With the next generation—Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z—set to inherit substantial wealth over the coming decades, their opinions and preferences will increasingly influence the future of philanthropy.

The 2024 Cerulli US HNW & UHNW Markets Report estimates that $124 trillion is expected to be transferred across generations in the next 25 years, with $105 trillion flowing to heirs and $18 trillion going to philanthropy.

Given this reallocation, the opinions and preferences of these Next Gens will increasingly influence the approach of high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals and families to giving.

To understand Next Gen inclinations and habits, we spoke with our clients across numerous meetings and advisory sessions, as well as during ۶Ƶ Collectives and Philanthropy Insights trips.From these discussions, we have identified four key developments for the coming year and beyond.

Four trends to watch

Woman in front hologram screens

Focusing on impact returns

Next Gens are increasingly:

  • Blurring the lines between philanthropy and investing
  • Regularly financial outcomes alongside social and environmental outcomes
  • Taking wealth preservation and reputation seriously as stewards
  • Prioritizing solutions that aim for long-term, sustainable impact
Young business owner in meeting

Taking a hands-on approach

Next Gens are more likely to:

  • Seek on-the-ground evidence of impact
  • Want to see systemic change through their philanthropy
  • Work collaboratively, viewing knowledge-sharing as essential to solving complex global challenges
  • Employ a kind of “venture philanthropy,” using entrepreneurial models to scale innovative and sustainable solutions
Woman planting mangrove on beach

Prioritizing climate and justice

Next Gens tend to:

  • See environmental sustainability as a top priority
  • Steer their families toward sustainable investments and philanthropic endeavors focused on climate
  • Look at their giving through lenses of class, race, gender and sexual orientation
  • Support initiatives that aim to combat social injustice
  • Engage grassroots and local solutions
Friends meeting on street, Pune

Tapping into the power of digital

Younger philanthropists are inclined to:

  • Use technology to find, support and promote causes most aligned with their philanthropic strategy
  • Use digital platforms and tools to track the impact of their donations in real time
  • Engage with philanthropic causes through social media platforms
  • Hold non-profits and social enterprises accountable

Turning to innovative structures

Next Gens gravitate toward innovative structures that bring together philanthropists and investors. For example, blended finance structures such as income share agreements (ISAs) that:

  • Allow promising students in developing countries to access tertiary education with loans that are only repayable when their earning crosses a certain threshold
  • Catalyze commercial investment through philanthropists who provide concessional debt
I've come to not only understand social impact investing and see the good that it's doing around the world, but on a personal level it is helping me redefine and understand business and investments in a different way that I've never seen before. It's honestly something I wish more people knew about.
- ۶Ƶ Philanthropy Insights trip participant

Embracing technology

Close-up of computer chip

Next Gens, along with other clients, increasingly seek solution providers and projects that use technology to create and measure sustainable impact.

For example, the ۶Ƶ Climate Collective is supporting the Global Mangrove Trust in Singapore to develop the FOREST-SCAN sustainable land-use tool. This tool uses open-source satellite data and machine learning to enable quick, accurate, transparent and real-time verification of blue carbon projects.

Clients on a recent trip to South Africa met with Turn.io, a software company and one of our ۶Ƶ Optimus Foundation investees. It collaborates with over 150 social impact organizations to create chat services that enhance health, employment, education, climate, agriculture, humanitarian response, financial inclusion and civic engagement.2 For example, MomConnect uses Turn.io to send health messages to over 400,000 pregnant women weekly and receives over 10,000 health questions each week.

۶Ƶ Optimus Foundation is a global network of separately organized and regulated tax-exempt charitable organizations founded and managed by ۶Ƶ that engage in a broad range of charitable and philanthropic activities around the world.

Continuing a legacy of giving

  • 0 %

    of billionaire Next Gens aim to keep growing their parents’ impact achievements, whether from philanthropy or financial investment 

  • 0 %

    of billionaires in our survey said they involve Next Gens in planning v. 21% a decade ago

Dive deeper

To learn more about how Next Gens are shaping the future of philanthropy, download our new report. To understand how these trends relate to your own philanthropy, speak with a ۶Ƶ Financial Advisor.

Cover of Trends in Philanthropy report

24 approved: 20250331-4225354

Get in touch

Together, we can help you pursue what’s important

Are you a client?

Become a ۶Ƶ client