Look who grew up.
Generation Y, born roughly between 1980 and 2000 and also known as the Millennials, is leaving its mark on everything it comes into contact with, and that includes philanthropy.
They’re sometimes underrepresented on charity boards and often have little time to volunteer, but they’re finding ways to give back to society.
Millennials are influenced by their parents’ giving but are doing their own philanthropy differently, leveraging the technology they’re so famous for having grown up with, and keeping themselves highly informed about the causes they choose to support.
They’ve come into their own, and they appear eager to join the ranks of earlier generations of philanthropists to make a difference in the world that’s been handed down to them.
Opportunities for Change
Three years ago, 36-year-old Brian Davis said there was an absence of philanthropic leadership among his contemporaries.
The founding partner of the Law Offices of Brian M. Davis had several friends and acquaintances who were serving on boards for a number of nonprofit organizations, but on the whole he felt the “younger generation” was underrepresented on charitable boards.
“Most boards are filled with people who are much older,” he said. “People my age are often busy with young kids and careers and all that. It can be hard to make time to volunteer.”
Davis, too, has a 15-month old son, Nolan, with his wife, Megan, so he understands the dilemma. And he thought of a solution.
“I wanted to bring together a group of young professionals and merge their talents to support philanthropy,” he said. “The group I envisioned would all be people of around the same age and place in life so we could relate to each other and support each other.”
Davis started Orange County Young Executives, an organization of young professionals and entrepreneurs seeking to make a difference through philanthropic effort. He invited people in his professional network to join in helping him build the organization, and he said the response was instantaneous.
He said everyone he talked with wanted to be part of the movement.
Khary Espy, 35, vice president and relationship manager at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was one of the first on board.
“I have a personal belief that we are all tasked to give back to the greater good of society in some respect,” he said.
Espy was instrumental in bringing Bank of America on as a sponsor of the organization from the beginning, but he downplays his role.
“OCYE, its cause, and the quality of its events speak largely for themselves.”
The group’s members—most in their mid-30s, although the age limit is 45—come from companies that include Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, Irvine-based Allergan Inc., and the Irvine Company in Newport Beach.
The group in the two years since it was founded has raised nearly $300,000 for the charities it supports, which include Big Brothers Big Sisters and Think Together.
Alex Bhathal, 39, co-president of RAJ Manufacturing LLC, also created a philanthropic group specifically for young professionals, founding Next@theBarclay for those in Orange County on a mission to promote awareness of the local performing arts.
And then there’s Natalia Olenicoff, 33, senior vice president of Olen Properties, who also started a foundation—although her goal wasn’t to create a gathering place for young professionals. Rather, it was to honor one—her late brother, Andrei Olenicoff, who suffered from retinitis pigmentosa and was slowly losing his sight.
A year after Andrei died in a 2005 car accident, his sister started the Andrei Foundation, which she said has helped fund several pivotal new-eye research studies.
“Andrei had the biggest, brightest smile,” Olenicoff said. “It was important to keep that smile going.”
Family Philosophies
Davis, Bhathal and Olenicoff created solutions to fill what they perceived as gaps in the philanthropic community. Creating and managing organizations take time—Davis jokes that getting his group off the ground was a 24/7 job for an entire year.
Where did their drive to become so deeply involved in philanthropic work originate?
A 2013 study by the Johnson Center for Philanthropy indicates 89% of philanthropic Millennials are driven by the values learned from their parents, compared to 56% from close friends and 47% from peers.
That’s true for the Bhathal family: Alex Bhathal’s sister, Lisa, who is in her mid-30s and serves as co-president at RAJ Manufacturing, is as active in philanthropic pursuits as he is. The Segerstrom Center for the Arts recognized her in July with the Rising Leader Award for her support of its programs.
“Our parents always believed in doing all you can to make life better for others,” she said. “They showed us by example that in this life, you don’t just take. You have to give back.”
Olenicoff, too, credits her parents with bestowing their spirit of generosity on her.
“While they both contribute financially to the organizations that are important to them, perhaps more importantly, they contribute their time, energy and care to so many people and groups,” she said. “That really showed me that giving is about the personal connection.”
Giving a Little Differently
Millennial philanthropists admire the efforts of their parents and grandparents, the Johnson Center study found, and at the same time, they seek to use new tools and strategies to create an even greater impact than the previous generation.
“I don’t want to think it’s an ‘us or them’ mentality,” Biegenzahn said.
“I can’t speak for past generations, but in the information age, we are all made more aware of the issues affecting our county, our state, our country, and our planet. I feel that our generation is certainly more aware.”
Geh Y members also tend to react quickly and collectively. “You see it with different disaster relief campaigns and being able to ‘text to give’ ” he said. “A few bucks from each person add up. So I feel people are more inclined to give because it has been made easier.”
Melissa Beck, chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and a member of Davis’ Orange County Young Executives, said she sees differences in how the Millennial generation chooses to give.
“Galas and golf tournaments are incredibly expensive to attend,” she said, “so for many of the younger generation, they are immediately priced out.”
She said Big Brothers Big Sisters is experimenting with other ways to give, such as monthly giving, which involves a donor pledging to give a small amount each month toward vital programs.
Sarah Pizzaruso, director of development for Make-A-Wish of Orange County and the Inland Empire, said she’s noticed younger volunteers want to learn all the ins and outs of the nonprofit group’s financials so they can fully understand how their financial and hands-on contributions make a difference.
Khary Espy of the young executives group sees the same thing.
“We want to quantify things and know exactly where our hard-earned dollars are going,” he said.
“I think Charity Water understands this dynamic: If you donate to their cause, you can go to their website and see a map that shows exactly which clean-water project your hard-earned donation funded.”
Millennials are the generation that gave the world such ubiquitous Internet offerings as Instagram and Snapchat. And young philanthropists are leveraging social media to raise money for their chosen
charities, as well as to keep their missions relevant and streamline the donation process.
Ninety one percent of Millennials, according to the Johnson Center study, go to the Internet first when trying to determine which causes they want to support.
“Think about the many examples of online campaigns, “that have quickly raised millions of dollars or assembled thousands of people for a cause said Olenicoff, referring in particular to YouTube videos.
“The Web connects people with causes outside of their sphere, and it’s a great medium for conveying emotions and rallying people to a cause.”
Identities
Gen Y also approaches fundraisers differently.
The focus will move away from black-tie galas and golf tournament fundraisers to crowdfunding and “benefit corporations” or B Corporations that mix business with solving social and environmental problems, according to the Johnson Center study.
“I believe that younger generations want to see the direct results of their giving rather than pay $250 to attend an event that costs the organization $200 per person to host,” Olenicoff said.
She described a breakfast information session held by the Ocean Institute that she estimates cost less than $20 a person to put on. The institute spent an hour explaining its programs, then asked if people would like to donate.
“Almost everybody wrote a large check,” she said. “I felt like the event respected people’s limited time and effectively put each donor’s check to good use.”
Millennials say they’re just as engaged in philanthropy as their parents’ generation, just sometimes in different ways.
“Almost everyone I know is truly engaged in tackling really big issues and making a direct impact in the decision-making process,” Bhathal said.
“Our generation is more individualistic, entrepreneurial, tech-savvy, and impatient. Boring and stale bureaucracies aren’t for us.”
