Unit 5: Youth and Successor Generations
Community foundations support successor generations’ philanthropic journeys through peer-to-peer programs and through intergenerational programs. Those successors could be children, teens, and/or young adults. Use examples in this unit to inspire your own programs.
Youth Philanthropy
TUNE-IN (60 minutes): Topical Call—Youth Grantmaking Models [members only]
TUNE-IN (57 minutes): Topical Call—Engaging Youth and Children [members only]
Anita Wesley, Senior Philanthropic Advisor at the Rose Community Foundation, and Susan Price, author and field expert, shared tools and perspectives on engaging children in your giving.
BORROW AND ADAPT: Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Models [members only]
There are almost 400 youth grantmaking, youth advisory board, and youth philanthropy programs at community foundations and similar organizations in the U.S. and Canada. The Foundation Center’s YouthGiving.org Program Directory is searchable by geography, host type, depth of involvement, and ages involved. NCFP has collected a few examples from our subscribing community foundations and TPI’s 2006-2008 Excellence in Family Philanthropy program:
- Foundation for the MetroWest – Igniting the Spark Case Study (middle and high schoolers)
- Greater Atlanta Community Foundation – Igniting the Spark Case Study; Planet Philanthropy brochure (ages 9-15); PhilanthropyATL guide (resource for parents)
- Greater Houston Community Foundation – Camp Philanthropy (ages 10-14)
- Greater Worcester Community Foundation – Igniting the Spark Case Study (high schoolers)
- Rose Community Foundation – Rose Youth Foundation (teens)
- Seattle Foundation – Youth Grantmaking Board (high schoolers)
- The Boston Foundation – Kids Philanthropy Program (ages 10 and up)
- The Oregon Community Foundation – Community 101 (school-based program with small grants)
- The Philadelphia Foundation – Igniting the Spark Case Study (high schoolers)
- Women’s Fund of Central Indiana (a CICF fund) – GO program (grades 1-12)
BORROW AND ADAPT: Community Foundation Young Adult Program Samples [members only]
TUNE-IN (50 minutes): Youth-Led Grantmaking and Community-Centric Youth Philanthropy [members only]
Sheryl Seller, Assistant Director, Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, led a conversation at the 2021 workshop. Also listen to her follow-up topical call recording and view
her case study about the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and other tools and materials in this collection.
Next Gen and Successor Advisors
TUNE-IN (60 minutes): Spark Session—Models of Community Foundation Programs for Engaging Next Gen Donors [members only]
TUNE-IN (60 minutes): Topical Call—Successor Advisors Topical Call [members only]
In this 2018 topical call, staff from Foundation for the Carolinas and Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta shared insights on working with successor generations of fund advisors.
TUNE-IN (75 minutes): Spark Session—Successful Generational Transitions [members only]
In philanthropic families, no subject generates more questions than preparing for and successfully passing the responsibility of a foundation or fund to successor generations. In this 2020 webinar, teams from the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and Seattle Foundation discuss their work together in managing a generational transition and the impact of the work on both the foundation and the donor family.
TUNE-IN (50 minutes): Programs for Young Adult Leaders [sixth video, members only]
This 2020 workshop session featured the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Impact Fund, North Texas Community Foundation’s WORTH: The Next Generation of Philanthropists program, and the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Next Gen Giving Circle.
TUNE-IN (78 minutes): Spark Session—Supporting Young Changemakers [members only]
This 2020 workshop session featured the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Impact Fund, North Texas Community Foundation’s WORTH: The Next Generation of Philanthropists program, and the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Next Gen Giving Circle.
TUNE-IN (60 minutes): Next Gen Engagement
Learn about different engagement models from your peers at the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, and Next Generation of African American Philanthropists (NGAAP) at Triangle Community Foundation in this April 2022 topical call.
TUNE-IN (60 minutes): Impact Evaluation of Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Next Gen Programming [seventh video, members only]
At the 2022 workshop, staff from Grand Valley State University, 21/64, and Greater Houston Community Foundation explored the big questions facing any program designed to facilitate next gen philanthropic development, and offered practical guidance for tackling those questions. Also see these resources:
- Next Gen Donor Learning report
- October 2022 topical call (60 minutes) in which Greater Houston Community Foundation discussed how they used the research to adjust their program models and day-to-day support of next gen donors.