Engaging Youth in Philanthropic Practice: Lessons for Africa
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In an era where global philanthropy is shifting toward inclusivity, Kimberlin D. Butler, Ed.D., M.P.A., offers a bold framework that could redefine how youth are engaged in philanthropy.
Her article, Engaging Youth in Philanthropic Practice: Field-Building Strategies and the Promise of Youth-Possible Philanthropy™, published in The Foundation Review (Vol. 17, Issue 1, May 2025), challenges traditional philanthropic norms and proposes a new, youth-centered paradigm: Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ (YPP).
The framework is not just a conceptual shift.
It offers tangible strategies that African philanthropy stakeholders—from foundations to community-led initiatives—can adapt to nurture youth engagement, amplify local leadership, and foster long-term, equitable social change.
Rethinking Youth Engagement
Butler begins by acknowledging a key gap: youth are often the most affected by systemic inequities, yet the least represented in philanthropic decision-making.
While participatory philanthropy is gaining traction, young people—especially from historically excluded communities—remain on the periphery.
The Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ framework reimagines youth not as beneficiaries but as strategic actors in philanthropy.
It centers three pillars: possibility development, systems-level change, and equity-centered leadership.
Africa, a continent with over 60% of its population under 25, stands to gain immensely from this shift.
The YPP framework can serve as a blueprint for cultivating youth-led strategies that respond to Africa’s local realities, from economic inequities to climate vulnerability.
Building a Youth-Centered Field
Butler outlines “field-building strategies” necessary to support this new vision.
These strategies emerged from qualitative case studies involving U.S.-based foundations but offer global relevance.
At the heart of the approach is relationship-centered philanthropy.
Trust is foundational. Young people must be trusted as capable partners in decision-making.
In Butler’s research, foundations that succeeded in youth engagement actively built authentic, trusting relationships with young people over time—, ot through one-off grants or token youth boards.
African philanthropists can apply this by ensuring that youth engagement isn’t symbolic.
Involving young leaders in budgeting, planning, and evaluating philanthropic projects ensures authenticity and sustainability.
Redefining Impact Through Youth-Defined Metrics
One of the most innovative aspects of the YPP framework is the emphasis on youth-defined success metrics.
Too often, success in philanthropy is measured using top-down, adult-driven indicators.
Butler argues that youth must be empowered to define what progress looks like in their communities.
In African contexts, this could reshape how success is tracked in areas like education, climate resilience, and economic empowerment.
For example, a youth-led environmental initiative in Nairobi might measure success not just by the number of trees planted but by increased youth leadership in climate advocacy or reduced local pollution.
By adopting youth-defined metrics, African funders and community groups can ensure that their investments resonate with local values and realities.
Convening Multi-Stakeholder Collaborations
Another core YPP strategy is creating multi-stakeholder spaces that center youth voice.
This includes organizing events, think tanks, or coalitions where young people are not just present but have influence.
Butler documents examples where philanthropic organizations convened such spaces, leading to shifts in internal policies and external programming.
Youth co-created funding frameworks, influenced board-level decisions, and shaped grant priorities.
Africa’s philanthropic sector, increasingly led by homegrown foundations and regional networks, could benefit by institutionalizing similar spaces.
Youth summits tied to foundation governance, or intergenerational working groups that shape grant guidelines, would be a step forward.
Organizational Shifts Are Essential
Implementing Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ demands deep organizational shifts.
Butler identifies key internal practices that must change, including hiring youth in meaningful roles, compensating youth contributors fairly, and removing bureaucratic barriers that limit youth participation.
In African institutions, this might mean reviewing hiring policies to open doors to young professionals or simplifying grant application processes for youth-led organizations.
Removing barriers like formal registration requirements or extensive grant histories could make philanthropy more accessible to grassroots youth efforts.
Lessons from Case Studies
Butler’s article includes multiple case examples of successful youth engagement models.
One example describes a foundation that built a youth-led design council to co-develop grantmaking strategies.
Another describes partnerships where youth groups co-authored research and policy briefs alongside adult professionals.
These models point to the power of shared leadership.
The youth were not only consulted—they were collaborators. Importantly, Butler emphasizes that this work is “slow work.”
Building trust, redistributing power, and shifting norms requires time and consistency.
Africa’s philanthropic actors can draw from these lessons.
Rather than rushing to check the box of youth participation, they must invest in long-term partnerships with youth groups, support their growth, and co-create learning pathways.
A Framework Rooted in Equity
Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ is rooted in equity, not charity.
It challenges philanthropy to confront systemic barriers and to design processes that are accessible, inclusive, and liberating.
Butler argues that centering youth is not just morally right—it is a strategy for deeper, more durable change.
Systems change led by youth is more likely to reflect the lived experiences and aspirations of those most affected. In turn, the solutions are more likely to stick.
For African philanthropy, which often wrestles with the legacies of top-down development and donor-driven agendas, this message is powerful.
Investing in youth as system changers rather than service recipients represents a seismic shift in how impact is understood and delivered.
The Promise of Youth-Possible Philanthropy™
What Butler offers is not a rigid framework, but a flexible philosophy.
Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ asks funders, nonprofits, and policymakers to reimagine the roles that young people play in shaping the future.
She outlines a theory of change built on five commitments:
1. Trust young people as leaders.
2. Reimagine adult-youth power dynamics.
3. Build spaces for youth-led dialogue and decision-making.
4. Shift evaluation to center youth metrics.
5. Provide resources that enable sustainable youth leadership.
Each of these commitments has relevance in Africa fr, from grassroots community groups in Uganda to national philanthropic foundations in South Africa.
The core idea is clear: young people have the insight, energy, and vision to drive transformation—if institutions are willing to make space for them.
Final Thought: A Challenge and an Opportunity
Kimberlin Butler’s Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ is both a challenge and an opportunity.
It challenges old systems of power that exclude youth.
But it also offers a hopeful vision—where philanthropy is not just something done to young people but with and by them.
For Africa, home to the world’s youngest population, this framework is not optional. It is essential.
The time to reimagine youth engagement in African philanthropy is now, and Butler provides a path forward.
This story was produced from pages 79 to 92 of The Foundation Review, Vol. 17, Issue 1 (May 2025).
