Young Philanthropists Key for Future

Young philanthropists are the greatest natural resource and it‘s pivotal that Australia doesn’t leave them behind, the 2014 Youth in Philanthropy Graduation Ceremony in Melbourne has been told.

Young social entrepreneur and change advocate, Hunter Johnson, delivered his passionate appeal in his keynote address at the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation event.

Hunter Johnson delivers his keynote address

“Young people must be encouraged to act in the real world and learn from that exposure. The youth of Australia need to be at the forefront of nation building and I believe philanthropy can offer this opportunity,” Johnson said.

“Through my own experience I’ve seen that while impacting society, young people impact themselves and if facilitated properly these experiences will lead to heightened awareness of themselves, improved leadership skills and value and knowledge based stances on social issues.

“Young people should be viewed as the solution, not the problem. Be bold, feel the fear and just do it anyway.”

Johnson, who is also the Partnerships Coordinator at the Foundation for Young Australians, told the graduating students of the Youth in Philanthropy Program that now is the time of the social entrepreneur.

“You guys have the perfect opportunity to jump-start your careers through the networks, mentors and opportunities presented in this program,” he said.  

Over 130 students from across metropolitan Melbourne presented  their grant recommendations to the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation Board of Management and to share what they have learnt about philanthropy.

At the beginning of the program each group of students was allocated $15,000 from the Foundation's grants budget to distribute to three charitable organisations.

After interviewing the charities, undertaking rigorous research and assessing their funding applications with the guidance of an experienced mentor, the students outlined their funding recommendations.

"Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation is committed to inspiring philanthropy in all generations, and especially in our future leaders," Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Brown said.

"Youth in Philanthropy encourages our current 'Generation Z' to use their enthusiasm, creativity and energy to begin a life-long engagement in philanthropy and become advocates for positive social change."

Currently in its 12th year, Youth in Philanthropy is one of the Foundation's annual Youth Initiatives, which engages secondary school students from 21 schools and connects them with over 60 local charitable organisations to learn about philanthropy, community leadership and social issues affecting the community.

Since 2002 the program has distributed close to $2 million in grants.