What’s the big idea behind a family giving together? I regularly recommend the practice of generosity to families I consult with, because it brings the family together around common causes.

Of course, a sports team or shared interest can also unite a family, but giving together is unique in providing an opportunity for the generations of a family to work together serving others and doing good.

Problem:

Most families fail to carry on any kind of legacy into the second and third generation.

For family-owned businesses the failure rate is 70% in the second generation.

Why? We tend to do a good job of passing on financial capital without passing on the most important capital: social, spiritual, emotional and intellectual.

Solution:

There’s a quote (popularly attributed to Sir Winston Churchill) that captures it well: “We make a living by what we earn; we make a life by what we give.”

To pass on family legacy, we encourage becoming intentional about teaching our children to give — of their time, their talent and their treasure.

Children who are givers are most likely to exhibit qualities of service and being unselfish.

Family Giving: Practical Solutions

1. Create a family giving fund. A family giving fund becomes the family foundation, a platform to discuss your values as a family. It’s easy to set up–like setting up a bank account–only charitable.
2. Define your family values. Gather your family, and discuss your top 5 family values, and how those values will influence your giving—where you’ll give and where you won’t.
3. Take a family field trip. Go visit 3-4 ministries in a day in your local community. These may include an urban ministry, an after-school education program, a homeless shelter. Expose your children to a variety of causes. Select one to support.
4. Look for a leverage gift. This may be a gift where you make a matching grant, i.e., someone matches your gift. Or it may be a gift that funds technology, grantwriting, or even the creation of a business to fund the ministry.
5. Consider giving stuff. It may be as simple as cleaning out closets. It may be more elaborate: giving a vehicle, giving artwork, or giving part of your ownership interest in a business or real estate.
6. Meet with other families on the journey. Meet with a friend to talk through how you are doing your giving. Need a mentor? Contact me!

Other Giving Considerations

1. 1. Whatever you do, make family giving fun! It should not be a chore. Change it up. Maybe, you can take a theme for the year, theme for the month. Support summer missions by meeting with every student going on a trip.
   2. It’s not just about the money. Volunteer together. Go serve somewhere. Clean up a school, a neighborhood. Give time. Give talent — do you have a special skill to offer.
   3. Go on a missions trip together. It may be domestically, or it may be internationally. Get out of your comfort zone and see a part of the world you’ve never seen.
   4. Obey the nudge. If you feel a nudge from God, go ahead and make the gift. Don’t rationalize it away. Let your kids feel the nudge as well.

Don’t think your kids are too young! We’ve found that children even as young as 5 years old can participate in the giving process, albeit with smaller amounts.

The Generosity Bet

God has given you the ability to make a difference in the world. It’s time for you to unwrap this gift and discover the secret that leads you to true fulfillment and significance.

Stories of the Generous Life

Often, it is in others' stories that you find your own. These 21 short stories will challenge and inspire you to discover what the generous life means for your own story.

Giving It All Away…and Getting It All Back Again

The life of giving is a life of adventure and risk. But it pays the best rewards for you, your family, and all you touch.

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published September 30, 2015

Topics: Giving Strategies

Family GenerosityGenerosityGiving Strategies