DoSomething CEO: Social Media Helps Young People Assemble To Drive Change

With the dawn of a new decade comes a wave of resolutions, personal and professional, as people around the world cement their vows to, well—do something.

But for Aria Finger, doing something isn’t a fad or an impulse—it’s her calling. As the CEO of DoSomething, Finger, 34, leads an organization with a constituency of young people from every U.S. area code and 131 countries, all of whom share that mission to take action, in a variety of ways.

In 2019, DoSomething managed more than 30 civic action campaigns, activating more than 1.1 million members worldwide. The organization this week kicked off its 2020 voter registration drive, the first of a similarly ambitious slate of initiatives planned for 2020.

In Part 2 of this two-part interview, Finger offers a deeper look at the mission and the long-term success of DoSomething. Read Part 1 of the interview here.

Chris Strub: You've been with DoSomething.org since 2005, but the organization dates all the way back to 1993. Young people inspired in the '90's and early 2000's aren't so young anymore. Have you traced any success stories of people who have taken that message of positivity, change and action into their careers? Are there staff members at DoSomething.org who consider themselves shaped by DoSomething.org's efforts?

Aria Finger: Yes! We are so lucky to have so many incredible DoSomething Alumni who are now leaders in their respective fields. A few incredible former DoSomething members and grant winners include Van Jones, the CNN commentator and NGO founder, Michael Tubbs, one of the youngest ever mayors of Stockton, CA, and Micaela Connery, the disability rights activist and founder of The Kelsey.

It’s also really exciting to see current staff members who are former DoSomething members. In fact, we just added two new team members, a DoSomething Campaigns Lead and a brand new Head of Campaigns, both of whom were former DoSomething members. 

Strub: The nonprofit industry is often characterized by high staff turnover. You've been with DoSomething.org since 2005. What has inspired you to stick with the company for 15 years, and what specific efforts have you undertaken in your leadership role to retain talent over the years?

Finger: There are a lot of reasons why people stay or leave a job. For me, it’s always been about working on a mission that inspires me, working with incredibly smart and kind people, and being able to personally grow within my role. I’ve been incredibly lucky that I’ve received all three in spades at DoSomething. I truly don’t know if a smarter, more generous, more passionate group of 60 people exists on the planet. 

I certainly haven’t always made the right call, but as an executive team we do try to make DoSomething a place where you are constantly learning and growing and also feel like what you are doing is positively impacting the world. Another great program for talent retention is our sabbatical program. Once you’ve worked here for just two years, you can take one month off, paid, to volunteer anywhere in the world, as long as you commit to a third year with the organization.

‘Young people are often the most creative when it comes to using social media for social good.’

Strub: DoSomething.org pre-dates all forms of social media and casual internet access. Across campaigns, how can young people utilize social media to make the world around them a better place?

Finger: Today's young people are digital natives—they've never lived in a world where technology is not a part of their daily lives. As a result, young people are often the most creative when it comes to using social media for social good. One perfect example? Our campaign, #RedefineBlack. In online dictionaries, the word ‘Black’ was defined with negative, racial epithets. Through DoSomething’s campaign, and following the lead of Dictionary.com, young people created a firestorm of tweets to apply pressure to decision makers at other dictionaries to follow suit. 

In general, there's no one-size-fits-all way to make social change through social media. Still, for young people, it's often the best place to find out what's going on and join in, to turn an individual into a collective demanding change. Whether it's #RedefineBlack, or Greta Thunberg as the spark that led to the recent youth climate strikes, or even the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, social media has the power to invite young people in, to raise their voices, ignite movements, and change the world.

Strub: One of the most historically popular DoSomething initiatives is Teens for Jeans, through which more than 5 million pairs of jeans have been collected and re-distributed. After a several-year hiatus, rumor has it that Teens For Jeans will be back in 2020. Can you talk about the partnership with Aeropostale and the impact that you expect to make with Teens for Jeans again in 2020?

Finger: We are so excited to be partnering with Aeropostale again for this year’s Teens for Jeans campaign! It’s a marquee campaign for DoSomething that started back in 2008 to benefit youth experiencing homlessness. Our conversations with shelter directors have told us that one item that teenagers commonly request in homeless shelters is a pair of jeans. We help young people across the country run jean drives in their schools and communities and drop them off at their local Aeropostale stores to be donated to local shelters.

First and foremost, we hope to impact over 250,000 teenagers experiencing homelessness by providing them with a pair of jeans, donated through the campaign. The other important impact of this campaign is on the DoSomething members themselves. This campaign is a great way for DoSomething members to rally their friends, their school and even their entire community around a critical cause. Many people say that Teens for Jeans was their first ever volunteerism experience and because it was such a positive one, they’re going to engage in many more DoSomething campaigns.

Strub: Last question—what would you say to someone who says that the internet—and social media—is only full of negativity, hatred and bad news?

Finger: Open your eyes! Listen, social media and the internet can be TOXIC. I’ll never disagree about that. But, social media and the internet can also reflect what you yourself curate. One of the best things I’ve done is curate my Twitter feed so that I get a diverse array of perspectives on the most important issues of the day. I try to follow folks from different backgrounds from my own and a variety of youth leaders to keep the pulse on the good things that are going on in their worlds. 

Plus, for your daily dose of enthusiasm and positivity, follow DoSomething! I have to say, I’m incredibly lucky. When the world seems to be falling apart, I can just open up my DoSomething slack and see the incredible young people that have created change in the past week, and I’m hopeful for the future.

Read Part 1 of the Q&A with Aria Finger here.

This story was updated to clarify the roles of DoSomething.Org and Dictionary.com in the #RedefineBlack campaign.