Active in 143 Countries, It’s Become the Largest Platform for Young People To Create Social Change
DoSomething.org wants to “make the world suck less.” To do so, it’s created a platform to encourage young people between the ages of 13 and 25 to engage in social action. “Young people want to make a change,” says Michaela Bethune, DoSomething’s head of campaigns. “They’re passionate. They’re frustrated.” DoSomething is tapping into that passion by spearheading campaigns that create change in the world. “Teens for Jeans,” a DoSomething project, collected as many jeans as there are homeless youth in the United States — five million pairs over eight years.
That level of impact is due in large part to the organization’s breadth. DoSomething has 5.3 million members spread across every U.S. zip code. It’s a spirited organization. The company puts transparency front and center on its site under its “Sexy Financials” page, which it uses to tell people what they’re “nailing” and what they’ve “F’d up.” Bethune, who we spoke to for our Spotlight, asked us to warn her if she swore too much. It’s endearing, and indicative of the nonprofit’s passion, which it hopes to continue spreading across the globe.
Here are a few nuggets we learned talking with Bethune …
- From August 2014 to 2016, DoSomething grew from roughly two million members to more than five million.
- Charity Navigator has given DoSomething.org 4/4 stars for the past seven years. Less than three percent of American charities achieve that rating.
- DoSomething.org is active in 143 countries.
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