FEATURE STORY
by
Naomi Strongin Vice President, Center for Designed Philanthropy
Multigenerational Giving
and the Pandemic’s Silver Linings Earlier this year, I met with a family that has three children in their 20s. For this family, philanthropy is a given, and they tend to support causes that honor the legacy of generations past. But their kids hadn’t been as interested in these philanthropic pursuits, focused instead on the competing priorities of school, jobs, friends, and extracurricular activities. Despite the parents’ attempts to engage them, philanthropy was never a priority for any of the three children.
Why Millennials Give In her book with Michael Moody, Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors Are Revolutionizing Giving, Sharna Goldseker speaks to the top three reasons for giving among the next generation of donors, namely millennials. She explains that they are supporting a mission or cause that fits with their personal values, fulfilling their duty as people of privilege to give back to society and seeing that their contribution is making a real difference and the organization has impact. She says: “As these people are entering the working world and gaining more resources, they are caring about values more than valuables, and they’re making choices in alignment with those values.” When the pandemic hit, these reasons for giving that Goldseker discusses became top of mind for many young donors. Loss of jobs, homes, and access to food, 4 jewishfoundationla.org
