GivingPoint is a nationwide community-based youth development organization that inspires a passion for learning and service through innovative educational modules,  meaningful service-learning opportunities and cutting edge technology resources.

The GivingPoint Story:

Background:

Many of you have asked us how GivingPoint was founded and how we started our incredible journey to create a generation of passionate philanthropists.  It's a great story that we love to share.  GivingPoint was formed in 2008, after Derek Smith, former Chairman and CEO of ChoicePoint, inspired a group of ChoicePoint employee volunteers to conduct research and discover ways that young people could be  empowered to develop greater social consciousness in today’s  technology-driven world, where youth spend more time on computers and gadgets than understanding and relating to the world around them. 

Their research showed that, as teenagers grow older, they spend more time in front of a screen and less time participating in physical and intellectual activities that would strengthen their social ties and understanding of human issues and relationships.  Although young people want to get involved and help solve critical social problems, they don't know how to get started and lack the education, training, resources and encouragement to get fully engaged in improving their communities. They need access to innovative online tools that will teach them about the root causes of critical issues and opportunities for targeted hands-on experiences that spark their passion to become life-long contributors to society. 

The research results motivated Derek Smith to invest the resources through the Myfifident Foundation to build GivingPoint, a unique online social marketplace specifically designed to use the combination of technology and service learning to educate youth about real world issues and inspire active engagement in causes that match their civic passion. 

GivingPoint Today:

GivingPoint was officially launched in January 2009 with the goal to develop and support young people in their journey to understand, relate and enhance the human condition.  Through hands-on volunteer experiences and innovative technology resources, GivingPoint is providing youth with strong foundations that build caring hearts and entrepreneurial minds.

GivingPoint instantly became a huge success, attracting more than 1,000 teens and nonprofits in just a few short months. The GivingPoint team realized that, in order to scale and grow nationally, we needed to become a public charity. So, in July 2009, GivingPoint became a public charity and quickly raised more than $100,000 from a diverse group of corporations, individuals and foundations.

GivingPoint is the first and only nonprofit in the country to:

•         Offer an online tool to serve, support, and develop young social entrepreneurs. 

•         Enable socially conscious teens to track, verify, and document service hours that can be "cashed in" for grants to the nonprofits they care about and serve.

•         Provide teens to create and personalize their unique civic transcripts and authenticated contribution through an online verification system.

Today, over 2,500 youth, nonprofits and donors are leveraging GivingPoint's resources to unleash the energy and imagination of youth to create a more compassionate, connected, humanistic, socially-responsible world. 

GivingPoint continues to attract very talented individuals and award-winning corporations to support our efforts to develop and empower a generation of social entrepreneurs.  Key sponsors include State Farm, SunTrust, Disney, UnitedHealth, Delta Air Lines, Turner Broadcasting and Newell Rubbermaid.  We receive generous support from a number of foundations, including the Myfifident and Pittulloch Foundations.  We have board members and advisors, including Derek Smith, Doug Curling, Moses Brown, Ann Cramer, Joyce Yamaato, Patience Allen-Glick and Charlie Yates, who care deeply about moving our mission forward. They add incredible insight and value to our organization as we support young people in their journey to become life-long philanthropists.

We need your help to grow our movement! There are many ways you can volunteer for GivingPoint - from telling your family, friends and colleagues about our incredible initiative to empower and develop teens to reading and commenting on the blogs posted by teens who want their voices heard.  To learn more about our volunteer opportunities and how you can help, please visit mygivingpoint.org.  You can make a huge difference in the lives of caring youth by showing your support! 

GivingPoint's Youth Service Learning Program: Improving College Readiness and Civic Engagement

Mission

GivingPoint’s mission is to unleash the passion and energy of young people to create an unprecedented level of civic engagement – to create caring hearts and entrepreneurial minds.

Why GivingPoint?

Today, teens want to get involved, and they believe it is important to give, but most teens do not volunteer on a regular basis. Teens say that not knowing how to get started, lack of encouragement, and lack of good resources are top reasons for not getting involved. Young donors/supporters want interactive online tools and unique, personalized marketing approaches. Teens want fun, engaging volunteer opportunities that match their passion, and they want to see and feel the impact that their contributions make. GivingPoint is the answer!

Our Objectives:

GivingPoint closes the "knowledge gap" by offering a wide range of online, interactive service learning opportunities so teens can discover their passion and learn about critical issues facing local communities. They can also learn best practices in giving, volunteering and fundraising.

GivingPoint closes the "opportunity gap" by matching teens with nonprofits in their area that fit their passion and actively engage them in service. GivingPoint offers teens innovative ways to get involved with causes they care about. They can join an online community of world changers!

GivingPoint closes the "financial gap" by allowing teens to earn points (through service learning, volunteerism, and fundraising) that can be cashed in for grants that will be donated to causes they care about (for every 500 points earned, teens can apply for up to $250 micro-grants for their favored charities). They can post their friend-raising and fundraising projects on our site to help causes raise awareness and support.

GivingPoint closes the "legacy gap" by allowing teens to view and share their giving resumes. As teens input their contributions to society, they build their civic footprints. They can download their verified civic transcripts at any time and utilize it to confirm high school service requirements and/or attach with college applications.

GivingPoint’s Unique Capabilities:

GivingPoint is the first web tool that offers teens the opportunity to get rewarded (through a point system) for discovering, learning about, and helping causes that matter to them. For every 500 points earned through GivingPoint, teens can apply for micro grants to help the causes they care about. Though there are other existing on-line tools to encourage teen action and offer online fundraising capabilities, GivingPoint is the only source for teens to:

• explore their interests and learn what it truly means to give of their "time, talent and treasure";
• answer trivia questions to learn about the needs of the community;
• track and witness how their giving legacy is changing the world;
• get rewarded and recognized for doing great work;
• give grants to causes that matter most to them;
• share their stories and recruit others to join their causes;
• catalogue and record verified community contributions; and
• view and download their civic transcript for school requirements and college applications.

HOW IT WORKS FOR TEENS: FOUR EASY STEPS

Step 1: Teens create an account profile on www.mygivingpoint.org

Step 2: Teens can begin to immediately earn points if they:

• Learn about causes and take the service learning quizzes; post friend-raising and fundraising projects to help their causes; track volunteer hours; blog and upload pictures about community service experiences; invite other teens to join GivingPoint

Step 3: Teens can request a grant to support a cause

Step 4: Teens can view/download their civic transcript and realize their full community impact

To download a copy of the new GivingPoint brochure, click here.