Engaging young people in philanthropy is both a strategic and an ethical imperative for the New Zealand philanthropic sector. Strategically, foundations that don't invest in the next generation of donors and grantmakers face declining relevance as their donor base ages. Ethically, young people — including rangatahi Māori, Pacific young people, and young people from diverse communities — have insights, perspectives, and lived experience that should shape philanthropic decision-making, not just benefit from it.
Next generation donors
Philanthropic foundations and giving programmes that engage young people early build the relationships, habits, and values that create long-term philanthropic identity. Research consistently shows that people who participate in structured giving programmes as young people are more likely to be significant donors as adults.
Fresh perspectives in grantmaking
Young people see the world differently — they experience issues like climate change, housing affordability, mental health, and social inequality as immediate personal realities, not abstract policy questions. Integrating young perspectives into grantmaking produces better decisions about the issues that most affect emerging generations.
Rangatahi leadership
For Māori philanthropy, the engagement of rangatahi (young people) is particularly important. Rangatahi are the future of iwi, hapū, and Māori communities — and they bring contemporary perspectives on how te ao Māori values can inform giving and resource allocation in the 21st century.
Youth giving circles — groups of young people pooling resources and making collective grant decisions — are growing in New Zealand. They typically combine:
Learning: members learn about community needs, nonprofit organisations, and social issues through presentations, site visits, and discussions with community members.
Deliberation: members discuss, debate, and decide together which organisations or projects to fund — building skills in collective decision-making and civic engagement.
Giving: members contribute their own resources, however modest, to the fund — creating personal investment in the outcome.
Relationship: members build networks and friendships with other young people who share philanthropic values.
New Zealand examples
Several New Zealand community foundations and philanthropic organisations have piloted youth philanthropy programmes:
- University of Auckland student philanthropy courses
- Youth advisory panels at regional community foundations
- Rangatahi giving circles in iwi contexts
- Youth council grant decision-making programmes at local councils
University-level programmes
Philanthropy education is becoming part of some New Zealand university programmes — in business, social sciences, public policy, and te reo Māori. Students learn about the philanthropic sector, grantmaking theory, and nonprofit management — and in some programmes make real grant decisions with real money.
Secondary school programmes
Some secondary schools in New Zealand have piloted service learning and giving programmes — where students identify community needs, research organisations, and decide collectively how to allocate small grants. These programmes build civic capacity alongside philanthropic knowledge.
Marae-based youth giving
Some iwi have integrated rangatahi into their philanthropic decision-making — including youth representation on grant committees, rangatahi-led hui to identify community priorities, and dedicated funding streams specifically for rangatahi-led projects.
Rangatahi philanthropy in te ao Māori is not simply a transfer of Western philanthropic concepts — it draws on tikanga Māori traditions of collective responsibility, manaaki tangata (care for people), and kaitiakitanga (guardianship).
Rangatahi perspectives on grantmaking
Rangatahi bring perspectives on issues like climate change and environmental stewardship (kaitiakitanga), te reo Māori revitalisation, digital equity, mental health (particularly in relation to Māori youth), and the economic aspirations of whānau. Including rangatahi voices in iwi and Māori philanthropic decision-making ensures these priorities receive attention.
Rangatahi leadership programmes
Some iwi and Māori organisations have explicit rangatahi leadership programmes that include exposure to resource allocation and philanthropy — building the next generation of rangatahi leaders who understand how to mobilise and deploy resources for community benefit.
Pacific young people in New Zealand navigate complex identities — balancing Pacific cultural obligations, New Zealand social norms, and emerging global citizenship. Youth philanthropy programmes that honour Pacific values — of collective responsibility, service (tautua), and family (aiga) — engage Pacific young people more effectively than individualised Western philanthropy models.
Some Pacific community organisations and churches have developed youth programmes that combine cultural education with community service and giving — building Pacific philanthropic identity among young people.
Real money, real decisions: youth programmes that involve young people in making real grants — even small ones — are more engaging than simulated exercises. The experience of genuine agency is powerful.
Peer facilitation: programmes facilitated by young people (slightly older peers) are often more effective than those facilitated exclusively by adults. Peer facilitators also develop leadership skills.
Connected to community: youth philanthropy programmes that connect young people to the communities whose needs they're funding — through site visits, community speaker visits, and ongoing relationships — produce deeper engagement than classroom-based learning.
Culturally responsive: youth philanthropy programmes must be designed for the young people participating — not applied universally. Māori, Pacific, LGBTQI+, and disabled youth have different cultural contexts, values, and priorities that should shape programme design.
Transition to adult giving: the best youth philanthropy programmes create pathways to adult philanthropic engagement — mentorship, growing roles and responsibility, connections to adult philanthropy networks.
New Zealand foundations can support youth philanthropy by:
Tahua's grants management platform supports youth philanthropy programmes and foundations engaging young people in grantmaking — with participatory decision-making workflow, youth panel management, outcome tracking, and the tools that help foundations build the next generation of engaged philanthropists.