Youth In Philanthropy

Since 2002, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation has been inspiring the best in young people, encouraging them to make a difference in a world that belongs to them.

If you ask a young person about philanthropy, you may receive some blank looks in response. It’s not a word used every day. But while they might not know it, today’s youth are already engaging in small acts of philanthropy through their use of Gofundme pages and other charitable donation opportunities, and have the power to do more with extra awareness. Philanthropy — the belief of helping people, particularly by providing money — is an incredibly important concept. Nobody understands this more than the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation. 

In 2002, the Foundation launched their Youth in Philanthropy program to promote the understanding of philanthropy in young people, as well as provide information on community issues and leadership. ‘They can be changemakers,’ says Suzanne Doig, a spokesperson for the Foundation. ‘They don’t have to wait until they’re 25 or 30. They can do it at 15.’ The program works to inspire young people to engage in a life of philanthropy and social change by developing values such as empathy, responsibility, and respect.

Philanthropy is important for several reasons. Not only does it contribute money to important grassroots organisations, but it fosters communities and improves overall wellbeing through making the world a better place. Philanthropy works to fill in the gaps of funding communities and organisations that slip through the cracks of government support. Through volunteering, empathy and passion is built and you learn more about the world and the people who receive those raised funds. Philanthropy is a community effort, though one that understandably feels apart from everyday life. Youth in Philanthropy aims to change this. There is no minimum change to help start changing the world.  

“They can be changemakers. They don’t have to wait until they’re 25 or 30. They can do it at 15.”

Introducing the world of philanthropy to the younger generation provides a chance for the students to learn more about the social issues that affect their world, especially since those issues are often relevant to them. In 2020, the Foundation for Young Australians developed the COVID-19 Youth Response Fund to support 15 new and existing initiatives with a collective $157,000. These initiatives include She’s A Crowd, Minus18 Foundation, and SEED & AYCC, covering a wide range of fields such as providing legal support and affordable renting, queer storytelling and community peer support, improv theatre, and the facilitation of activities in remote Indigenous communities. These initiatives are led by youth and were chosen by youth. This is their future that they are helping to shape.

Within the program, the students themselves allocate funding — each school receives a $10,000 grant — on behalf of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation. According to Suzanne Doig, the students 'receive three applications from three charitable organisations which they need to assess and decide on the allocation of funding.’ They see this process through from start to finish, working as a team to make a decision, as well as visiting and asking questions of each organisation to assist in making their decision.

The Foundation has outlined five major challenges that our communities are facing as their impact areas — Education & Employment, Environment & Sustainability, Healthy & Resilient Communities, Homelessness & Affordable Housing — and the Foundation also works to Inspire Philanthropy to strengthen the charitable sector. These are issues that affect all Australians in some capacity, especially as we suffer through a global pandemic, and youth are in a position to make a difference.

Earlier this year, Philanthropy Australia published the stories of five young Australians and how they are using philanthropy to make a difference in our country and the wider world. From providing a safe community space for Indigenous families to mourn those lost in custody, to how to emerge strong from the pandemic. Young people are using philanthropy to drive social change, fight for racial justice, and build a better future.

If you would like to learn more or be involved in philanthropy, visit Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and Philanthropy Australia, and learn how to leave the world in a better place than you found it.

WORDS: BIANCA BREEN, SARAH RAMANTANIS
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEXIS BROWN, JOHN SCHNOBRICH