Growing up in the South Philadelphia area, one of my earliest experiences with a chartable organization was with the local YMCA as explained in a previous Huffington Post piece that I wrote two years ago about “Giving Back.”  The lessons learned from that experience shaped my initial understanding of philanthropy and its important role in society in providing help and hope to those in need. Most everyone has their own introduction to charity at an early age ranging from class projects to support an identified organization, the “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” campaign during Halloween, donating used clothing to neighborhood organizations or helping a house of worship raise funds to assist a family in trouble due to a fire or other tragedy. 

While the desire to help others resides within everyone, the changing culture and technology can influence how younger generations learn to express such feelings. The interest in reaching out is still there but there are so many more options today for those seeking to assist. We can encourage acquaintances to support a favored group via our Facebook connections, visit a crowdfunding site to donate to an individual’s requested needs or challenge friends to pour a bucket of ice on our heads and support the ALS Association. The variations of youth philanthropy today are as varied as websites on the Internet. 

This growing diversity of youth philanthropy also provides an opportunity – a chance to spread the word about the significance of verifying the trustworthiness of supported groups to help ensure that the good results we seek are carried out with responsibility and good stewardship. Youth today are already exposed to a variety of advisories about the importance of good nutrition, health and education. Responsible philanthropy is not that much of a leap from those other encouragements.  We hope that young contributors also take the time to use the resources on Give.org to learn about good charity practices and whether their selected charity is meeting them. 

As part of our Building trust video series, we are pleased to provide our short interview with Kevin Washington, President and CEO of YMCA of the USA (a BBB Accredited Charity) who speaks about programs that influence and shape young people.  YMCA of the USA serves as the national resource for the Y to strengthen its member associations ability to effectively carry out the YMCA mission in their communities. 

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• CRISTA Ministries
• Forward Edge International
• TechnoServe 

Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are  interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.  

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance