Summer brings families together in ways the rest of the year often does not. Children are out of school. Adult children return home. Grandparents may join a vacation or reunion. Shared meals, car rides and unplanned time create opportunities for conversations that can be hard to fit into everyday life.
Those moments can help families explore an important question: How do we pass the value of generosity from one generation to the next?
Many parents and grandparents want younger family members to appreciate what they have, recognize the needs of others and use their resources responsibly. They may also be thinking ahead to inherited wealth, a family business, a donor-advised fund or a private foundation. Yet a formal family meeting about philanthropy can feel forced, especially when children are young or the family has never discussed money openly.
The conversation does not have to begin with wealth. It can begin with doing something meaningful together.
What Is Family Philanthropy?
Family philanthropy is more than parents or grandparents making charitable gifts in the family’s name. It brings family members into generosity through shared activities, stories, conversations and decisions.
It does not require substantial wealth or a formal charitable structure. A family can practice philanthropy by giving time, sharing skills, contributing money or supporting a cause together. The purpose is not to make everyone care about the same organizations. It is to help each generation understand why giving matters and learn how thoughtful charitable decisions are made.
Start With a Shared Experience
A colleague once shared a meaningful example involving her daughters and a community garden.
The girls used part of their allowances to purchase supplies for a garden plot. They planted and cared for vegetables throughout the summer, then donated what they grew to a local food bank.
They learned how much effort it takes to grow food and saw that not every family has regular access to fresh produce. When they visited the food bank, a need that might have seemed distant became visible in their own community.
They also experienced the satisfaction of contributing something they had helped create. Their gift included money, but also time, patience and care.
That is philanthropy in a real and accessible form.
Choose Activities That Reflect Your Family’s Values
Family giving is most meaningful when it connects with something the family genuinely cares about and with what a nonprofit needs.
A family concerned about hunger might volunteer with a food program or donate produce. A family that values education might collect school supplies or support a summer learning program. Animal lovers might assist a shelter through an age-appropriate project.
Families traveling together could learn about a community organization near their destination and ask how they might help.
The activity does not need to be elaborate. It should be thoughtful, respectful and suitable for everyone involved. Contact the organization first rather than assuming what would be useful.
Let the Conversation Follow the Experience
Afterward, make room for conversation without turning the experience into a lecture. Ask family members:
- What did you notice?
- What surprised you?
- What did you learn?
- What felt most meaningful?
- Is there something else you would like our family to do?
Younger family members may notice different things than adults and care about different causes. Listening to those perspectives is part of involving them in a meaningful way.
Passing down values does not mean prescribing every charitable choice. It means helping the next generation develop empathy, curiosity and the confidence to make thoughtful decisions.
Move From Participating Together to Giving Together
As children and grandchildren grow older, families can gradually give them a larger role.
A family might set aside an amount each year and invite each person to recommend an organization. Older children could research a cause and explain why they believe the family should offer support.
This introduces questions that apply to charitable giving at every level:
- What change are we trying to create?
- How does this organization approach the issue?
- How will our contribution be used?
- How do we decide when family members have different priorities?
These questions teach listening, research, compromise and shared responsibility.
Families with a donor-advised fund or private foundation can make this involvement more structured over time. Younger generations might first observe discussions, then research grants or recommend how a portion of the family’s charitable funds should be distributed.
Family Philanthropy Can Prepare the Next Generation
Families often devote considerable time to preparing assets for the next generation through estate plans, trusts and professional advice. Preparing people to receive and manage those assets requires something more.
Philanthropy offers a practical setting in which siblings, cousins and multiple generations can learn to make decisions together while parents and grandparents are still available to provide guidance.
These conversations also preserve family stories. Explaining why a grandparent supports a scholarship, community organization or medical cause can reveal the experiences behind the gift.
Without that context, younger family members may someday inherit responsibility for a charitable fund without understanding the intentions that shaped it.
A strong family legacy also leaves room for change. Children and grandchildren may honor the family’s values while expressing them through different causes or new approaches.
Begin With One Step
You do not need a private foundation, a family mission statement or a formal meeting to begin. Choose one shared activity. Participate together. Talk about what you noticed and what you might do next.
Over time, those experiences can become family traditions, deeper conversations and more intentional giving. They may also help younger generations develop skills they will need when making broader decisions involving family wealth or a family business.
Generosity is rarely passed from one generation to the next through words alone. It takes root when family members see it practiced, participate in it and discover how it can become part of their own lives.
Ready to Start a Family Conversation About Giving?
Download our complimentary guide, Generosity Across Generations: A Practical Guide to Helping Your Family Explore Giving Together, for practical ways to involve children, grandchildren and adult family members in philanthropy.
If your family is considering a more intentional approach to shared giving, a donor-advised fund, a family foundation or a philanthropic legacy, Fox Philanthropic Advisors can help turn your values and intentions into a practical plan.