This article is the fourth in a series exploring best practices in youth philanthropy.
Coming home from a conference in 2014, inspired by hearing Justice Murray Sinclair speak about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I decided I would start talking with my then first-grader about the history of Canada’s residential schools. I didn’t tell her the horrifying details; but she recognized the injustice of the system, the evil it involved, as if by instinct. “Can I tell my friends?” she asked.
“My eyes are opened now,” is the phrase we hear over and over, from the thousands of teenagers every year who complete YPI’s philanthropy project about social issues and local charities in their communities. The social conscience youth develop doesn’t remain a quiet realization: they want to talk about it. YPI’s evaluations show that when they have been meaningfully engaged with an issue – and in particular by the professionals or volunteers working to address it – young people are becoming active and effective educators of their peers, their teachers, and their own families about charities, social issues, and stigma.
Over the past decade, our sector has grown at a rate faster than Canada’s GDP. Charities and other non-profit organizations now employ two million Canadians, and contribute 8% of the country’s GDP, and rising. Despite this growth, public knowledge of the non-profit and charitable sector remains ultimately low, with limited media coverage, nor consistent, comprehensive public education about the vital role that it plays in our economy and society.
Brian Emmet, Chief Economist for Imagine Canada, warned about this succinctly in his 2015 commentary on the state of charities and the Canadian economy: “This is more than a perceptual problem. It results in promises and proposals that focus, for example, on areas wrongly felt more vital to the economy than the charitable sector ... Correcting ingrained misperceptions is a tough business. It requires a good story, backed by solid evidence – which charities have in abundance – as well as patience and persistence.”
From our experience, young people have demonstrated that they should be recognized and supported as part of this story about social issues and services, and that their engagement should be made a strategic component for changing public perception of the sector. YPI’s approach brings youth, charities, and funders together in support of immediate community needs, but also contributes to deeper social change by influencing attitudes and behaviours. Introducing students to social issues, and building their connection to local charities before they move on from high school, is also a practice for being inclusive to as many people in the community as possible. A significant outcome we’re seeing is how this process is contributing – with patience and persistence – to a broader and deeper appreciation of the value of charities across Canada.
Youth are important stakeholders in their communities, and have a lot to contribute. Ontario’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services has identified civic engagement and youth leadership as a priority area, and outlined several pursuable outcomes that would benefit both youth and charities: support young people to be heard; provide opportunities for youth be involved and lead; understand and harness the contributions of youth.
Charities and non-profits are on the front lines of social and environmental progress, yet we face a situation where the public could take our contributions for granted, and where the responsibility to seek adequate and reliable resources for our work could rest on our shoulders alone. We need an informed public that is connected to the true value of our work. To this end, youth philanthropy offers not a transaction but a bridge.
Holly McLellan is the International Director of Programming for the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative, a multi award-winning secondary school program that strengthens the social sector by engaging youth in social issues, local charities, and grant-making. You can contact her at holly@goypi.org.
