Inspired Legacies Launches Breakthrough Youth Giving Circle Initiative

July 22, 2009 — Inspired Legacies, the largest provider of legacy and donor education tools in the country, launched its Youth Giving Circle Initiative, July 22. The program, “Inspiring Youth to Bring About Change: Tools for the Generosity Generation,” offers youth ages 13-18 a guide for philanthropic giving with an emphasis towards community need, values-based giving, transformative leadership, collaborative decision-making and fundraising.

Those who register with Inspired Legacies’ website can now download free a 169-page guide for facilitators and youth. The curriculum for the program, written by youth and philanthropy experts, Karen Payne and Sondra Shaw-Hardy, uses many of the principles and models from Inspired Legacies’ founder Tracy Gary’s book “Inspired Philanthropy: Creating a Giving Plan and Leaving a Legacy” and ideas collected from a giving circle pilot conducted two years ago with youth in a diverse local community. “The program is designed to harness the vitality and caring of today’s young people and provide the tools for them to become philanthropic leaders in their own communities and beyond,” says Ms. Gary.

This set of philanthropic tools, is distinguished from many others because of the way it is organized and it’s content. There are 10 sessions, divided into two-hour intervals. These sessions are geared specifically to after school programs as well as religious and family foundation next generation groups.

The tools in this guide emphasize methods for assuring cultural competency, respect for diverse opinions and support the democratization of philanthropy through social justice and interfacing with community leaders and nonprofits. “Today’s young people are swamped with news about local and global problems, but remain uninformed about how to effectively make changes for those problems. Through giving circles, young people can learn how to effect change. The process of the youth giving circle is to be exploratory, fun, participatory and open-hearted, says, Ms. Gary.