Big Bird and Philanthropy
As always, I’m intrigued by the research and writings of Penelope Burk. Her April 27 blog, “Can Big Bird Save Philanthropy?” offers hope for the future of philanthropy. Burk has for some time expressed her concern about the decline of religious conviction because of its direct correlation to philanthropy:
“Donors who are actively religious give considerably more to charitable causes than do donors who refer to themselves as “not at all religious” or “somewhere in between”. Actively religious donors are highly productive in many ways. Not only do they give more, but they are more likely to maintain or increase their giving in an unstable economy, and more likely to volunteer and do so at a leadership level. And, their commitment to giving is not limited to supporting their own religious institutions; actively religious donors give generously in every direction — to education, healthcare, social services and the arts.
The problem is, though, that religious conviction is declining with every succeeding generation…”
In her recent blog, Burk offers some good news that may help to counter this trend:
“Big Bird, it seems — or, more accurately, Sesame Street. This wonderful institution that has given so much to generations of preschoolers has decided that it’s never too early to learn how to manage money. Besides being completely right about that, the way they have developed their approach to financial literacy for the very young is nothing short of brilliant. On a theme of “spend / save / share”, Sesame Street is teaching children that any amount of money, no matter how modest, can be divided three ways – some for buying the things you need or want now, some for saving for even bigger things and for future security, and some for giving to others.
My immediate reaction was, “Great, but surely Sesame Street can’t do this enormous job alone.” Then I did what a researcher always does and looked at the stats. While the percentage of donors under the age of 35 who are actively religious is now in the low 20’s, the percentage of preschoolers who watch TV is a solid 75%.”
This is good news for all of us in the field of philanthropy who are looking to the next generation to carry on the tradition!
Read more at Burk’s latest blog (see www.cygresearch.com/burksblog.)
Tags: Burk, donor research, Fundraising, generational giving, Penelope, philanthropy
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