Does NCFP Recommend Any Special Holiday Gift Giving Guides for Family Philanthropy?

We would like to share tips and tools with our family and friends about giving and family philanthropy during the holidays. Can you recommend any good resources on this topic?

The Hip Family’s Guide to Happier Holidays

Lisa Parker of the Lawrence Welk Family Foundation says in her guide: “The single best piece of advice I received as a young mom was that my job was to create memories for my children.” She realized “we needed to be more purposeful –more intentional — about our time and money, and spending them in ways that would enrich us, remind us of our bounty, and bring more joy to our family and communities.” You can read this free guide to learn how she navigated this journey and get tips for how to do this with your family.

The Intergenerational Toolkit: Bridging the Generations, A Guide for Family Foundations

For the first time in history, there are four distinct generations in the workplace and a fifth generation is part of growing families. Each generation brings its own set of values, beliefs, life experiences and attitudes to shared endeavors.  The Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) developed The Intergenerational Toolkit: Bridging the Generations, A Guide for Family Foundations in response to member focus groups who  identified a need for resources to help engage all generations in the family’s work.  This publication not only helps families understand the varied perspectives from each generation but also offers tips, examples and stories from members on how they are building bridges between the generations in their families.  The toolkit also includes a section of carefully designed exercises to identify shared values and to explore common interests, improve communications to help build high quality connections between family members and create more inclusive family foundation meetings.

 Phil and His Family’s Adventures in Giving Board Game

Looking for something to give families with children on your holiday list? The Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPII), a signature program of the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance, has the perfect present: philanthropy in a box.

The game helps families incorporate generosity in their lives throughout the year. The kit comes with: a graphic novel that introduces the concepts of giving time, talent and treasure; activity cards with hands-on ideas; a set of “conversation starter” cards; a deck of cards to play two different games; Phil’s Giving Circle tokens that a child can leave for someone else when doing a good deed; monthly calendar reminders with “Calls to Action;” and a family pledge card. It is a great way to get the whole family involved in philanthropy in a fun way.

The Giving Family: Raising Our Children to Help Others

It’s never too early—or too late—to start teaching children the habit of giving. The Giving Family outlines eight specific steps parents, grandparents, teachers, religious leaders and other adults can take to instill the spirit of giving and volunteering in children ages 5 to 18. It explains how children can learn philanthropy in and out of the home, how young people can become involved with nonprofit groups as advisors or even as board members, and how parents can learn from the experiences of family foundations. With tips and activities interspersed throughout, as well as scores of inspired ideas and real stories, this 119-page volume is a must read for anyone who wants to foster volunteerism and philanthropy in children.

Family Quest Giving Deck

Family conversations around giving and philanthropy can be tough to initiate. So many topics to potentially explore, where and how to begin? That’s why 21/64 and Relative Solutions teamed up to create the Family Quest Giving Deck. Choose from among 40 topic cards or make up your own using one of the “wild cards.” Pick one or more topics to discuss with family members on any given occasion. No matter what your generation, whether you’re a 14-year-old millennial or a traditionalist of 84, have fun as you learn from and about each other.

The Quiltmaker’s Gift

A New York Times bestseller and a Booksense Book of the year, The Quiltmaker’s Gift tell the story of a greedy king, who with the help of a generous quiltmaker, learns to find happiness by giving his possessions away. A quiltmaker helps a selfish king learn that giving is the true secret to happiness. The heartwarming, strongly moral tale supports important values, and the detailed illustrations, featuring dozens of lovingly rendered quilt patterns offer hours of delight for young children.

Talk About Giving Game

Games have always been a great way to share and connect with your family. So the Central Carolina Community Foundation designed the Talk About Giving game, a fun way to spark conversations about philanthropy. The game features a game booklet and sixty glossy question cards that will jumpstart family discussion. Cards are organized into four fun categories: Money Matters, Family Matters, Giving Matters, and What Matters to Me? Keep the game at the dinner table, in your car — how you play the game is much like how you give: it’s entirely up to you. We hope playing the Talk About Giving game will help your family build meaningful connections that last. You can also go here to get the “question of the week”.

Giving with Confidence: A Guide to Savvy Philanthropy

There are thousands of books that tell you how to get money, but few that cover something just as challenging: how to give money away. Giving with Confidence provides thoughtful guidance culled from decades of experience in the philanthropy world. Whether you are an individual who donates to your favorite charity or the head of a large foundation, the gentle practicalities of this book will enable you to manage your giving with effectiveness and personal satisfaction. By following its seven core principles, you will have what you need for “improving the reach, scope, and impact” of your contributions.

The Giving Box

The notion that charity begins at home has never been easier to teach children than with this enchanting gift set based on the Jewish tradition of tzadakah, in which children save coins in banks for the less fortunate. Added inspiration for contributing to worthy causes comes from Emmy Award-winning television personality Mister Rogers, whose peaceful “neighborhood” has been a comforting presence in millions of homes for more than 25 years. In the book that accompanies The Giving Box, Mister Rogers teaches lessons of generosity and charity through heartwarming fictional stories set in countries around the world. For children, he describes how good it feels to give to those less fortunate, and reveals how even one child’s contribution can make a difference. For parents, he offers wise suggestions and practical guidelines on teaching children the moral lesson of compassion for others and the value of charity.

Raising Charitable Children

Getting Past Gimme-Gimme: How to Raise Charitable Children How many times have we heard ourselves, our friends, or our kids’ grandparents complain that children have too many things and don’t appreciate any of it? Many of us fear that without some balance, most children will grow up thinking only of themselves. In this book, Weisman shares real-life stories collected from all over the world of how parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, scout leaders, friends, next door neighbors, and her own family have either initiated or supported ways to teach children how to give back to those in need.  After each of the stories, Weisman offers specific steps to help anyone translate these ideas into action. It offers a set of practical maps or models anyone can use to start making a difference now.

The Giving Book

The Giving Book: Open the Door to a Lifetime of Giving is truly a gift for young readers ages 6 to 11 — inspiring, teaching and engaging them to give back to the world. It is a unique, interactive process that allows parents, teachers or friends to help children understand giving and participate in a stimulating experience. The 64 page, spiral-bound, hardcover book combines colorful illustrations and entertaining narrative with fun learning activities. The book helps them record their ideas, dreams and wishes for the world –making them the authors of their stories and creating a “scrapbook” of their journey into compassion, philanthropy and the power of their actions.

The Piggy Bank for the 21st Century

One slot piggy banks have been around for….centuries. But the world has changed. Now we have a highly sophisticated financial system, a system whose complexity has outstripped the ability of most adults, many of whom grapple with credit card debt, even bankruptcy. Personal finance education needs to start young. How? With the same universally loved childhood toy, the piggy bank….but with a 21st century twist! The Money Savvy Pig piggy bank has four chambers, one for each of the four money management choices a child should be taught from the time they are small. They are SAVE, SPEND, DONATE, and INVEST.

Three Cups

Teaching children how to save, spend, and be charitable can be as simple as 1, 2, 3. All parents want to teach their children good money habits from an early age. Many start by giving them an allowance. But it’s equally important to teach children a positive, generous attitude as they learn to use money responsibly. Filled with warm, memorable illustrations by award-winning painter, April Willy, Three Cups is the story of one family’s unique and effective method of teaching personal financial management—and how one boy reaped first the small, then the immeasurably great rewards of the lessons he learned. Families will be delighted with the heart-warming tale and want to integrate the three-cup system in their own children’s lives.

Family Philanthropy at the Holidays: Faith, Gratitude & Tradition

For more information on this topic, be sure to register for our December 13th webinar!

According to the 2012 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, 43 percent of the households they surveyed said they make more charitable contributions during the holiday season (October to December) than during the rest of the year. What are the connections between the holidays and family giving? How do faith, gratitude, and family charitable traditions enhance and ignite the giving impulse? And what are some strategies family funders have used to encourage increased giving around the holidays? Join this special Family Philanthropy Webinar and hear from several representatives that have found creative and meaningful ways to celebrate the holidays.