The U.S. is in the midst of a ‘generosity crisis’—and CEOs can help solve it

Good morning.

Three years ago, the Generosity Commission launched in response to a decline in the proportion of Americans who volunteer and give to nonprofit organizations. By some counts, fewer than half of U.S. households now give of their time or money in what some are calling a "generosity crisis." This morning, the commission issued its report on the scope of the challenge and what to do about it.

I spoke with Blackbaud CEO Mike Gianoni, who co-chairs the commission with Jane Wales of the Aspen Institute, about why the state of generosity matters for business leaders. As a sector, philanthropy takes in more than $500 billion a year. “There are more donations coming from the uber wealthy, but not from everyday givers,” he says. “Business has a role to play (because) giving back, volunteering and donating matters to people who show up to work every day.”

That’s why one of the commission’s nine recommendations is to reinforce the leading role of businesses as conveners of employees in encouraging their volunteerism and giving. Another is to take youth seriously as givers and volunteers. I often think about that as the nature of giving among this group has changed. My Gen Z kids, for example, seem less inclined to donate through one of the country’s 1.7 million nonprofits than through a friend group or GoFundMe campaign to an individual in need. (Yes, I’ve explained the concept of charitable tax deductions.)

Rather than fret about those who don’t give, I prefer to find lessons in those who do. Gianoni, for one, focuses on creating opportunities to give and use philanthropy as a platform for leadership development. “If one of our employees lives in Texas and they're interested in animal rights, we’ll help them find a nonprofit. We'll help them vet that nonprofit. We’ll teach them how to be a good board member, and we'll get them going as a board member to help them on their personal journey with whatever interest they have.”

That’s good for the employee and good for the employer to be a conduit in helping make an impact. Check out the report and here’s a blog post from Gianoni on the untapped potential of business and nonprofit collaboration.

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Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com