When Ilona Dougherty co-founded Apathy is Boring and became its national director, she was just 23 years old. Young though she was, it seemed apparent to everyone — herself included — that she was exactly where she needed to be. “I walked into it feeling ‘why not’,” she offers. “This is what I assumed I would do in my life, I’ve always been a leader type; it happened naturally.”

It’s becoming more and more common. Youthful and bold, new faces are emerging at the helm of a growing number of organizations. Some have the baton passed onto them while others are launching their own initiatives. Using buzzwords such as “innovative”, “creative” and “impactful”, these young guns brandish shiny social media tools in their holster and display energy levels typically reserved for ninjas.

While the nonprofit sector may be going grey, this unlikely infusion of young leaders begs the questions: How are they faring? And, perhaps more importantly, are we ready for them?

Prove it

“In your 20s, it’s an amazing time to be an ED because you can risk a lot,” states Dougherty with conviction. Of course, risks never come with guarantees and the young leader admits having come close to the edge, financially and otherwise, over the years. “But it’s been a crazy learning experience,” the now 30-year-old adds with an easy laugh.

One thing she learned quickly enough was how much she’d have to prove herself as an ED. Dougherty relates how, despite managing to garner a huge level of attention from media, celebrities and musicians right from the start, the NGO sector and funders were less supportive. “We’ve been consistently needing to prove ourselves to the sector and, still to this day, I feel I can call national media and they’ll pay attention, but I don’t necessarily know if other EDs will.” Age definitely plays its part, affirms Dougherty, echoing the common refrain she’s gotten used to: “Wait until you’re my age and you’ll understand everything.”

It’s a challenge others know well. As Kaitlin Pelletier, age 26 and executive director of youth global education network Check Your Head, explains, “People expect less of me so I have to work twice as hard to prove that we’re not going to flake out and things aren’t going to go wrong cause we’re younger.” The truth is, she adds, “We can be just as professional at 26 as you can be at 46, but it’s harder because we’re constantly having to prove that to people.”

Trust me

The battle gets even harder when it comes to convincing people to part with their money. No question, securing money is difficult for leaders of any age but the fact that the two may be interrelated makes it all the more interesting.

“Another limitation to funding comes from legitimacy, or rather being taken seriously,” echoes filmmaker Alesha Porisky, 24, who produced a documentary on young Canadian changemakers called Conversations for Change. It’s essentially a catch-22. Young EDs have difficulty funding their ideas and organizations, thereby undermining their attempt at legitimacy. But it’s difficult to gain legitimacy without funding. And on and on it goes.

Getting beyond the number

How do young people overcome their ageist dilemma? Having researched young leaders for her master’s thesis, 24-year old Kanika Gupta has some interesting insight to offer. A young leader in her own right, Gupta says some of her subjects downplayed their age to overcome one of their biggest barriers. “If you allow your track record and experience to speak for where you’re heading, that in itself will give credibility so the label of age isn’t placed over your head,” she explains.

Others surveyed said they used their youthfulness to their advantage, playing up the fresh perspectives they brought to the table, their boundless energy and levels of commitment. And don’t forget, Gupta says, they may be young but many 20-something leaders have spent a lot of time and effort building up their credibility by becoming experts in their field.

Support groups

Finding a supportive network doesn’t hurt either. Just ask Jessica Pautsch, 28, ED of EcoTrek Tours, an organization dedicated to creating interactive learning opportunities in environmental education for students. While she shares the challenge of having had to prove herself, the supportive network she found in Vancouver seems to have made all the difference. “If you have a clear idea and you’re confident in yourself, but not arrogant, you’re humble, and looking for people to help, there’s help wherever you look because people do want to help,” she says, adding quickly, “I’ve been lucky.”

Networks can be powerful tools, after all. Having people to turn to, to bounce ideas off, and especially if those people are veterans, is something all the young leaders I spoke with said they cherish. That an older advisor now sits in the Apathy is Boring office demonstrates as much. “He’s been incredibly valuable, Dougherty explains, adding, “We really encourage and promote intergenerational collaboration.”

Where have all the mentors gone?

But that’s also part of the frustration for this young leader, what Dougherty calls the severe lack of mentorship. Though she feels fortunate for the mentors she has had and for other key folks who’ve been supportive over the years, Dougherty decries what she calls a general lack of responsibility on the part of the older generations in their roles as mentors.

Pelletier is also a fan of mentorship, and has already put in a request with her board to establish a formal program for her staff. “An important part of the job is to learn from other people,” she says. She’s excited to be working one-on-one with a retired ED now involved with coaching other EDs, calling it an amazing opportunity to bounce off ideas.

Attempts to join mentorship groups have proven less successful, though, because of what she calls their less youth-friendly or intergenerational design (“I felt the need to prove my worth again”). But she’s not giving up.

Listen to me…please

Another challenge mentioned by some EDs was having to oversee the work of older and oft-times more experienced employees. Though many of the organizations whose leaders I spoke with had youth-focused mandates and staff, it was not unusual for a few employees or board members to be of older generations. “One of the toughest things is managing power relations, being a good boss and friend,” says Pelletier. But at the end of the day, “the most important thing is the organization is healthy.”

Times are changing

What are young EDs doing to ensure the viability and the good health of the nonprofits they lead? What unique elements are they introducing to the sector?

“Young people bring energy, it’s the wind that we sail on,” offers Pautsch. “What I have seen across the board is that these young EDs have an abundance of passion, energy and an almost stalwart idealism,” adds Porisky. The successful ones, she adds, are dedicated to their cause despite how time-consuming and discouraging it can be to grow an organization.

Not surprisingly, with passion and energy on their side, the leaders I spoke with weren’t content with the status quo. Instead they have a profound desire to shake things up for the sake of their causes.

“I’m not interested in doing good; I’m interested in impact,” explains Dougherty ardently. The NGO sector is quite ineffective and many organizations have become too comfortable, she adds. “We don’t actually solve the big problems we’re trying to solve and our solutions aren’t very innovative or practical.”

Innovation is key

The bottom line, say these EDs, is that innovation is imperative to making a difference, to effecting change. Of course, creative solutions come naturally to young leaders who’ve been adopting them since day one. “We haven’t had traditional avenues of funding and support open to us. So I feel that’s forced us to push boundaries,” explains Dougherty.

What may have also inspired some boundary pushing is the recognition that traditional systems — whether dictating how we engage workers or secure funding — simply aren’t working, says Gupta. And the younger generation is better equipped at dealing with change since they grew up with it. “They’re more savvy, adept and agile.”

They’re also more supportive of collaboration, they say. Older generations may talk about working together, but they’re still overly focused on ownership, Gupta offers, which can create a pretty intimidating environment for young people. “People have spent 20 years establishing reputations, the ego is there; it’s a huge turnoff.”

No question, change seems to be the key word for young leaders. But for many it’s an uphill battle.

“I feel like a lot of the sector is stuck in old ways and the idea of doing something new or differently is not exactly respected or encouraged,” says Dougherty. Perhaps youth engagement is a double-edged sword, she surmises. “Everyone wants people to take over when they’re retired but they don’t want them to be around until they need them.”

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.

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