Giving Compass' Take:

• Daniel Ferrell-Schweppenstedde, writing for Charities Aid Foundation, discusses how next-generation philanthropists have specific ideas for the future of philanthropy that might differ from current practices. 

• How will next-gen philanthropists shift the trajectory of the philanthropic sector? In what ways are they responding to the main critiques of philanthropy? 

• Read the story of one next-gen philanthropist and how she defines her own path. 

A recent (excellent) Alliance Magazine and Next Philanthropy event covered questions such as:

  • ‘What does our sector need to do in the next decade to win public support for its work?’
  • ‘Does philanthropy need to democratise or decolonise? What does best practice look like?
  • ‘Are the next generation more liberal?’

Philanthropy, many participants argued, is often seen as a separate source of innovation outside of the state and private sector. And this innovation is independent of where the money came from initially.

The question of whether Next Gen philanthropists are more liberal in their attitudes and views (however that might be defined) was a central one a this event. Of course the views on the panel might only represent a sub-set of Next Gen funders.

There may also be significant differences between different types of funders and donors: individuals who have inherited family wealth, for instance, might differ from individuals who engage with philanthropy because they have resources from a business venture or through employment. But the discussion prompted some really good questions about what Next Gen philanthropists might be concerned with – and why the language of ‘institutionalised philanthropy’ might just not appeal to them.

These are just some examples:

  • New models for giving: for Next Gen philanthropists the vehicle for their giving might not be very central, as long as it is agile enough and helps with fulfilling of the ‘what’ and ‘why’ they give.
  • New funding areas: they might cover new topics early on, also issues which have been historically neglected by institutionalised philanthropy (when looking at the wider field).
  • New drivers and motivations for giving: social justice, climate change and inequalities in wealth distribution might feature way higher (for some) Next Gen philanthropists as we expect, while being aware of the limitations of philanthropy (e.g. that it does not instantly equate to social change and requires time).

Read the full article about next-gen philanthropists by Daniel Ferrell-Schweppenstedde at Charities Aid Foundation.