FAMILY PHILANTHROPY TOOLKIT

Jumpstart Your Family Philanthropy Traditions

It’s never too late--or too early--to start engaging with your family in charitable giving and social impact.

Before you get started, though, it’s important to get in touch with the mindset of today’s generation of philanthropists. People today--of all ages--are living in a world where work, life, community, and wellness are intertwined. 

Your Community Foundation is here to help you. This article outlines an easy, three-part approach to making the most of your own family’s giving experience:

Part I: A Four-Step Formula

Part II: Your Personality Matters! 

Part III: Celebrate! 

Here we go!

Part I: A Four-Step Formula

To maximize your family’s engagement, consider using a research-based, four-part formula for approaching the philanthropy activities you do together. The four steps are Affirmation, Education, Inspiration, and Motivation. The steps are outlined below. Of course, the team at your community foundation is here to help you through the process. 

1. Affirmation

Basic principles of positive psychology can make a huge difference in the success of your family’s philanthropic experience. Here’s what you need to know from the research:

  • Before a person can become deeply engaged, emotionally and intellectually, in a community or a cause--or even philanthropy in general--he or she must feel affirmed that what he or she is doing already to “do good” is in fact good. 

  • This includes not only giving to charities, of course, but also volunteering in the community, recycling and respecting the environment, donating canned goods, serving on boards of directors or committees, and attending community events. 

  • This also includes emerging methods of philanthropy and social impact engagement, such as purchasing products that support a cause, marketing favorite charities through social media, and even committing to personal and family health and wellness. 

  • The emerging methods of social impact are especially important to members of the next generation, who view their social impact as wide-ranging and not necessarily restricted to the definition of “charity” according to the Internal Revenue Code. 

The Affirmation step is the most important component of getting your family involved in philanthropy to a level where they are making a significant and positive impact in the lives of people in your community. As is the case with most conversations that touch both the heart and the mind, the dialogue may be hard to start. Not to worry! Here is an icebreaker you can do in four easy steps

“Affirmation” Ice Breaker

  1. Ask each family member to verbally share the name of his or her favorite charity. 

  2. Next, ask each person this question: Why do you enjoy giving to your favorite charity?

  3. Then, ask participants to write down their answers. Encourage them to take time to think about it. As the family facilitator, share your answer first, verbally. Then ask participants to share verbally. 

  4. Finally, ask your family to pay attention to how they are feeling, right now. Then, share with your family the following researched-based observation: When people talk about giving, they relax. They become more upbeat. They lean in. They keep on talking. They are proud, confident…emboldened even. And they are happy. They feel better!

Here is the key point you are communicating to your family:

Philanthropy is more successful--and does more good for the people who need it--when philanthropy feels good to the person doing it.

If your family is an academically-oriented crowd, you can even explain the science behind this phenomenon:

At first glance, philanthropy and positive psychology appear to have very little in common. Philanthropy is a term generally associated with giving money to charities, doing good in the community, and creating social value. Positive psychology usually connotes an academic approach to emotional strengths and virtues that enable people to thrive.

But there is indeed a connection. After all, philanthropy, according to the classic dictionary definition, means a “love of humanity” in the sense of caring, nourishing, developing, and enhancing “what it is to be human” on both the benefactors’ and beneficiaries’ parts. The connection is right there.

What’s more, the benefits aren’t limited to your mood. After scouring websites, journals, blogs, articles, and more, a team of researchers uncovered dozens of studies linking philanthropic behavior and improved physical health. Research suggests activities such as volunteering and giving can lead to a longer life, lower blood pressure, and better pain management.

The bottom line is that “affirmation” requires acknowledgment—without judgment—that giving comes in a variety of forms. It’s especially important to emphasize this concept with your children so that they feel empowered to make a difference in other people’s lives in the ways that mean the most to them. This is one of the best ways to instill philanthropic values that will last a lifetime.

2. Education 

Opportunities for learning about philanthropy are in demand. So if you are getting your family involved, you are in good company. Check out the trends:

  1. Students at all levels are interested in learning about activities in the community that result in lives actually being changed for the better.

  2. Parents want to know how to teach their young children about doing good, and teach their teens and adult children, too. 

  3. Parents and grandparents want to know how to use philanthropy to create multi-generational traditions for preserving family values. 

  4. Young professionals are seeking new ways to gather information about nonprofits, philanthropy, and social impact, especially online. 

  5. Corporate executives are seeking techniques for charitable planning that meet their tax and estate planning objectives. They are also looking for new ways to involve employees in the company’s community engagement programs.

Fortunately, education is a process of self-discovery—not a prescription for how to do good the “right” way. This means that whatever you and your family are doing right now to get involved with your favorite causes is absolutely a step in the right direction and a terrific foundation for making an even bigger impact. 

Take the time to learn as much as you can about the causes you love. Start your journey of learning both online and with the professionals at the Community Foundation, who can help you make a meaningful difference in the causes you love the most. 

3. Inspiration

We all know that stories are powerful. Stories of people making an impact in the community will inspire others to pursue their own charitable dreams. Keep these two themes in mind:

  1. Certainly the cause selected is an important part of any story, so pay attention to how your favorite charities are using your dollars. 

  2. As an additional way to enhance the stories you share with your children and family members about philanthropy, be sure to talk about the “giving” side of the equation. In other words, talk about the point of view of the person doing the good. 

Here are a few discussion questions you can use as the basis for developing your own dialogue with your family members:

  1. What did the charity do with donors’ dollars to improve lives? 

  2. How did the charity measure success of its initiatives? 

  3. How did the experience with philanthropy make the giver feel?

  4. How did the giver’s own life improve, right along with the lives of the people who ultimately received the charitable support? 

  5. How did the giver’s relationships with children and family get better by pursuing philanthropy together? 

  6. How did the giver make positive changes to her mental and physical health by integrating philanthropy into her life? 

  7. How was the giver’s life enriched by feelings of gratitude and the ability to help people in need?

Generosity empowers the giver, and a story is much more powerful to inspire others when it reinforces that theme. You will love the results inspiration delivers with your children of all ages! 

4. Motivation

Motivation is always the moment of truth, isn’t it? You have to be sure you and your family have the tools and information to act on your philanthropic desires. Your Community Foundation can help, so don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.

Think about these tips as you motivate your family to get involved with favorite causes:

  1. The first key to motivating a person to “do good” and become more involved in philanthropy is to offer easy ideas in step-by-step format so that it does not seem overwhelming. 

  2. This is especially true for a young professional, brand new donor, and teenagers. 

  3. These “emerging” philanthropists are typically busy in their careers and social lives, so you have to offer easy points of engagement. 

  4. Plus, they are accustomed to multitasking in bite-sized activities, usually conducted at least in part online.

  5. Examples of motivating activities are donating small amounts to three favorite charities online, volunteering one day a month at a favorite charity identified through an online search, and committing to clean out closets and donate gently-used clothing. You can start small to make a big difference. 

Remember that people at all levels of giving frequently talk about this frustration: “I want to help, but I just don’t know how I can help.” It is not useful for a person to be told to “get involved” with nothing specific to back it up—no call to action. So, give your family members easy steps to get involved.

Another key to successful motivation in the social impact space is that people must believe that their acts of doing good, no matter how small, make a difference. “My gift doesn’t matter” is often top of mind for people giving money or donating time. Changing that thinking will better motivate people to get involved—on their own terms—in something specific. Every gift really does make a difference.

Part II: Your Personality Matters! 

Each of us has our own approach to “doing good.” Each of us leans toward one of the three Social Impact Personality Types uncovered in a five-year research study: Investor, Activator, or Connector. Use our Family Philanthropy Kick Off Worksheet [link to Family Philanthropy Kick Off Worksheet] to get in touch with your type. Remember, when you get involved in philanthropy, you are not only improving the lives of others, but also your own happiness and life satisfaction.

There are three Social Impact Personality Types: Investors, Connectors, and Activators. Here is a description of each one:

  • Investors prefer to engage in social impact activities that are independent and do not require scheduling dedicated time or working directly with others in the pursuit of a charitable endeavor.

  • Connectors prefer to engage in social impact activities that are social in nature, involving the opportunity to get together with others.

  • Activators are passionate about participating in the causes they care most about, and they tend to focus on “changing the world” and impacting one or more social issues on a broad scale.

Part III: Celebrate!

Remember, it’s all good! When families embark on a journey to make philanthropy a part of their lives across generations, it often starts with simple concepts: Having fun as a family, getting in touch with nature, being authentic and open about values, donating canned goods or clothing to families in need, recycling cardboard and aluminum cans, celebrating every birthday and holiday with a big cake and a gift to charity, buying wrapping paper from the school fundraiser, contributing to a handful of favorite charities—even eating healthy food and appreciating every peaceful moment. In any household, “doing good” is a powerful way to create a sense of belonging—in the family, the community, and the world.

There is truly something for everyone in today’s social impact culture. Keep in mind the 10 Ways to Do Good that make up today’s philanthropic mindset:

  1. Caring about health and wellness

  2. Giving to charities

  3. Volunteering at a charity

  4. Serving on a charity’s board of directors

  5. Purchasing products that support a cause

  6. Recycling and respecting a sustainable environment

  7. Donating items of food and clothing

  8. Marketing a favorite charity

  9. Sharing with family and friends in need

  10. Celebrating at community events

The experience of charitable giving is worthy of celebration--in the broadest sense possible. This is because contemporary philanthropy, social impact behavior, and community-focused emotions extend beyond the act of writing a check and into the well-rounded lives of most Americans. Social impact--in a broad sense--is the contemporary mindset surrounding philanthropy. You can embrace all of the “Ways to Do Good” with your family and get even more out of your family’s social impact experience.

As always, your Community Foundation is here to help.