Engaging the next generation in charitable giving

The transfer of more than $40 trillion in wealth by 2052, predicted by Paul Schervish and John Havens at the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, is underway. Charitable families are focused not only on transferring wealth; they’re also passing along their charitable giving values.

One way to engage and train future philanthropists is to provide them with opportunities to build their charitable giving skills.

I spoke with Sharna Goldseker, director of 21/64 and vice president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, at the recent Family Philanthropy Conference, and she said that some families require children or grandchildren to receive training by attending philanthropy workshops. Others encourage their heirs to join a charitable network of their peers. Still others provide opportunities for their younger family members to make grants.

The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and its non-geographical label Greater Horizons provide families with many opportunities to build charitable giving skills, beginning with our youngest donors.

• A charitable birthday party helps introduce the idea of giving back to young children.
• Camp Charity allows children ages 8 to 13 to visit and volunteer at a nonprofit organization.
• The Teen Giving Institute teaches giving by doing as teens make a $10,000 grant to the nonprofit of their choice.

Two Kansas City giving circles, ImpactKC and the Bacchus Foundation, are targeted to young adults and offer opportunities for peer to peer learning about charitable giving.

Finally, setting up a next generation fund with Greater Horizons or the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation gives your children or grandchildren the opportunity to make grants from their own charitable funds.

Whatever the age of your family members, you can help prepare them to inherit a legacy of giving.

Authored by: Debbie Starke, Vice President