As a society, we’re entering a new golden age of philanthropy.  In our new report, “The Giving Journey: Guiding New Donors to Actualized Philanthropy,” we explore both the motives and barriers to giving among this next generation of donors, to help them become more effective philanthropists.

As we spoke to these donors about their motivations for giving, they told us about their core values, and the personal and professional experiences that have shaped what they care about most. Through these conversations, we learned that giving has more to do with what donors care about than with external needs in the marketplace.

We learned there are important stages in each donor’s journey, where philanthropic support organizations can help meet donors’ unmet needs, ramp up faster, and become more actualized and strategic by paying attention to their internal motives and development. The implication is that we need to pay more attention to how values around philanthropy pass from one generation to the next and how that initial spark of generosity awakens—factors that most nonprofits can’t influence but should heed to as they cultivate donors.

After these new donors come into significant wealth—often in their 30s, 40s, or early 50s—most of them don’t start giving right away, even though they might set aside assets in a donor-advised fund (DAF). Many are overwhelmed by the learning curve that philanthropy can present and don’t always know where to turn to learn how to be effective.  As a field, we should create more opportunities and resources for intergenerational conversations about giving, and provide volunteer or service-learning opportunities for wealthy families and their children. For example, recently launched website Giving Compass shares local volunteer opportunities and events based on donor interests.

By the time a donor has moved through these stages—which can span a decade or more—they’ve answered the “why” question. This helps make them more self-aware, intentional, and strategic in their giving. We believe there is enormous potential to help new donors, who will continue to reshape philanthropy in the coming decades, become more actualized.

Read the full article about the mindsets and motives of new donors by Heather McLeod Grant and Kate Wilkinson at Stanford Social Innovation Review.