Generation Impact

Book description

An insider’s guide to the coming philanthropic revolution

Meet the next generation of big donors—the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will be the most significant donors ever and will shape our world in profound ways. Hear them describe their ambitious plans to revolutionize giving so it achieves greater impact. And learn how to help them succeed in a world that needs smart, effective donors now more than ever.  

As “next gen donors” step into their philanthropic roles, they have not only unprecedented financial resources, but also big ideas for how to wield their financial power. They want to disrupt the traditional world of charitable giving, and they want to do so now, not after they retire to a life of philanthropic leisure.

Generation Impact pulls back the curtain on these rising leaders and their “Impact Revolution,” offering both extensive firsthand accounts and expert analysis of the hands-on, boundary-pushing, unconventional strategies next gen donors are beginning to pursue. This fascinating book also shows another side of the donors in Generation Impact: they want to respect the past even as they transform the future. They are determined to honor the philanthropic legacies and values they’ve inherited by making big giving more effective than ever before. If they succeed, they can make historic progress on causes from education to the environment, from human rights to health care.

Based on years of research and close engagement with next gen donors, Generation Impact offers a unique profile of the new faces of philanthropy. Find out, directly from them:

  • How they want to revolutionize giving to expand its positive impact on our lives and our communities.
  • Which causes interest them, how they want to engage with those causes … and, perhaps more important, how they do not want to engage.
  • Which new tools and strategies for change excite them most.
  • What they are learning from previous generations, and what they want to bring to their work alongside those generations.
  • How we can all ensure their historic potential is channeled in ways that make our world better.

The Impact Revolution will be messy, but it could also result in solutions for some of our most persistent problems. Generation Impact offers targeted, practical advice to parents, families, and their advisors, as well as nonprofit professionals—those who work closest with these next gen donors—on how to engage, nurture, and encourage them as they reshape major giving and make their mark on history. Help them channel their enthusiasm—and their wealth—to make the most positive difference in a world with such great need.

Table of contents

  1. COVER
  2. TITLE PAGE
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. CHAPTER 1: Introduction: The Most Significant Philanthropists Ever
    1. Big Donors, Big Impact
    2. The New Golden Age of Giving
    3. The Coming Impact Revolution
    4. Who Are These Gen Xers and Millennials?
    5. In Their Own Words
    6. Using This Book
    7. Notes
  5. PART ONE: The Impact Revolution
    1. CHAPTER 2: Show Me the Impact
      1. Impact Obsession
      2. Moving the Needle
      3. The Power of Seeing
      4. What Does This Mean?
      5. Notes
    2. CHAPTER 3: Changing Strategies for a New Golden Age
      1. Passionate about Strategy
      2. Same Issues, Bigger Impact
      3. Strategies for Success
      4. Give Local—But Differently
      5. What Does This Mean?
      6. Notes
    3. CHAPTER 4: Why Not Innovate?
      1. Excited About Innovation, Okay with Blurriness
      2. The New Tool Belt
      3. Using Every Tool for Impact
      4. Aspirational Innovators
      5. Being Unreasonable to Do Something Extraordinary
      6. Taking Risks and Failing Forward
      7. What Does This Mean?
      8. Notes
  6. PART TWO: Going All In
    1. CHAPTER 5: The “Do Something” Generation
      1. Get Out There and Do It
      2. Looking for a Real Relationship
      3. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
      4. Engaged Donors Are Bigger, Better Donors
      5. What Does This Mean?
      6. Notes
    2. CHAPTER 6: More Than an ATM
      1. Valuing Me for Me
      2. More Than a Party Planner
      3. The Value of Talent
      4. What Does This Mean?
      5. Notes
    3. Chapter 7: Inspirational Peer Pressure
      1. Transformation Not Transaction
      2. Filling the Learning Gap
      3. A Little Inspiration
      4. Peer Giving Is Strategic Giving
      5. What Does This Mean?
      6. Notes
  7. PART THREE: Respectful Revolutionaries
    1. CHAPTER 8: Living Values Seamlessly
      1. Values, Not Valuables
      2. Origins, Where the Values Come From
      3. A Delicate Balance
      4. Living Seamlessly and Managing Up
      5. What Does This Mean?
      6. Notes
    2. CHAPTER 9: On the Shoulders of Giants
      1. The Importance of the Family Narrative
      2. Learning Your Past to Shape Your Future
      3. Taking Stewardship to the Next Level
      4. Balance Takes Many Forms
      5. What Does This Mean?
      6. Notes
    3. CHAPTER 10: Fielding a Multigenerational Team
      1. A New Multigenerational Landscape
      2. Know‐How and Know‐Who
      3. Building Peerage, Not Adding a Kids' Table
      4. Respecting Generational Personalities
      5. What Does This Mean?
      6. Notes
    4. CHAPTER 11: Next Gen Philanthropic Identity
      1. The Importance of Becoming
      2. The Difficulty of the Launch
      3. Breaking Norms: Next Gen Is Now Gen
      4. What Does This Mean?
      5. Notes
    5. CHAPTER 12: Conclusion: Making the Most of the Golden Age of Giving
      1. The Coming Revolution
      2. Will the Golden Age Really Be Golden?
      3. Seek Transformation Not Transaction
      4. Use Your Power for Good
      5. The Next Gen Is the Now Gen
      6. Notes
  8. APPENDIX: Methods and Data
    1. Data Collection and Analysis
    2. Characteristics of the Sample
    3. Current Limitations and Future Research
    4. Notes
  9. ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  10. INDEX
  11. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Product information

  • Title: Generation Impact
  • Author(s): Sharna Goldseker, Michael Moody
  • Release date: October 2017
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119422815