Jenna Benchetrit, Senior Writer at CBC penned an article that got me thinking about Gen Z and how they fit into the future of charity fundraising.
Call it karma. Call it the boomerang of a decade of economic mismanagement or a serious miscalculation. Or call it what it is: the early warning signs of a potential generational disruption in philanthropy.
Beneath the surface of Canada’s charitable sector – still reeling from 10 years of crippling cost-of-living increases, declining donor participation and an ever-aging cohort (Silver Boomers) – comes an existential threat – one that all charities need to consider when planning the future.
It’s not just that young people aren’t giving. It’s that they may never be able to.
Welcome to mid-2025, where what was promised to be sunny ways have given way to the economic doldrums. Generation Z is confronting one of the most punishing job markets on record. According to Statistics Canada, unemployment among Canadian youth aged 15 to 24 is now the highest since the mid-1990s – a time when another Liberal Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien ruled, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok didn’t exist, no one imagined anything like Chat GPT. Back then, the phrase “Artificial Intelligence” sounded like science fiction.
The future has arrived – ruthlessly and rapidly. And with it comes a rare convergence of economic headwinds:
- Inflationary policies that predated the pandemic and were fueled by record deficits
- Labour market instability was fueled by “work from home” caused by COVID-19
- Record immigration layered onto an underbuilt housing and weak job market
- A recession worsened by a new U.S. President with a trade war agenda
- A cohort coming out of school where they were told to “learn how to code” now see Open AI and a hundred other new software apps make coders largely redundant
- And an interest rate whiplash that has sapped the confidence of business, employers and consumers alike, and threatened those with high household debt
As Tricia Williams of the Future Skills Centre put it, “It’s kind of an early warning indicator.” And the warning is clear: young Canadians are stalled at the start line, entering an economy that offers fewer jobs, lower pay, and less certainty.
Benchetrit quotes economist Charles St-Arnaud of Alberta Central when he calls the Canadian economy “sluggish” and Miles Corak, a Canadian scholar now at the City University of New York, who warns of “wage scarring” – the long-term earnings damage done to young people who graduate into recessions. Scar tissue that can last a lifetime.
The consequence? A generation unable to build wealth, let alone donate it.
Philanthropy, as we know, is not immune to economics. It is downstream of prosperity, optimism, and surplus. When those disappear, giving becomes an unaffordable luxury. Are we are watching this unfold in real time?
There is a kind of poetic symmetry in this moment. A generation born into abundance – digital natives with access to global networks and tools their parents only dreamed of – are now at risk of becoming the most economically stranded in Canadian history. Their philanthropic potential is being undermined before it ever had a chance to emerge.
But here lies the paradox: How do you cultivate donors among those unemployed, under-employed, struggling to afford groceries, rent, or even a future?
The implications for Canadian charities are profound. The long-predicted donor decline may accelerate not through disinterest, but through an inability to contribute. The traditional donor pyramid is collapsing – top-heavy with aging boomers, thin in the middle-class and now increasingly hollow and under-resourced at the base.
We must confront this reality. We must reimagine what giving looks like – not as a financial transaction, but as a cultural practice embedded in community, time, and reciprocity. We must also advocate for economic, employment, tax and immigration policy that doesn’t discourage growth, but lift markets and supports all young Canadians.
If we fail to heed the signals – if we assume the next generation will give simply because we did – we risk watching our philanthropic ecosystem unravel, and our social sector struggle, not out of apathy, but out of systemic economic exclusion.
For those who “don’t think about fiscal policy,” this might be the moment their “chickens come home to roost.” maybe not for them personally, but certainly for a generation struggling to start their careers, families and lives.
Politicians often say, “We’re all in this together – We’re there for you (where exactly?) – or We’re all in the same boat”.
No, we’re not. (And no, you’re not)
We’re not all in the same boat! We are however all in the same storm. Some are in big boats, robust and sturdy with life jackets indexed to inflation, and others are in a crowded dinghy with a broken economic engine and leaking bottom.
That storm is no longer on the horizon. It’s here. But like all storms, it offers us a choice: give up, retreat or adapt. The wise will adapt – step back, study the clouds, check the wind and prepare a new path forward. That’s where strategic counsel can help.
The new path must be based on relational fundraising and sound philanthropic strategy. The era of transactional fundraising, traditional approaches, cold calling, a reliance on event revenue and government support is drawing to a close, if not already dead.
Connect with a Global Philanthropic Canada professional for a free chat about your specific situation and how a new, adaptive approach, a culture of philanthropy, and a new relational approach can help you navigate the storm – no matter the size of boat you’re in.
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Read Jenna Benchetrit’s insightful article at Gen Z is facing the worst youth unemployment rate in decades. Here is how it’s different | CBC News . The author gratefully acknowledges the inspiration from Jenna Benchetrit (CBC), and the quotes used from Tricia Williams (Toronto Metropolitan University), Charles St-Arnaud (Alberta Central), and Miles Corak (City University of New York).
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Richard Walker is a seasoned fundraising, business development and project management consultant, a professional planner and frequent speaker and presenter, both nationally and internationally. He is Vice-Chair of the Global Board of Directors and member of the Board of the Canadian Institute of Planners – Planning Student Trust Fund (CIP-PSTF). He pioneered the PLAID™ prospect development tool, adding Propensity and Development to Linkage, Ability and Interest (LAI) commonly used to qualify and rank major gift prospects. He has helped raise more than $450 million in his career and joined Global in 2017.
