Inside the Giving Pledge: What Next-Gen Donors Really Want and Care About

What happens when you inherit billions to give away, but the weight of that responsibility threatens to define you more than your own dreams? And how do you honor a grandfather who was simultaneously the “father of fracking” and one of America’s most passionate environmentalists?

Welcome to The Business of Giving. I’m your host, Denver Frederick. Today we examine next-generation philanthropy with Katherine Lorenz, Executive Director of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation and co-founder of the Giving Pledge Next Gen initiative.

Katherine’s family preserved decades of intimate conversations with her grandparents—a treasure trove of philanthropic wisdom. But her path wasn’t predetermined. Working with indigenous farming communities in the mountains of Oaxaca, she experienced a revelation that would reshape everything.

This is a conversation about wrestling with paradox, building authentic peer networks, and discovering that sometimes the most powerful philanthropy comes from embracing life’s contradictions.