Philanthropy is no longer solely the domain of adults. Charitable groups are increasingly training high school and college students to make shrewd decisions about which nonprofits to support. And many, like the Foundation for MetroWest, are providing money to dole out.
At Boston College, professor Paul G. Schervish, director of the Newton school’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, teaches a sociology course in which students research nonprofits and give away $10,000 during the semester. Schervish received a grant from a program created by Doris Buffett, the sister of billionaire investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett.
This spring, students in a new Framingham State University course will learn about philanthropy, and distribute $5,000 provided by the Highland Street Foundation in Newton.
“This generation is really important to all of us in terms of our philanthropy,’’ said Judith Salerno, executive director of the Foundation for MetroWest.
The millennial generation, generally considered to be those born since the early 1980s, is viewed as especially important to charitable groups because its members are expected to inherit the greatest fortune of any generation in history.
“There is this whole anticipated transfer of wealth that everyone is assuming is going to be happening with the baby boom generation,’’ Salerno said. “So the idea of preparing the next generation to do smart, good things with that - that’s probably one of the bigger drivers.’’
Salerno’s foundation has an endowment to work with five schools in Concord each year: the Fenn School, Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, Concord Academy, Middlesex School, and Nashoba Brooks School. Foundation for MetroWest also created the Youth Action Council, a group of high school students from around the region who spend a year learning about philanthropy and deciding which nonprofits should receive roughly $10,000 in grants.
This year’s edition of the council has 21 students. The foundation provides most of the grant money, but asks the teens to raise at least $1,000 themselves. Last year, the Youth Action Council divided $8,700 among the Boys & Girls Club of Assabet Valley, Camp Starfish, and the Decibels Foundation.
