Generation Impact: How Younger Donors Are Revolutionizing Giving

by Sharna Goldseker, Michael Moody

An insider's guide to the coming philanthropic revolutionMeet the next generation of big donors--the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will be the most significant donors ever and will shape our world in profound ways. Hear them describe their ambitious plans to revolutionize giving so it achieves greater impact. And learn how to help them succeed in a world that needs smart, effective donors now more than ever.As "next gen donors" step into their philanthropic roles, they have not only unprecedented financial resources, but also big ideas for how to wield their financial power. They want to disrupt the traditional world of charitable giving, and they want to do so now , not after they retire to a life of philanthropic leisure.Generation Impact pulls back the curtain on these rising leaders and their "Impact Revolution," offering both extensive firsthand accounts and expert analysis of the hands-on, boundary-pushing, unconventional strategies next gen donors are beginning to pursue. This fascinating book also shows another side of the donors in Generation they want to respect the past even as they transform the future. They are determined to honor the philanthropic legacies and values they've inherited by making big giving more effective than ever before. If they succeed, they can make historic progress on causes from education to the environment, from human rights to health care.Based on years of research and close engagement with next gen donors, Generation Impact offers a unique profile of the new faces of philanthropy. Find out, directly from How they want to revolutionize giving to expand its positive impact on our lives and our communities. Which causes interest them, how they want to engage with those causes ... and, perhaps more important, how they do not want to engage. Which new tools and strategies for change excite them most. What they are learning from previous generations, and what they want to bring to their work alongside those generations. How we can all ensure their historic potential is channeled in ways that make our world better. The Impact Revolution will be messy, but it could also result in solutions for some of our most persistent problems. Generation Impact offers targeted, practical advice to parents, families, and their advisors, as well as nonprofit professionals--those who work closest with these next gen donors--on how to engage, nurture, and encourage them as they reshape major giving and make their mark on history. Help them channel their enthusiasm--and their wealth--to make the most positive difference in a world with such great need.

Genres: Professional Development, Nonfiction

336 pages, ebook

Published September 8, 2017

Reviews

[Teo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book attempts to be informative and helpful for Baby Boomers who are trying to understand the philanthropic giving of Gen Xers and Millenials, while also serving to inform and advise the members of those younger generations themselves. It seems to me that they have probably been more successful with the former than the latter.

I've been researching and reading about philanthropy for over a decade, so maybe I'm unusual for someone born in 1983 (my status as Gen X or Millenial depends on whom you ask). Nothing in the book was very new for me, and it often felt like I was reading an essay written about me. So, to me, it wasn't super enlightening or revelatory. That said, if the ideas in this book would be as new to older generations as the book suggests, it may be really informative for them to understand people like me and I can vouch for the ideas, values, and philosophies in this book as reflective of my own and at least some others in my generation.

I guess I had higher expectations for the "revolution" I was going to read about. I wanted something that was going to challenge me, and others, more. While there is a recognition of the financial privilege of the people described and quoted in the book, and an acknowledgement of the economic inequity in the United States and the world, they don't really address that reality in a very revolutionary way.

Wealthy families have been creating and maintaining foundations for generations, and the assets of those foundations keep on growing as most donate a meager 5% each year, as required by law, giving those families ever-increasing power and influence. Not to mention the amount of wealth they retain outside of philanthropic entities. And this book doesn't really suggest a revolution to that norm. In the second to last chapter they quote one "next gen donor" as saying the following:

"It was just the four of us in the family meeting at the end of every year, as dictated by tax policy, to determine, 'Well, where's the 5 percent going to go?" But once I was in my 20s I said, "Wait a minute. As a family, we have way more that we could be doing. I'll go first. I will take all the assets that are under my control and I will start thinking about an aggressive plan for pretty much all of that" (p. 258).

I think this is possibly the most revolutionary thing that I read in the book, and it's hardly discussed. I'm disappointed that more respondents didn't respond with a plan to give away all the funds in their family foundation or to find a way to give underprivileged or underrepresented people a voice and decision-making power in the way those funds are spent.

I think this book does a good job of describing some of the ideas, values, and philosophies that are common among people my age that I've talked to about philanthropy. It may be helpful for non-profit executive directors, advisors, and older wealthy family members who want to better understand young donors. I also thought it was interesting to read some of the personal accounts from many of the donors cited in the book. And lastly, I really appreciated the methods and data section at the end, and their acknowledgement of the limitations of their work.

That said, from my point of view, it doesn't deliver on the "revolution" promised in the title, and I hope that this current generation of donors is more revolutionary than you might gather from this book.

[Scott Heyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read the book to be inspired about others' journeys in philanthropy. I enjoyed the next gen donor stories and did find them motivating. However, other parts of the book struck me as overly gushy about Gen X and Millennials to the point that it felt awkward and pandering.

[Adam Zuwerink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the in-depth narratives from 13 next gen donors, and how they view the world in the context of where and why they give. And the authors did a good job of trying to place those narratives into a broader context of a larger survey of over 300 next gen, high net worth individuals. Definitely a few great takeaways for professional advisors and non-profit leaders on how to interact with younger donors.

But I can't give it a fifth star because the book is so repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, and by the end I got sick of reading the same points over and over and over again.

[Mary Katherine Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but i felt like it could have been more effective as an article. It was a little long-winded and the examples far exceeded the (great) points the book was trying to make.