and echoed Rachel’s sentiment. ”What I love about Nexus is how it brings people together who blur the lines between philanthropy and business, entrepreneurship and humanitarianism”.
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Heirs to some of the world’s largest fortunes were in attendance. And despite what public perception may exist about this group, I witnessed genuinely concerned people with tears in their eyes after learning of staggering poverty statistics & viewing the trailer for the Sundance award-winning film Blood Brother. The diverse group made me realize that the face of philanthropy is no longer a silver haired male – it is youthful, energetic, innovative, male, female, & of every race.

3 Themes from Nexus 2013

1. We are making progress & things are getting better.

Contrary to what you may see in the news, things are actually improving. Ryan Allis, former CEO of iContact which was acquired by Vocus Vocus for $169MM & current CEO of Connect, gave an engaging speech that evaluated several key metrics – life expectancy, infant mortality, per capita income, percentage living in extreme poverty, & environmental factors. All of these factors have drastically improved, minus the environment. As a numbers guy myself, it was refreshing to see his ‘report card’ & data driven approach lead to an optimistic conclusion – which is, that we have made extraordinary progress. For a full account, visit Ryan’s TED talk on the same topic.

2. Gravitation toward sustainable, profitable enterprise that incorporates social impact culture.

“Investing money in ways that align with your values can be an important tool in the arsenal of any effective change maker” states the Nexus program guide. I’m not an advocate of all charitable organizations pursuing profitability, but it is certainly an emerging trend. Many startup organizations led by millennials are equally concerned with doing well & doing good. Investors & private foundation representatives attending Nexus spoke repeatedly about the need for sustainable organizations and I expect this will continue well into the future. Impact investing requires too much effort at the moment, but will become easier as accelerators create organizations with scalable models.

3. The use of pop culture to promote impact issues.

Adrian Grenier, founder of SHFT.com & well known for his role on HBO’s Entourage, presented with a panel including philanthropic representatives from CAA, Viacom Viacom, & DoSomething.org. The influential power of celebrity & mass media is undeniable, yet important documentaries often go unnoticed while the mainstream public flock to the latest superhero movies. Adrian spoke to the need for more resources & investors to support media companies & entrepreneurs with impact focus. I regularly work alongside Hollywood entertainment companies and will be exploring further solutions in an upcoming article as well.

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To Millennial Generation Leaders: A Call to Action

After leaving the Nexus Summit, I was both energized & motivated, but also admittedly overwhelmed. As the founder of a wealth management company, our team is often looked to for philanthropic advice. And prior to Nexus, I have never been in the same room with as many worthy causes, so it was important to reflect & simplify the action items to take away from the event.

Where do we start?

How about with our most basic need? Water divides countries & continents, yet it is also our common thread making up roughly 2/3 of our body weight. We need access to clean water to live, but somehow we are in the 21st century with 783 million people lacking this basic necessity (source: Unicef). View this Charity: Water page for an explanation in greater detail. Siting the World Health Organization, they state that 90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are in children under 5 years old. This simply must end. Go to the Charity:Water website to see how you can set up a campaign. Just $20 raised can provide a person with clean drinking water. You can also purchase a Hydros Bottle, a self-filtering bottle that donates a part of it’s proceeds to fund water projects.

Let’s start smashing these problems one at a time. Let’s pull in the same direction. We have made extraordinary progress, but there is much work to be done. Let’s be the generation that provides every person on earth with clean water. And then let’s keep going. As Empact c0-founder, Michael Simmons, says in his recent article: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Visit the Nexus website for more information on upcoming global events.