Assifero’s Future Chair initiative – What have we learned?

Nearly a year after the official launch of the Future Chair initiative, Assifero, the Italian association of foundations and philanthropic organisations, conducted its first self-assessment survey to evaluate the progress of participating foundations. This survey aimed to trace the signatories’ journey toward integrating younger generations and provide insights for future improvement.

Aligned with Principle 5 of the Declaration – Communicate Your Progress – the report offers a valuable snapshot of Italian institutional philanthropy’s engagement with youth. It also serves to increase awareness among signatories and provide actionable insights for fostering meaningful intergenerational dialogue and participation.
The survey, distributed to 60 Declaration signatories, employed a mixed-methods approach that combined quantitative and qualitative research. Fourteen foundations responded, representing 23% of the signatories.

Key findings
The analysis of survey responses reveals promising progress in the commitment to engaging younger generations:

• Heightened commitment: 86% of respondents rated their organisations at the highest end of the commitment scale, compared to 65% before joining the initiative
• Increased awareness: 79% of respondents stated that signing the Declaration had significantly enhanced their foundation’s focus on youth engagement

Prioritisation of Declaration principles
Among the Declaration’s principles, numbers 1 and 3 emerged as top priorities for signatories:

• Create and facilitate spaces for dialogue and debate (Principle 1): Nearly all respondents ranked this as their highest priority. However, most actions remain limited to consulting young people on topics deemed relevant to them. Only a small number of foundations involve youth directly in decision-making processes.
• Foster a culture of active listening at all levels (Principle 3): Signatories showed a strong commitment to this principle, highlighting progress in creating environments for intergenerational dialogue.

In contrast, Principles 4 and 5 ranked lower in priority:

• Consider and follow up on young people’s views and ideas (Principle 4): Only one respondent reported incorporating youth perspectives into decision-making processes, indicating this principle is not yet widely implemented
• Communicate your progress (Principle 5): Despite being a key focus of the survey, this principle received less attention, suggesting a need for further efforts to share progress and results

Challenges and opportunities
While progress has been made, significant challenges remain:

• Youth representation in governance: Only two foundations have included young people in their strategic steering bodies, and only one foundation has involved them as advisors
• Organisational/internal conditions for foundations: Despite improvements in addressing structural barriers, challenges related to time, human resources, and access to tools persist.

Notably, the size of a foundation does not appear to influence its commitment to youth engagement, suggesting a growing recognition of the need for more nuanced approaches beyond financial considerations.

Future directions
Two key goals have emerged as priorities for the future:

• Structural youth involvement: Foundations must work toward integrating young people into governance, evaluation processes and decision-making mechanisms.
• Enhanced Intergenerational Dialogue: Encouraging active listening and meaningful participation from young people is essential to strengthening collaboration between generations.

These objectives align with the Future Chair initiative’s foundation on Laura Lundy’s Model of Youth Engagement, which emphasises four interconnected elements: space, voice, audience and influence.

Conclusion
One year after the Declaration’s launch, signatories have made notable progress, particularly in creating spaces for dialogue and fostering active listening. However, much work remains to ensure meaningful youth participation becomes a structural reality within philanthropic organisations.

By sharing best practices, addressing challenges and committing to sustained efforts, foundations can move closer to achieving the goals of the Future Chair initiative. The journey toward embedding intergenerational dialogue into decision-making processes is both vital and complex, but the progress made so far provides a strong foundation for future advancements.