At PHS, there are dozens of student-run nonprofits: StemRoots, PHS Building Bridges, Music Mentoring, PHS Novae, the Aligned Minds Foundation, etc. This list represents just a fraction of the nonprofits I saw from scanning my Outlook inbox over the past 24 hours.

However, these organizations must unfortunately contend with endless criticism from their skeptical peers, nonprofit professionals, and dozens of online articles. One article by The Harvard Crimson bears a title with a simple instruction for students: “Stop Making Your Own Nonprofit.”

The article, like many other critiques of studentrun nonprofits, argues that instead of starting their own nonprofits, students should instead join existing charitable organizations. It’s indeed feasible that in the short term, building on existing structures might produce greater net benefits — for example, by avoiding the logistical costs that come with running new charitable organizations. However, importantly, these critiques ignore the powerful long term impact that student-run nonprofits have in shaping a charitable community.

PHS students know from first hand experience that when students begin to create nonprofit organizations, one of their primary motivations is undoubtedly college admissions or other personal benefits — such as earning business experience or demonstrating leadership.

However, despite sometimes selfish beginnings, through their journey in founding and running a nonprofit, students eventually gain immense knowledge about the issue they seek to address often far more than if they were to volunteer for an existing organization. By navigating the complexities of fundraising and rallying, students also learn about how a nonprofit is structured, and (hopefully) how to create change.

A nonprofit founder is also more likely to engage peers in their work than if they were to simply recount their experiences working for an established, more professional organization. For example, PHS Novae, a nonprofit founded by two PHS students to support cancer patients, is able to engage around 25 people in their weekly meetings.

It would of course be ridiculous to argue that the nonprofits run by high school students are what will save humanity. But in the long term, the charitable culture that they develop might. That’s why it’s important to engage young people in philanthropy now, so that a habit of doing good can be cultivated and extended into adulthood. In 20 years, a current PHS student may have left behind their high school nonprofit, but the effort they made to submerge themselves in philanthropy will undoubtedly stay with them for a long time.

Moreover, if critics continue to discourage high school students from starting their own nonprofits, they might not only reduce, but eradicate this culture of charity completely. Given students’ self-motivated ambition, it’s unlikely that in the face of continued opposition students will simply settle on joining existing organizations. Instead, they will transition to starting other, much more self-serving, business oriented organizations to gain the experience they need. As opposed to organizations that, say, provide music tutoring to underprivileged youth, organizations that simply charge for music lessons will spring up.

Rather than writing off student nonprofits as trivial, we should help to support them, and the students that run them, in any way we can. By simply providing positive encouragement to the founders, or mentoring them, or even helping them reach their mission, we will create a positive culture that encourages charity and long term change.