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| Opportunities & Exposures: Philanthropy |
Not Your Grandfather’s Philanthropy
Neil Howe
10/01/2005
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As members of Generation X prepare to take over philanthropic duties from
their Baby Boomer parents, well-established charitable organizations must adjust
their marketing strategies if they want to keep the funds flowing.
Each
generation has its own unique approach toward giving that reflects its
upbringing and resultant core values. Gen Xers, born between 1961 and 1981, grew
up during the consciousness revolution that began with urban riots and campus
fury and swelled alongside Vietnam War protests and a rebellious counterculture.
As such, they seem to share a lack of trust in organizations. They have a
notoriously low participation in the electoral process. They do not show up at
public meetings and they do not care much about national news. For them, civic
activity is performing hands-on work in their neighborhoods. Gen Xers can often
be seen ladling stew at a soup kitchen or building homes with Habitat for
Humanity. Before giving their money or time to a cause, they want to meet the
people they are going to help.
This emphasis on performance-based
philanthropy will push large charities to retool themselves. They may want to
establish smaller or decentralized offices and concentrate on local issues.
Instead of boasting about a huge pot of donations, they may divide up their
projects in order to explain to donors how one cause differs from the other and
what form of help is required. Gen Xers want to see actual data—results and
reliable, comparable information on the efficacy of nonprofit activity.
Generation X donors are all about transparency.
Gen Xers differ from their
parents in that Boomers generally do not ask questions when they give. For
Boomers, born between 1943 and 1960, values and ego come first. Boomers desire
cultural change, and they want their values expressed through their causes. At
the same time, they want their names on these projects. For example, they may
give to a foundation that will set up an account in their name and allow them to
make recommendations on the foundation’s function. Bill Gates and Michael Milken
are proponents of this so-called expressive philanthropy.
In contrast, not
many Xers participate in formal philanthropy. They see it as an older, alien
environment. For them, philanthropy should be more of an investment that needs
to be leveraged by creating incentives for people to behave differently. In
providing assistance to developing countries, for example, their Boomer parents
would have no second thoughts about donating hard assets.
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