Charitable Giving as a Family: Creating a Meaningful Summer Tradition

The summer months offer families a unique opportunity—with school breaks, vacation time, and longer days, it’s an ideal season to come together and make a difference in your community. At Partners in Financial Planning, we believe that charitable giving extends beyond financial donations, encompassing valuable lessons about legacy, values, and financial stewardship that benefit multiple generations.

The Multi-Generational Benefits of Family Philanthropy

When you engage in charitable activities as a family during the summer, you create shared experiences that strengthen bonds while demonstrating your values in action. For our pre-retiree and retiree clients, family philanthropy often becomes a meaningful way to connect with children and grandchildren while imparting important financial wisdom.

Family giving provides several distinct benefits:

Value Transmission: Charitable activities provide natural opportunities to discuss what matters most to your family—whether that’s education, environmental conservation, addressing hunger, or supporting the arts. These conversations help younger generations understand the principles that guide your financial decisions.

Financial Literacy Development: Involving children and grandchildren in charitable decisions creates organic opportunities to discuss budgeting, researching options, evaluating impact, and making intentional financial choices—essential skills regardless of wealth level.

Stronger Family Bonds: Shared philanthropic experiences create meaningful connections across generations. Many Partners in Financial Planning clients find that family giving projects lead to deeper conversations and relationships than typical family gatherings alone.

Retirement Purpose: For many retirees, family philanthropy provides a fulfilling way to utilize professional skills, share accumulated wisdom, and maintain community connections while creating a lasting legacy.

Summer-Specific Family Giving Opportunities

The summer season offers unique ways for families to engage in charitable activities together:

Community Garden Volunteering: Many food banks and community organizations maintain gardens that need extra help during the growing season. Working together in a garden provides physical activity, tangible results, and opportunities for all ages to contribute.

Outdoor Cleanup Projects: From beach cleanups to trail maintenance, summer environmental projects allow families to enjoy nature while making a visible difference in community spaces.

Summer Program Support: Organizations serving children often need additional volunteers during summer months when school is out. Families can volunteer together at summer camps, reading programs, or recreational activities.

Vacation-Based Giving: If summer travel is part of your family tradition, research opportunities to incorporate giving into your trips. This might include bringing needed supplies to a destination, participating in a service day, or supporting local organizations in places you visit.

At Partners in Financial Planning, we’ve seen families transform summer reunions into meaningful service experiences by dedicating a day to working together on community projects—creating memories that last far longer than typical vacation activities.

Practical Approaches to Involve All Generations

Effective family philanthropy engages everyone meaningfully, regardless of age or financial resources:

Create Age-Appropriate Roles: Young children might participate in collecting items for donation drives or creating cards for seniors, while teenagers could research organizations or help organize service projects. Adult family members can contribute professional skills or leadership.

Hold Family Giving Meetings: Use a summer gathering to discuss charitable priorities, set giving budgets, and make collective decisions. These conversations help younger generations understand thoughtful financial decision-making while ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.

Start Small and Build: Begin with manageable projects that offer immediate feedback—like assembling care packages or participating in a community event. Success with smaller initiatives builds confidence for more significant philanthropic endeavors.

Incorporate Learning Opportunities: Before volunteering, research the issue being addressed together. After giving, discuss what you observed and the difference your contribution made. These conversations deepen understanding and commitment.

One Partners in Financial Planning client family created a summer tradition where grandchildren researched and presented charitable organizations addressing an agreed-upon theme (such as environmental conservation or food security). The grandparents then provided a set amount for the grandchildren to allocate among the organizations, teaching both research skills and thoughtful giving practices.

Tax-Efficient Charitable Giving Strategies for Family Wealth

While the emotional and educational benefits of family giving are substantial, structured approaches can also create significant tax advantages:

Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): These increasingly popular vehicles allow you to make a tax-deductible contribution now while distributing grants to charities over time. DAFs provide an excellent structure for family giving committees, as they enable multiple generations to participate in grant recommendations while offering immediate tax benefits to the contributor.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): For those over 70½, directing up to $100,000 annually from IRAs directly to qualified charities can satisfy required minimum distributions without increasing taxable income. This approach can be particularly beneficial for retirees who want to support family-selected causes while managing tax obligations.

Appreciated Securities Donations: Contributing long-held appreciated stocks or mutual funds eliminates capital gains tax while providing a deduction for the full market value—making summer a good time to review portfolios for appropriate donation candidates before year-end tax planning.

Family Foundations: For substantial philanthropic commitments, a private foundation provides formal structure, greater control, and potential employment opportunities for family members. While more complex to establish and maintain, foundations can create enduring family legacies.

At Partners in Financial Planning, we help clients integrate charitable strategies into their overall financial and estate plans, ensuring that giving benefits both recipient organizations and family financial objectives.

Creating a Family Mission Statement for Philanthropic Activities

A thoughtful approach to family philanthropy often includes developing a shared statement of purpose. Summer gatherings provide an excellent opportunity to craft this together:

Begin With Values Discussions: Ask each family member to identify principles that matter most to them. Look for common themes that could guide collective giving.

Define Focus Areas: Based on shared values, determine which causes or issues the family will prioritize. This might include geographic areas, specific populations, or particular challenges.

Establish Decision Processes: Determine how giving decisions will be made, including how family members can propose projects, what criteria will be used for evaluation, and how consensus will be reached.

Document Your Approach: Creating a written mission statement helps maintain consistency and provides a framework for introducing new family members to your giving tradition.

One retired couple who works with Partners in Financial Planning used a summer family reunion to facilitate a values discussion that led to their family mission statement: “To support organizations that provide educational opportunities and environmental stewardship in our local community, while encouraging future generations to find their own paths to meaningful contribution.” This statement now guides their giving decisions and provides a framework for involving grandchildren.

Tools for Family Giving: Finding the Right Structure

Different approaches to family philanthropy offer varying levels of formality, control, and involvement:

Family Giving Circles: In this informal approach, family members contribute to a pooled fund and make collective decisions about distributions. Giving circles require minimal administration while still providing structure for joint decision-making.

Donor-Advised Funds: These accounts provide the tax benefits of a foundation with significantly less administrative burden, making them ideal for families seeking structure without complexity. Many DAF sponsors offer family-friendly features like online voting and grant recommendation systems.

Family Foundations: These formal entities require more administrative oversight but offer maximum control over investments, grant-making, and governance. Foundations can include multiple generations in formal roles, creating continuity across decades.

Community Foundation Partnerships: Working with a community foundation can provide administrative support, local knowledge, and educational resources for family philanthropy while maintaining a structured approach to giving.

During summer’s more relaxed pace, families can explore these options and determine which best aligns with their philanthropic goals, time availability, and desired level of formality.

Evaluating Charities Together and Measuring Impact

Teaching younger generations to give effectively includes developing skills to evaluate potential recipients:

Research Organizations Together: Assign family members to investigate different aspects of potential charitable recipients—such as financial health, leadership, programs, and outcomes. Websites like Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and Give.org provide helpful resources.

Establish Evaluation Criteria: Develop a family framework for assessing organizations based on factors important to you—such as efficiency, transparency, leadership, or alignment with specific values.

Visit Organizations When Possible: Summer offers opportunities to tour facilities, meet staff, or participate in volunteer days at organizations you support. These firsthand experiences deepen understanding and connection to causes.

Track and Discuss Results: Follow up on donations or volunteer efforts to see what impact they’ve had. Many organizations provide impact reports that can spark family discussions about effective philanthropy.

A Partners in Financial Planning client family created a summer tradition of “site visit days” where they tour local nonprofits they support or are considering supporting. These visits not only inform their giving decisions but also help grandchildren understand community needs and potential solutions.

Making Family Philanthropy an Ongoing Tradition

While summer provides excellent opportunities for family giving, the most impactful philanthropy continues throughout the year:

Create a Calendar of Giving: Identify seasonal opportunities for family involvement, from summer service projects to holiday donation drives. Planning ahead ensures these activities become integrated into family traditions.

Establish Regular Communications: Use family newsletters, group chats, or periodic video calls to share philanthropic opportunities, discuss potential recipients, and celebrate impact throughout the year.

Align with Life Events: Incorporate giving into celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, or graduations to reinforce the connection between significant family moments and community contribution.

Document Your Journey: Keep a family philanthropy journal or digital archive that records your giving history, volunteer experiences, and the difference you’ve made together. Reviewing this periodically reinforces the cumulative impact of your efforts.

Many Partners in Financial Planning clients find that beginning philanthropic conversations during summer gatherings creates momentum that carries through the entire year, enriching family relationships while making a meaningful difference in their communities.

The Financial Planning Connection

At Partners in Financial Planning, we recognize that meaningful philanthropy integrates with broader financial objectives:

Charitable Planning as Part of Retirement Strategy: For many pre-retirees and retirees, giving strategies are interwoven with tax planning, income needs, and estate considerations. Thoughtful integration ensures philanthropy enhances rather than compromises financial security.

Legacy Planning Beyond Assets: Family philanthropy helps create a legacy that transcends financial inheritance, passing along values and traditions that guide future generations.

Tax-Efficient Giving: Strategic approaches to charitable contributions can provide significant tax benefits while maximizing the impact of your giving—particularly important for those in transition to or already in retirement.

Whether you’re just beginning to explore family philanthropy or seeking to enhance established giving traditions, we’re here to help you develop approaches that align with both your financial objectives and your vision for family legacy.

Looking Forward: Your Family’s Philanthropic Journey

Summer’s more relaxed pace and family gatherings create perfect opportunities to initiate or deepen your family’s engagement with charitable giving. By combining meaningful experiences, financial education, and positive community impact, family philanthropy creates ripple effects that benefit both recipients and participants.

If you’re interested in developing a structured approach to family giving or integrating philanthropic strategies into your overall financial plan, we welcome the conversation. At Partners in Financial Planning, we’re committed to helping you create not just financial security, but also a meaningful legacy that reflects your deepest values.