The Philanthropy Allowance Experiment

I’ve decided to conduct a social experiment.

A philanthropy social experiment.

With two mini-humans…who also happen to be my two favorite humans: my daughters.

You see, I have a theory that by tapping into that childlike purity and innate desire to help, kids possess incredible potential to be lifelong philanthropists and empathy activists on this planet.

So I decided to test that theory.

I’ve noticed something about my girls over the years - they like doing. They like to be in the mix. They like to be helpers. They like to know they made a difference. They LOVE the recognition and “atta girls” that come with it too.

Whether it’s filling backpacks with food for a local elementary school or picking up trash, they want to be an integral part of helping. And this is where the experiment begins.

STEP 1?? - Identify the Cause

We started by having a chat around the dinner table about what we’re individually passionate about distilled to one cause. Here’s how it broke down:

• Sophia - environment??
• Julia - animals??
• Becky - women/girls (specifically females of color) ??
• Kyle - public broadcast news??

Ok, so Doing ?

Identifying ?

Now on to Giving??

STEP 2?? - Setup a Giving Structure

The Experiment

Hypothesis: By giving each girl $15 a month to give away - a #PhilanthropyAllowance, if you will - these gifts will endear, educate, steward, and more deeply connect them to their pet causes.

Social goal: get the girls actively giving and leaning into things that move and break their hearts. Make them an active part of making that thing better somewhere in the world. Allow them to learn from other like-minded, passionate activists.

Step 3?? - Help them make the gifts themselves online

Knowing how to make a gift AND knowing how to direct your gift are important. This was an empowerment exercise that was fun to watch unfold.?

Process

1. “Shop” for charities who are doing this through Google, social media channels and Every.org
2. Find the preferred method of giving - outright, monthly, gift-in-kind, etc.
3. Make the gift, and mom will track the journey of impact and stewardship

So this is the quest we’re on. I felt called to blog about this experience, because even at the onset, I could see the shift it created in the girls, and in me. I want to observe how it empowers them. I want to watch the engagement and stewardship process play out with them. I also want to see how these nonprofits see the gift and pull them into the mission through communication, marketing, events, and other avenues. I will check back quarterly with updates and feedback.?

I’m hoping for greater interest in their passions, that they’ll educate the rest of the family about what they learn, and hope for a sense of pride that they are truly being the change they want to see in the world. I hope that’s a feeling they want to chase throughout their lives.?

The Results

??Sophia - This sweet child o’ mine is a natural philanthropist and activist. And how she’s influenced at this point in her life is very interesting. She loves her philanthropic YouTubers (yes, this is a thing, and she has educated me mightily here). Namely a man called Mr. Beast who routinely uses his nearly 100M social media followers to raise awareness about the climate crisis - her pet cause too. Here’s her giving breakdown for this month:

• $5 - Team Trees (Mr. Beast’s fundraiser benefitting the Arbor Foundation)
• $5 - Team Seas (Mr. Beast fundraiser benefiting the Ocean Conservancy Foundation)
• $10 - Plastic Oceans given via Every.org*

*I gotta give a plug for my favorite social giving platform - Every.org. It’s truly a magical platform (and nonprofit!) that makes giving accessible and allows anyone to use technology for good. My favorite part: it allows you to share your Why after you’ve given. This is important because it draws like-minded givers to you in community.

??Julia - Julia is my “all-in” and do-everything-with-heart-and-logic child. She didn’t want to break up her gifts. There was only one place she wanted to put her money that was directly tethered to her heart - OK Humane Society. You see, her most beloved being in her world is her rescue dog, Dixie, and OK Humane rescued him from a ditch years ago. Gratitude overflows???

• $15? - OK Humane Society, wanted to give a recurring gift so she joined the monthly giving club, Always Loyal. And became their youngest monthly donor at 7-years-old [insert heart explosion].

Step 4?? - Watch stewardship and impact unfold

Over the course of the next year, I’ll be keeping tabs on how the girls are communicated with and shown impact. Not gonna lie - it’ll be challenging. Neither have social media, and only one has a device. More evidence that one-dimensional stewardship will never reach all our people. We have to meet them in the places they are on their terms.

Conclusion

There’s a bigger question looming here. How do we begin to not only have these conversations with our children, but actively get them involved in the process of giving and serving? I believe it begins with conversation then leads to activation. It's about not only bringing them into your own giving story, but allowing them to share their own passion. Activation is awakening. When kids can touch/see/hear their passion in-action while working with their own hands or lending their voice - that becomes a powerful starting point. I’d love to hear other suggestions of what you've seen work well below?? We have much to learn from each other in this journey.

Part II of the Philanthropy Allowance will be back next quarter? I’ll catch you up on our progress. Until then, shine on, my little environmentalist and animal lover, and all people working to put good into the world.