Engaged heirs
Young heirs and heiresses are a unique subset of society, and this distinction holds true for their roles as philanthropists as well. These young heirs are steeped in their family’s tradition of giving from an early age, and yet they form part of a new generation with fresh ideas about charitable giving.
Portrait: Alexis Feldman
Age: 32
Hours volunteered in 2013: More than 250
Focus: Cancer research and Jewish causes
Goal: To make an impact and give back to her community
In Alexis Feldman’s early 20s, donating money here and there to various charities was about the full extent of her philanthropic activity. But now, Ms Feldman, who works for her family’s business, New York-based Feldman Realty Group, is busier than ever as chair of the Cancer Research Institute’s Young Philanthropists Council, which she founded in 2008. She also helps run her two family charitable foundations, the Milton and Sylvia Feldman Foundation and the Seymour Feldman Foundation, both of which focus on health-related issues and Jewish causes.
So what precisely happened to spur her engagement in the philanthropic world? In the summer of 2008, Ms Feldman accompanied her father to meet Dr Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, CEO and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute. Ms Feldman, who has lost three of her grandparents to cancer, expected to be interested in the discussion—but she never expected to get hooked. “Back in 2008, unless you were in the cancer research world, you probably had never heard the term ‘immunotherapy’,” she recalls, referring to a type of cancer treatment centred on the body’s own natural defences against disease. “I certainly had not, and neither had my father. We were both intrigued and impressed with CRI’s mission and the passion Jill had.”
That fall, Ms Feldman was asked to create the Young Philanthropists Council, a junior board for the Cancer Research Institute. “This was my opportunity to take an active role in philanthropy, and I jumped at it,” she explains. Today, she continues to chair the Young Philanthropists Council, a personally rewarding role—and one that takes a lot of time and energy.
When Ms Feldman reflects on her family’s involvement in philanthropy, she is struck by how similar she is to her parents and grandparents. “We all agree it is important to give back in any way, big or small,” she says. “And we are all driven to donate to causes in the cancer and the medical world and to Jewish organisations.” Where they differ though, she says, is that while her parents give more money, she is more involved behind the scenes. And that just might make Ms Feldman the quintessential next-gen philanthropist: heavily influenced by previous generations of givers and yet stylistically distinct from them, as well.
