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48 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.14 Giving to International- Afairs Organizations It's been a good year for Supplies Over Seas, a nonproft that sends surplus medical equipment to countries like Syria and Sierra Leone. Figures aren't out yet for 2014, but according to an annual report, donations were up 39 percent in 2013. SOS receives a surge of cash donations and volunteer hours when disaster strikes. Executive director Melissa Mershon says SOS became a nonproft after the earthquake that rocked Haiti in January 2010. "People came out of the woodwork to volunteer because they felt hopeless sitting here and seeing the tragedy going on somewhere else. They wanted to do something," she says. (SOS had been a program of the Greater Louisville Medical Society before the earthquake.) SOS also measures success by the amount of supplies donated and volunteer hours. Again, numbers for 2014 aren't out yet, but SOS took in 118 tons — surgical scissors, wheelchairs, hospital beds, etc. — in 2013, compared with 85 tons in 2012. The warehouse, located just of Spring Street in Irish Hill, looks like the Costco of medical supplies. Volunteers for the organization clocked 13,748 hours in 2013, and Mershon projects 15,000-plus hours for 2014. According to a charitable giving report by Blackbaud, which helps nonprofts track their performance, donations for international-aid organizations were up by 13 percent in 2013. Mershon has a guess why that might be: "I think the Internet and social media have made our world smaller, and we're so much more connected. And a person who may have been a distant thought in the past is now more real through YouTube, through social media." In case you're wondering: SOS is taking donations of latex gloves and protective suits to help people treating Ebola patients in Africa. Giving Habits of Millennials From international to large-group giving. By Amy Talbott On a recent Friday evening, a bunch of late-20- and early-30- somethings — most are members of an organization called [give] 502 — gather around the bar at Sway, the downtown restaurant inside the Hyatt near Fourth Street Live. They're all dressed in business casual, like they've just come from their ofces. The philanthropic group falls under the category of a "giving circle." The term sounds really New Age-y, but it's basically just people pooling their money together to make a big impact. For this particular group, contributions are $502. For [give] 502's frst donation, 40 members gave $502 apiece. This August, that $20,000 went to the Cabbage Patch Settlement House to fund weekend educational programming for "at-risk" kids. The organization demonstrates two trends in giving habits among millennials (people born between the early 1980s and mid-'90s). The frst: According to a 2013 report, 60 percent say they want to see the direct impact of their contribution. Daniel Mudd, a 30-year-old attorney at Frost Brown Todd, was one of the early members of [give] 502. "I give X dollars per pay period for a year (to other nonprofts), and it kind of just goes away," he says. "I really wanted to see where my money went and see how impactful it is, not just know that it's going somewhere out there." Mudd liked that the members of the group got to read nonprofts' proposals for how they'd use the [give] 502 money and then vote on which project to fund. The second trend: According to a 2013 Millennial Impact Report, 72 percent of millennials say they're interested in joining a young- professionals group to make social and professional connections. That's what the [give] 502 gathering at Sway is: a chance to socialize and welcome potential new members. Chona Camomot, 32, development coordinator for the American Printing House for the Blind, says the philanthropic aspect drew her in. But she has also enjoyed meeting new people after moving back here from Boston. The [give] 502 concept isn't unique to Louisville. Giving Sum, a similar group in Indianapolis, has been around since 2008. Camomot even mentions a friend who'd wanted to join a similar group in Washington, D.C. It was so popular that there was a waiting list. THINKING BIG THINKING BIG