All in the Family--Instilling a Culture of Philanthropy

When a donor recently responded to a thank you we sent her for her contribution, we also learned of another great example of how older generations are successfully educating their kids and grandkids about philanthropy. For holiday gifts for their grandchildren, this couple decided to send 2 checks to each of them--$40 total for the younger ones and $80 total for those 18 and over. They were to select two charities that they wanted to support, fill in the "pay to the order of" blanks and put in the mail.

Needless to say, we were delighted to be the recipient of one of the children's gifts. Mrs. H also noted in her reply, "I am glad that one of the children donated to Charity Navigator. I had included a note in the gift card: 'When in doubt go to CharityNavigator.org'." Many thanks, Mrs. H, for underscoring what we are here for and also allowing us to pass on this great idea for instilling the spirit of philanthropy in our children. No gift is more rewarding than that of giving to others.