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

At Washington Elementary in Union, N.J., for example, the ethic of the school is to incorporate philanthropy into everyday work. Grades kindergarten through fourth coordinate 32 community-based projects a year and have raised roughly $100,000 over the last five years for the American Cancer Society.