Can Philanthropy Strengthen Gen Z’s Trust in Institutions Through Empowerment?

NEW YORK – This perspective might have formed when the rampant spread of COVID-19 disrupted nearly every aspect of their early lives. It could have been solidified as the inevitable damages of climate change seemed more certain despite clear warnings from scientists. Perhaps this outlook was shaped by early experiences of the financial instability their families faced during the Great Recession.

Regardless of the cause, it’s evident that Generation Z often lacks trust in the significant institutions that past generations relied on for securing their futures.

According to a survey conducted by AP-NORC in June 2024, only about 1 in 10 adults under 30 expressed “a great deal of confidence” in the leadership of the Supreme Court. Similarly, a May 2023 poll revealed that 44% of adults under 30 had “hardly any confidence at all” in those managing banks and financial institutions. This rate is nearly double that of adults ages 60 and older who shared this sentiment.

The gap extends to other behaviors. An AP-NORC poll conducted in March found that only about one-quarter of adults under 30 volunteered their time to charity in the past year or provided non-financial support to people in their community, compared to 36% of those over 60. Younger adults were also more likely than older adults to say they or their household donated $0 to charity, according to the poll.

The philanthropic sector is working to reverse any disillusionment by empowering Gen Z to make the structural change they so often seek. Born out of the idea that young people distrust institutions because they don’t feel served or included, several initiatives are underway with hopes that more responsive institutions will be seen as more legitimate ones. Perhaps the most optimistic believe their energy can bring alternatives to the status quo to life — if only given meaningful roles.

“Young people — we’re not just victims of these systems. We have agency and we have power,” said Summer Dean, 27, who breaks down complex environmental topics into actionable information for the 116,000 followers of her Instagram, @climatediva.

“If you want to inspire us, actually include us in solid structures of your organization,” she added.

DoSomething doesn’t want to do just anything

When DeNora Getachew became DoSomething CEO in April 2021 during the pandemic, she acknowledged the platform largely provided “slacktivist” opportunities — or low-effort ways to support social causes online. DoSomething was not meeting the desires of its 13- to 25-year-old audience for more lasting community change.

The nonprofit was founded in 1993 to boost youth volunteering. But Getachew said the “new DoSomething” sees volunteerism as a “step on the ladder” but not “the top rung.”

She pointed to a new program called Talking Trash that does more than just encourage volunteers to collect and recycle plastic bottles. Through educational campaigns and microgrants for select projects, DoSomething prompts members to think more deeply about improving their communities’ overall waste management infrastructure.

“We’re their cheerleader,” she said. “We’re the person who has their back and are helping them figure out how they tap into that, at least initial, sense of curiosity about what they can do.”

Katelyn Knox, a 25-year-old former police officer, is part of the inaugural cohort of DoSomething “binfluencers” who received $250 and peer support to improve local recycling systems. After moving from Florida to Los Angeles, Knox noticed many neighbors did not understand the guidelines for what is actually recyclable. Even if they did, she found that recycling bins were scarce.

She decided to design an app that identifies which recyclables go where and brings door-to-door recycling services to her community.

“It is very hard to make change. You have to convince so many people to make this change — especially people who are older than you,” Knox said. “It’s not so scary knowing that other people are with me and doing it right next to me in their own cities.”

DoSomething brought together Knox and Dean to record a video educating college students about broken recycling systems.

Dean, the environmental storyteller, said she’s seen many young folks respond to overwhelming structural issues in one of two ways: accepting that they’ll “just have to learn to survive” or “realizing that we can just really imagine a new system of being and governing.”

“A lot of us feel powerless at some point through all of this because there’s many times where these systems make us feel like there is nothing we can do,” she said. “I always just tell people to hold onto these heavy emotions because that is what moves you to take action and not feel so much like a victim.”

One Silicon Valley entrepreneur’s $10 million call

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman launched The Trust in American Institutions Challenge last December with philanthropic accelerator Lever for Change. The $10 million open call will scale local solutions to restore public confidence in anything from education and government to media and medicine.

Hoffman, a 57-year-old Democratic megadonor, finds that philanthropy offers more opportunities “for beginning the trust stuff.” He said that’s because there are no conflicting interests other than the mission.

The challenge is not focused solely on youth. Hoffman said that “just about everybody” across the political spectrum can recognize society’s trust issues. As he sees it, the problem isn’t that institutions don’t work for young people. They do work, according to Hoffman, and “part of being young is learning that.” The idea, he added, “is to reconnect and revivify.”

“We’re like fish in water. We don’t realize how important these institutions are to our ongoing environment,” Hoffman said. “Revitalizing them is an important part of a society that works.”

A semiquincentennial opportunity

Another effort is connecting youth representatives with decision-makers to help civic institutions reach new generations ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary.

Recognizing that today’s teens and young adults are the ones who will inherit American democracy, Youth250 is passing the microphone to young people as the country reflects on its past and looks ahead to its future. Advisors are working with museums, historic sites and libraries to center Gen Z’s perspectives.

Dillon St. Bernard, the 25-year-old Youth250 documentary series director, said the campaign “is about turning representation into power.”

He emphasized the need to build intergenerational coalitions. Today’s challenges — climate change, democracy and racial justice — haven’t been solved by their predecessors, according to St. Bernard.

“We as a generation have known nothing but a house on fire and want to see what it would look like to stop that spread,” he said.

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.