Involve your rising gen in family philanthropy
You’ve built a thriving business by spotting opportunities others miss. But there’s one sitting right in your family that 87% of affluent households overlook.
Opportunity Recognition
Entrepreneurs have a knack for recognizing opportunity.
- Sometimes, a frustrating consumer experience inspires an idea for a new product or service. For example, Sara Blakely started Spanx when she couldn’t find comfortable undergarments that looked good under white pants.
- At other times, a persistent unmet need inspires an innovative solution. When popular conferences in San Francisco kept selling out hotels with still more unmet demand for lodging, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia started Airbnb by renting an air mattress in their apartment and serving guests breakfast.
- Occasionally, a mature industry that’s dozed off and lapsed into boring routine marketing practices becomes ripe for disruption by a bold new entrant – bottled water, meet Liquid Death!
‘A Significant Opportunity’ that Most Are Missing
Because entrepreneurial families are so good at spotting opportunities, it’s surprising that not many are getting their rising generation involved in family philanthropy. According to the 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy: Charitable Giving by Affluent Households, developed in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy:
“… relatively few donors (13%) involve their children, grandchildren or other younger relatives in charitable decision making. This represents a significant opportunity, especially as affluent respondents plan to leave 75% of their estates to children and grandchildren.”
In their book Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors Are Revolutionizing Giving (Wiley, 2017), Sharna Goldseker and Michael Moody assert that the next generation of major donors will be the most significant philanthropists in history. This is true not only because they will control unprecedented financial resources, but also because “they want to change giving in ways that will fundamentally transform philanthropy.” (p. 36)
Shaping the values and priorities of the most significant philanthropists in history is indeed a significant opportunity. Families committed to this work should consider establishing a giving vehicle as a means for participation. The Bank of America study found that nearly half (48%) of households worth $5–20 million have a giving vehicle, or plan to establish one within three years.
The WHY and the HOW
If you’re ready to seize this opportunity, here’s where to start.
3 Reasons to Involve the Rising Gen Now
Among many good reasons for involving your rising gen in family philanthropy, three stand out:
- It prepares them for stewardship. Involving the rising gen in family philanthropy gives you an opportunity to help them become good stewards of the family’s assets, which include not only financial wealth but also the family’s reputation and relationship with the community. Thoughtful philanthropic involvement can introduce the young adult both to the business that generates the resources for charitable giving and to how and why the family gives back.
- It immerses them in your values. Direct experience with the family’s generosity anchors your values in the hearts and minds of the rising gen. A young adult who grows up in a business-owning family that has developed a printed statement of family values is fortunate. But even more fortunate is the one who gets an immersive experience in the family’s charitable impact. Seeing those values lived out is far more memorable and enduring.
- It cultivates empathy. Young adults are often criticized for being too self-absorbed. This may be a particular hazard for those from affluent backgrounds, whose privilege can insulate them from many of life’s hardships. Involvement in philanthropy draws young adults out of themselves and into the world of those less fortunate, where compassion and fellow-feeling can be cultivated.
Three Ways to Involve the Rising Gen Now
- Board seats, a modest grant budget. While a college student, before Scott Belsky became a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist in his own right, he was offered a board seat at his grandparents’ charitable foundation. Upon accepting a role on the board, he was entrusted with $20,000 to disburse as he chose. “So while I didn’t receive a financial inheritance from my grandparents, I did get to participate in a large foundation and to allocate my own budget. Experiencing that level of responsibility at such a young age was both a burden and a source of excitement. I took the role very seriously and found that it provided me with an experiential education in grant making.” (Generation Impact, p. 160)
- Site visits, field work, learning journeys. Give your rising gen opportunities to visit grantees or beneficiaries of the family’s charitable giving. What is the mission of the organization your family supports? What motivates the people who are devoting their lives to that cause? Are there volunteer opportunities for the young adult to consider? The late Ted Turner, founder of CNN, donated a billion dollars to establish the United Nations Foundation. His grandson John R. Seydel has been powerfully shaped by “learning journeys” through which he’s come to understand the impact of the family’s international giving. (Generation Impact, p. 35)
- Outcomes assessment. The Bank of America study found that only 20% of affluent donors track their giving’s effectiveness. Why not get the rising gen involved in measuring the impact of family philanthropy? This introduces them to their parents’ or grandparents’ causes, but in a way that aligns with their passion to contribute and their interest in philanthropic innovation. Every assessment will find things to affirm, as well as suggesting potential improvements for greater impact. In this way the rising gen will learn about philanthropy, and the family will become more focused and impactful in their giving.
When to Start
You may wonder, “How soon should we start?” Own It: How to Develop a Family Enterprise Owner’s Mindset at Every Age, by Wendy Sage-Hayward, Gaia Marchesio, and Barbara Dartt (Palgrave, 2022) offers some helpful advice. When your children are small, you can take them with you to community service activities such as a food pantry, or to fundraisers such as a breast cancer prevention walk. One family with a manufacturing business asks the children to make items like bracelets and keychains to sell at the annual family barbeque, with proceeds to a charity. (p. 32)
The founders of a successful food business had been donating to the local children’s hospital for a decade. When their youngest son, aged 14, asked if they could donate to the local homeless shelter, a discussion ensued. The family decided that each family member could donate $1,000 to their charity of choice, with the children working to earn some of that money. (p. 54) Later, the whole family developed a list of criteria for evaluating charitable causes. Activities like that go a long way in promoting family cohesion and multigenerational philanthropy.
Conclusion
The most significant philanthropists in history are coming of age right now – and they may be sitting at your dinner table. At Family Business Facilitators, we have deep experience in the world of family foundations, grant making, and outcomes assessment. Let us help your family explore ways to get the rising gen involved in philanthropic strategy – contact us today.
