How do youth transform philanthropy?

Thematic line addressed: Social innovation and social entrepreneurshipHow do youth transform philanthropy? This question, which can at first sight seem straightforward, actually implies two assumptions. First assumption: the... [ view full abstract ]

Thematic line addressed: Social innovation and social entrepreneurship

How do youth transform philanthropy? This question, which can at first sight seem straightforward, actually implies two assumptions. 

First assumption: the philanthropic sector is changing. Undeniably. These last two decades, many philanthropists have considered the simple grant as outdated and promoted other philanthropic practices, which they thought as innovative, progressive and disruptive. Usually gathered under terms such as venture philanthropy  and  philanthrocapitalism, these practices question, or even oppose, a supposedly traditional philanthropy. In the literature, grey or academic, these new ways of « philanthroping » are described as the invention of young and brilliant entrepreneurs who rapidly piled up money. (Bishop & Green, 2008 ; Mair & Hehenberger, 2014; Maclean et al., 2013) 

Yet, philanthropy, originally meaning the love of humankind, can (must ?) be within everyone’s reach, within reach of every social groups. If the philanthropic sector tends to change, this changing also, undeniably, takes form within other social groups than that of entrepreneurs. Which leads us to our second assumption: youth are one of these social groups taking part into the current philanthropic transformation. Frequently called Millenials or Gen Y, they are young people under 35. 

However, if youth do take part into the philanthropic transformation, they also have been widely ignored by the academic literature on the topic. The researcher who enters the keywords « youth + philanthropy » into the different databases he or she has access to, may be disappointed with the poor result. On the other hand, this researcher will be luckier if he or she browses through the grey literature. This literature gathers information about youth philanthropy since the early 2000s. And foundations and philanthropic organisations themselves are producing this information. Issues addressed are among three main themes: what drives youth who engage in philanthropy, how to adapt fundraising to match younger donor profiles and which transfer of philanthropic family legacy? (Youth Leadership Institute, 2001 ; The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 2008) Only recently, studies have looked into initiatives and practices coming from young people themselves, comparing them with those of their parents. (Bokoff & Dillon, 2014 ; Johnson Center for Philanthropy & 21/64, 2013)

From these studies are emerging several assessments and questions, which have been rarely addressed by academic research. A research gap exists. These philanthropic initiatives and practices coming from young people are not marginal. On the contrary, they are numerous, as well as within as outside established foundations. But so little information spreads around them and no systematic inventory has been established yet. Therefore, it is often complicated to understand how youth engage themselves, how they mobilize resources they can access, and how they put these at the service of public interest causes, of a more sustainable society. In this context, our research question revolves around two aspects: first, to identify philanthropic practices coming from young people, i.e. how are youth « philanthroping »? ; second, to question the potential transformative characteristic of their practices, i.e. what is a transformative practice?  

Our paper first addresses the double assumption previously exposed. On one hand, we rely on the academic literature on social innovation and institutional change (Battilana et al., 2009; Boxenbaum & Battilana, 2005), so as to conceptualize the notion of transformation, its whys and wherefores. On the other hand, we produce a state-of-the-art, grey and academic, about and around youth philanthropy. Based on this double assumption, this paper then presents the analytic framework allowing us to grasp youth philanthropic practices, and based on this, to analyse their transformative potential for the philanthropic field. 

Selected bibliography

Battilana, J., et al, 2009, « How Actors Change Institutions: Towards a Theory of Institutional Entrepreneurship », The Academy of Management Annals, 3 (1): 65-107.

Bishop, M. & Green, M., 2008, Philanthrocapitalism. How giving can save the world, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Londres.

Bokoff, J. & Dillon, A., 2014, Scanning the Landscape of Youth Philanthropy. Observations and Recommendations for Strengthening a Growing Field, The Foundation Center.  

Boxenbaum, E. & Battilana, J., 2005, « Importation as innovation: transposing managerial practices across fields », Strategic Organization, 3 (4): 355-83.

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 2008, Generational Differences in Charitable Giving and in Motivations for Giving.

Johnson Center for Philanthropy & 21/64, 2013, NextGen Donors. Respecting Legacy, Revolutionizing Philanthropy.

Maclean M., et al, 2013, « Social innovation, social entrepreneurship and the practice of contemporary entrepreneurial philanthropy », International Small Business Journal, 31(7): 747–763.

Mair, J. & Hehenberger, L., 2014, « Front-Stage and Backstage Convening: The Transition from Opposition to Mutualistic Coexistence in Organizational Philanthropy », Academy of Management Journal, vol. 57, (4): 1174-1200.

Youth Leadership Institute, 2001, Changing the Face of Giving, The James Irvine Foundation.