Next Generation of Philanthrophy
I am seeing people in their twenties raise capital and awareness for non-profit organizations with missions that they care about. I am seeing people in their twenties do fundraisers for politicians and think about running themselves. I am seeing people in their twenties who are using technology to focus on change in their own communities.
The profile of philanthropy is changing. It is millennials and even Generation Z who are reinventing what it means to make an impact where they can measure results. They are interested in equality for all and using their power to make a social impact. We are slowing seeing the rise of a righteous generation of egalitarians.
I saw Lin Manuel speak at an event this past spring. He has always been socially conscious as he grew up that way. He has taken his financial success and alongside his family, applied that to giving back in the world. He said something that stuck with me. He was asked, “What is a legacy?” His answer was “Planting seeds we will never see flourish.” That is from someone who truly cares about the world around him. Those used to be words you would hear from someone who is retired and focusing on philanthropy but now we are seeing the desire to be philanthropic from the beginnings of someones career.
Civic duty from this generation is not about writing checks but about engagement. Civic duty is part of the core of our country although somehow that is not bleeding into this group of hooligans running the country.
Comments (Archived):
PublicGood.com is working with brands to do philanthropy and support things they believe in. There is a lot of good in the world today. Much more so than yesteryear. There is a world wide middle class rising. Poverty is on a downswing.
Not sure what you read by poverty hasn’t changed in decades. There are still 40m people living in poverty in the US
https://twitter.com/Mark_J_… World poverty way way way down.https://conservativeactionn… Highest poverty rate in America is in California. Most of it due to a large immigrant population and really really bad regulation/public policy.Interestingly, people go above and below the poverty line all the time. https://poverty.ucdavis.edu… “Individuals also transition into and out of poverty over time, though many of those who are poor at any given time will spend multiple spells in poverty. Research shows that transitions into or out of poverty often happens after major life events such as marriage, divorce, or sudden changes in income. These transitions also can be associated with larger shifts in unemployment or wages.”LBJ’s War on Poverty was basically a huge waste of money. Capitalism and job creation does a lot better job than any government program.
I’ve been thinking about this topic, and for me, the “impact” part is the most significant aspect of philanthropic activity.I like to see an impact and not just hope that someone, maybe, will make an impact with the money I gave them. That’s probably another motivational factor for these earlier types of activities you have mentioned.
I believe the motivation is that they truly care and want to see an impact
It is about the results certainly but as much about rethinking the process of giving to be more participatory and inclusive.Crypto can play a part in this and that is what our little Honu project was all about.
Super post – you’re exactly on trend with what we are seeing in our work to help this audience harness their passion. We are also seeing a desire to collaborate so that in aggregate they can have a similar impact to larger donors. Big opportunity for companies to build deeper relationships with customers if they can harness this passion.
I’ve been thinking about this a bit and believe that philanthropy itself needs to change and become more inclusive to really have an impact. It’s about results but also about the process of how you give and who can contribute.Recently finished a pilot project in the crypto space that was a huge learning experience and working on various ways to leverage this to a next stage project.Some thoughts on it here: http://arnoldwaldstein.com/…
Like I mentioned to you before, I learnt more about giving back working in NYC/Wall Street than I ever did in South Africa or the UK. This feels like the perfect antidote or ticket out of a messy situation for the USA. A combination of generations can really make huge change.
100% agree with you.