Charity Boards Need More Young Trustees

To the Editor:

Catherine Gund is right on the money (“The Education of Young Donors: a 2-Way Street,” My View, January 14) in emphasizing that “philanthropic leaders need to actively woo the next generation by putting young people on boards … and by involving younger people in the governance and management of non-profit organizations.”

We at the National 4-H Council have done just this. Our board now has 10 trustees in the “Youth Class,” ranging between the ages of 12 and 22. They are full trustees in every respect, with full voting rights, and one of them is vice-chair for mission and performance. She leads the evaluation of our performance against the board-established ends — mission, vision, beliefs, and customer groups.

Our board was led down a learning path to this decision point by a young trustee who was already on the board prior to the bylaw change. This youth trustee has now left the board and is on our staff, leading the building of a national youth-in-governance initiative called “At the Table.” We have given this work a priority and invested internal resources in it. However, we have had considerable difficulty finding funders willing to invest in building a national movement.

The George Gund Foundation is one funder that has expressed an interest; however, they could fund us only if our work were focused on Cleveland. What is needed is some core resource to build the movement — one where several key non-profit organizations, and many youth workers and young leaders, are already committed to its importance. However, we know of no other national non-profit that has moved as far as we have in having youth and adults work in partnership in governance.

Richard J. Sauer
President and Chief Executive Officer
National 4-H Council
Chevy Chase, Md.

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To the Editor:

I applaud Catherine Gund for bringing up the issue of young donors and how they differ from past generations. The Ms. Foundation for Women has been thinking about this very issue and has started a new project for young women and men called IMAGINE (Imagine Moving And Giving In a New Era), which uses the talent, expertise, and creative energy of young professionals to create opportunities for women and girls in advancing their economic, social, and political well-being.

Ms. Gund points out the importance of social consciousness in philanthropy and giving today. IMAGINE’s energetic membership bears witness to this, but what is most evident is how diverse young people are in the ways they want to act or support what is important to them.

The question I have found to be the most present in these young people’s minds is, “What avenue can allow me to feel connected and involved in social change?” This shows those of us thinking about young philanthropists that this generation is more socially conscious than they are given credit for. But we need opportunities, experience, guidance, and mentorship.

Young people like Ms. Gund need to keep the conversation going and create more vehicles for philanthropy in the early 21st century. Organizations like the Third Wave Foundation, the Funding Exchange, and the Ms. Foundation for Women can work together on this issue and keep the dialogue active for the upcoming generation of givers.

Sara K. Gould
Executive Vice-President
Ms. Foundation for Women
New York