Having a mentor when you’re young has big economic returns

Being mentored from a young age can actually increase socioeconomic mobility. That’s the takeaway from decades of data from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America mentorship network.

Former mentees got higher salaries in their early 20s compared to others in their cohort. They also had better college attendance and healthier social bonds, according to this report. The report also found that mentorship is a cost-effective way to increase economic growth, which has ripple effects beyond Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio recently spoke with the President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Artis Stevens. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

David Brancaccio: I mean, you’ve gotten people to go through it looks like decades of data, and if people are concerned about economic inequality in society, apparently there’s something you can do about it. Tell me more.

Artis Stevens: Yeah, that’s absolutely it. For the mentorship, particularly on young people who had mentorship in our program — and this was data going back from 30 years ago of young people who are in our program, with a control group of young people who are not — the participants in our program experienced a 20% more likelihood to attend college, 15% boost in their earnings in the lifetime, and then being able to see that these young people who were typically in lower economic ladders, be able to climb the social economic ladder and move up to higher economic brackets, right? So we know that this investment not only works for young people, we know the investment works for the impact of our society and our economy and our workforce and our education system. And that’s why it’s so pivotal and so important that more people are investing in mentorship in this country.

Brancaccio: You’ve looked at the numbers — what it costs to do this kind of mentorship and what society gets back, in terms of if people make more money, they pay more taxes, and that contributes back. What did you find?

Stevens: We saw really a focus on how it reduces the cost of social services. And it was based upon analysis that the government could recoup the cost. So the investment it actually costs to invest in a kid having mentorship, right, being in the mentorship program, that cost is recruit in just seven years. And then beyond those seven years, what you start to see is even more ROI that is now coming back into communities, now coming back into the tax base. What we’re also seeing that’s aligned with other research, is that the more that we have mentorship and seeing young people move into these higher levels of social economic growth and opportunities, you have communities that then are less likely to have crime, less likely to have certain types of health decisions and health choices that are risky for young people, whether it’s substance abuse, things that have to do with mental health and taking care of well-being. So, there’s a true ripple effect in terms of what an action and investment of time in a young person’s life can mean for the broader society and the work that we’re doing to support everyone across this country.

Brancaccio: And I know you’re here representing Big Brothers Big Sisters, but we should acknowledge that you can mentor in many different ways.

Stevens: It’s one of the things we talk about, this idea of access, right? Access is certainly for young people to have mentorship in their lives and have positive adults, but access is also for the volunteer. 90% of our volunteers — what we call Bigs — tell us that the young person made more impact on their lives than they made on theirs, right? That’s their feeling, their perception. So, when we say that mentorship is powerful, it’s reciprocal. So it gives the idea of saying, “Yes, I can make a difference” — so what you just said — but it’s also “I become better. I become more exposed, I become more engaged in my community. I have something that empowers me to be not just a better person, but a better contributor to society, as well.” And those are the types of things we want to continue to build, to your point, whether you come in and volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters or whether you’re just a mentor in any aspect of your life, what we know is it works and it pays dividends and it has high or why.