Giving as a Family

“The Dinner Table Foundation” is suggested in the book, The Giving Family, “where you sit down as a family and collectively decide where your gifts will go.”

What you'll need: an easel or pad of newsprint, markers, memo pads and pencils for each family member, mailings requesting donations, play money (optional).

1. Decide in advance of the meeting what amount your family will give to charity.
2. If your children are young, pre-determine how funding decisions will be made. If your children are older, they may want to participate in devising the plan.
3. Set the time and place for the family meeting.
4. On the top of the easel or large pad, post the amount of money you plan to have the family allocate to charity.
5. Explain how the decisions will be made.
6. List the preferences of each family member on the pad.
7. Use the play money to help the kids visualize how the money could be divided among the chosen charities.
8. Vote on which organizations to fund and in what amounts.
9. Let the kids help you write the checks.

Note: When your children are very young, keep the meeting brief (20 minutes for kindergartners) and limit the choices of charities to three or four that are likely to appeal to them (e.g., the local animal shelter). Don't focus on the amounts to be given until they are old enough to understand money.

The Giving Family: Raising Our Children to Help Others
Susan C. Price

Home » For Help with Giving » Family Philanthropy » Teen-aged Children and Giving

Teen-aged Children and Giving

I Hope My Kids Organize Their Own Online Fundraiser When They Are Teenagers

[Reprinted with permission from Beth Kanter*]

Spencer Brodsky

Spencer Brodsky is 17 and he is spending his time online to raise money to bring Green Stoves to Rwanda, something he's been doing for the past 2 years.

Spencer wants to help Stoves for Rwanda leverage matching money from an incentive program being offered by Global Giving called "Give More Get More." If he can raise an additional $500 to bring his total to $2,500 by December 1st, he'll leverage a matching gift of 30% or little over $800 from Global Giving.

As I parent, my hope is that by helping my kids find ways to share their passion for giving - they will make it a lifelong habit. My children, now age and 10, have been big helpers in all my online fundraising campaigns for the Sharing Foundation. They have posed for photos in t-shirts, emptied their piggy banks, helped me make fundraising videos, contributed clothing or other items to drives at school, and have attended lots of fund raising events, including last week's Tweetsgiving Meetup where my daughter won a lunch with Twitterville author Shel Israel that was being raffled off.

And this year, Harry sent some of his birthday loot to the Sharing Foundation, making me proud that he is following my tradition of giving to celebrate a birthday.

Philanthropy doesn't have to be an adults only activity, giving can be part of your family fun. And while it is especially appropriate to do this during the holidays, it can be a year-round activity.

Tips To Encourage Your Child's Philanthropy

1. Teach Your Kids About Charities: YouthGive is a site that helps young peole and their families easily donate to charities while learning more about the organizations. The organizations listed are profiled by other young people. You can also check out nonprofit ratings and other information from Great Nonprofits, a sort of Zagat's Guide for Charities.

2. Let Your Kids Choose: Kayta Andresen from Network for Good has fantastic idea last holiday season, "Give with your kids day" She suggests giving your child or someone else's child $25 to donate to a charity. "You can give them money to spend at Network for Good (which has every charity based in the US) or Global Giving (which has a bunch of international projects). Let them choose how to spend it, either by letting them pick the charity or by designating their donation to a special project. Spend it together online, checking out pictures and project descriptions."

3. Offer a Match: Blogger Marion Conway,whose children are now grown, recommended the book Raising Charitable Children by Carol Wiseman. With her children's fundraising projects, she and her husband offered to match what they raised because they both worked for companies that matching gift programs.

4. Set Up a Spend, Give, and Save Allowance Policy: Celeste for the studio 501c3 blog suggests this piggy bank, with separate slots for investing, saving, spending, and donating is a great way to teach kids about devoting a portion of their income to
charity.

5. Encourage Them To Give Their Time: Laura Hecht shared a wonderful story about a class project where students made cards for some elderly residents of a group home. They had to work hard to spare the time for the effort, but when the residents wrote moving letters of thanks, the kids felt great. As Laura notes, "This prompted a sincere discussion about giving the most valuable thing we possess - ourselves."

6. Buy Gifts That Give Back: Rather than braving the crowded shopping malls, you can spend some time with your kids online and find gifts that give back. The Ebay World of Good Site has a fantastic selection of gifts that will make a difference.

Resources

Brain Teaser: Young People and Philanthropy
Youth in Philanthropy
Six Steps for Raising a Charitable Child
Learning To Give
Youth In Philanthropy
Children for Children Foundation
Kids Can Make A Difference
Youth Noise

What other stories, tips, or resources would you add?

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* Beth Kanter is the author of Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits. A frequent contributor to many nonprofit technology web sites and magazines, Beth has authored chapters in several books, including "Psychology of Facebook Applications," edited by BJ Fogg, Stanford University and "Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders," edited by NTEN both to be published in 2009. A much in demand speaker and trainer, and she has trained nonprofits in social media techniques literally around the world. In 2009, she was named by Fast Company Magazine as one of the most influential women in technology and one of Business Week's "Voices of Innovation for Social Media." In March, 2009, she will serve as the 2009 Scholar in Residence for Social Media and Nonprofits for the Packard Foundation.

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