Like the birds and the bees and the 123s, philanthropy should be taught early and often.

By Katherine Falk , Janet R. Wakefield and Nancy Swanson

Middle-school students singing carols at a retirement home. Teenagers delivering meals to shut-ins or walking to raise money to fight cancer. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies picking up trash at a city park.

Opportunities abound for young people to learn the value of giving — whether it’s time, talent or money. And nonprofit organizations are finding that it’s never too early to start grooming children, teens and young adults to become supporters in the not-so-distant future.