
The world we live in now is more multigenerational than it has ever been before. “Millennials are everyday changemakers,” preferring to make intentional acts of social good in all aspects of their life — including in their careers, consumer decisions, and political activities (Case & Yu, 2017). These next-gen youths rexobol 50 want to be more involved in various movements and nationwide or global campaigns. Also, by sufficiently using their market power — as a particularly large generational cohort — they are acting as the pioneering role of change — e.g., buying sustainable or fair-trade products or taking jobs at socially responsible companies.
With the abundance of volunteer opportunities up on the market, this generation is blessed with access and availability, and in many cases, community service was even required of them (to apply for jobs or scholarships) at some point. They certainly want to give their time and talent as well as their savings and to do so in meaningful, direct ways.
The silver lining of it all, everything comes back to the vital role parents play in shaping the younger generation as shared by Veronica Colondam, who has had over 20 years of experience in philanthropy and founded YCAB Foundation through her desire to create a better and kinder world for her beloved children.
Veronica Colondam and her daughter, the next-gen, Adellene Odelia Tanuri, who is now sitting in one of YCAB Foundation’s board member’s seats, sat down together on October 28, 2021, for an afternoon delight: discussing the future as the next generation step into the world of philanthropy with Asian Venture Philanthropy Network also known as AVPN. AVPN is Asia’s largest and most diverse network of social impact funders.
“It goes beyond just ‘what’, we as parents can teach. Hands-on experience is important. If they don’t experience it, what they are taught is just going to be hollow words. We should engage them (our children) when they are young, to shape their empathy and how they view their world. At the end of the day, they will be able to respond well to all the deeds around us. Let them have the intentionality in them, to do something or create impact, it comes out from within themselves — not because of the popularity of viral trends, but they’re doing it because they want to change the world and make an impact.” added Veronica Colondam, CEO and Founder of YCAB Foundation, about parents’ involvement in children’s point of view of philanthropy.
“When we’re talking about empathy, it comes with offline interactions, it comes with meeting people in person, and going to the field. For me, I think that shaped my character. My mother didn’t force her children to see what she was doing, she just invited us to see how privileged we were. For instance, we visited a home of a single mother who lives by the train tracks – for us, it was a field trip, but for them, it was their reality. I think that realization every single year, and seeing not only the desperation and how my mother’s work is, that changes and influences lives, gives me an optimistic spirit. It is easy to break down when you see so much injustice, pain, and suffering but if you couple that with people doing the action, creating programs, and being generous, you can transform that suffering and pain into something worth fighting for.” added Adellene Odelia Tanuri, Secretary-General of YCAB Foundation, about how she was exposed to giving and looking at the bigger picture of the world she lived in by her parents.
The biggest challenge – a change of mindset when it comes to philanthropy, how the next-gen sees this field as something interesting, something worth their while, and not ‘old-fashioned’. “The key is you have to be flexible with reality on the ground, what’s the best to solve problem sustainably, you can’t be close-minded, you need to be open-minded, it’s not one business model fits all, it has to have that model adjustment to what works.”, further explained by Veronica.
“You don’t always know where you’re going but you know what you’re passionate about, so you fight for it.” highlighted Adelle Odelia on how passion is what drives her, as one of the next-gen of philanthropy changemakers, and continue to thrive.