Reason to Give #3: To help teach and involve your children about philanthropy and the importance of giving back to their community
Learning to give starts early. Understanding how important it is to give back to your community is often a driving force for some donors. And when they use their own giving as an opportunity to teach their children about philanthropy, those values are passed on.
Many of our donors give as a family. Together, they decide which funds they want to support each year. In doing so, children learn about the importance of giving back, even if they don’t understand exactly how their gift works. The seed of generosity has been planted, and is likely to thrive throughout their life.
The younger generations also learn from our example. When we make a point to always put some money into the canisters for the Lions Club, Kiwanis, the MDA or the Salvation Army as they stand in front of popular stores, kids see it, and will carry that with them. When we make it known to our families that we put our support behind causes we truly care about, it shows we want to make a difference.
Learning to give goes beyond just giving money to charity though. Service-learning programs in schools and groups like the Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Councils (YAC) aim to teach kids about community service, philanthropy and the importance of giving.
However you choose – we encourage you to involve your family in your charitable giving, whether that is of money, or time – and help grow a new generation of givers.
