Oak Park, Illinois – A 5-year study on youth philanthropy leadership released today by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University concludes that teen participants in an innovative community program achieved remarkably higher rates of philanthropic action compared to national data, 100% higher on some indicators. The report, Youth Philanthropy: Studying Outcomes of Community Engagement authored by Dr. Patricia Snell Herzog, was based on research conducted in partnership with Three Pillars Initiative (TPI), a new national program that aims to teach the art, science and business of philanthropy to the next generation through hands-on civic engagement in fundraising, grantmaking and volunteering.
“It has truly been an honor to lead this community-engaged research project,” Dr. Herzog said. “One of my longest research interests is understanding the lived experiences of young people, especially as they transition from youth into emerging adults. This youth philanthropy program is a perfect nexus of those interests.”
Youth participants in the TPI program engage significantly more across every comparable measure of philanthropic activity.
The study concludes that TPI graduates’ rates of charitable giving, fundraising, volunteering and community engagement are 39% to 73% higher than national rates. In addition, program graduates have 41% to 100% more philanthropy knowledge and skills than national norms. Teens also leave the program with 93% to100% larger networks of engaged peers and supportive adults. The research is significant because, as numerous academic studies point out, it demonstrates the strong link between teen participation in philanthropy earlier in their formative years and their engagement in civic leadership later in life.
Beginning in 2019, Three Pillars Initiative (TPI) shared its program design with leaders in 12 different communities in 7 states representing rural, suburban and urban locations. Using an original curriculum designed specifically for high school juniors and seniors, local adult volunteer mentors were trained to deliver the comprehensive 2-year program. TPI provided substantial and continuing technical assistance in helping communities organize local parents, teens, mentors, high schools, nonprofit organizations and donors to launch and locally operate the program.
Original Design
TPI’s Three Pillars Philanthropy design refers to the primary components of the philanthropic learning experience: fundraising, grantmaking and volunteering. The first test of the design, known as the Future Philanthropists Program (FPP), was launched in 2010 by the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation in Oak Park, Illinois. Today, a total of 338 teens participated in FPP. During that time, these students distributed a total of $370,000 in grants to local nonprofits, built a fundraising endowment in excess of $1.2 million and provided more than 2,400 hours of volunteer service in the community.
“Helping teens develop and apply their people skills and critical thinking can result in significant levels of service”, observed Joe Smith, a veteran FPP mentor and TPI board secretary. He observed that in 2022 FPP students organized and launched “Ukraine Aid” which resulted in their collecting nearly 2 tons of needed supplies over a 3-day blitz. Through an international connection with students at Ukrainian Catholic University in Kyiv, these supplies were distributed directly into the hands of women, children and the elderly. A year earlier, the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Chicago Chapter recognized FPP’s successful efforts to raise money during the COVID-19 pandemic by presenting them with their Youth Philanthropy Leadership Excellence Award.
“The beauty of the program design is its ability to keep teens’ attention focused on civic engagement even though they are inundated with classwork, clubs and extracurriculars as upper classmen”, said Rick King, TPI’s board president. “The learning is fun because they are able to immediately apply what they learn to real-life situations, with real money and real people.”
He went on to say that the commitment of local adult volunteer mentors is the linchpin of the program’s success. “The mentors’ ability to not only impart philanthropy knowledge and skills but also provide teens with a caring, inclusive and supportive environment is one of the many factors that perpetuate the students’ loyalty and commitment to the program”, King stated.
Remy Sheehan, TPI’s senior program officer, has managed the development of the 12 community programs over the past five years. “It typically takes 6 to 8 months to get a local program launched”, he reported. “So, for community leaders who want to start their own program in the 2025-26 school year, the timing of the (Lilly) report is perfect”.
The complete report, Youth Philanthropy: Studying Outcomes of Community Engagement by Dr. Patricia Snell Herzog, et al, is available on open access, at no cost, through this link:
https://hdl.handle.net/1805/43804
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About Three Pillars Initiative:
Three Pillars Initiative (TPI) is a national 501(c)(3) philanthropy service organization established in 2019 whose mission is to create and distribute youth philanthropy education programs and curriculum to communities committed to preparing the next generation of philanthropic leaders. The program model provides robust learning experiences in fundraising, grantmaking and volunteering. These components are embodied in the Three Pillars Philanthropy program design. The program calendar mirrors the local high school calendar year, beginning in August/September and ending in May/June. The learning modules, based on the Gold Standard Project Based Learning (PBL) method, are designed to be delivered by trained adult mentors at monthly sessions. Fundraising, grantmaking and volunteer activities occur between sessions. TPI affiliated programs are sponsored and operated by a local 501(c)(3) organization such as a community foundation, private or family foundation or a direct service providing organization. Communities interested in starting a program work closely with and are assisted by TPI staff at every step of the process. www.threepillarsinitiative.org