Years ago, if kids wanted to raise money for charity, they might run a lemonade stand.  All they needed was a card table, cups, lemonade, and a sign.

Today’s young do-gooders can take their fundraising to a whole new level. They can Google “tips for running a lemonade stand” and find lots of advice and even templates for signs. They can use social media to alert friends and family of the upcoming event. Heck, they don’t even have to run a real lemonade stand; they can hold a virtual one. At Alex's Lemonade Stand, for example, they can join thousands of other kids raising money to fight childhood cancers. On the site, they can create their own fundraising page, with photos and text, and direct family and friends to donate there. They also can watch an inspiring video about Alex, a young cancer patient who, at age 4, held her first lemonade stand to fund cancer research and launched a movement that has raised millions.

Philanthropy for Generation Z—high school age and younger—is very different from that of previous generations. They won’t be confined to sharing their time, talent, and treasure. Now there’s a fourth T—ties. And along with their ability to connect with peers at home and around the world, they can do it wherever they are. No desk top computers for the “Always On” generation. With smart phones, these kids have the Internet in the palms of their hands—or "screens in their jeans," as one wag put it.

Digital tools have given kids much more power to learn about the world’s problems and collaborate with others across the globe to solve them.

Read the full article about the new generation of philanthropy by Susan Crites Price at the National Center for Family Philanthropy.