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

Dollars addressing real needs such as feeding the hungry, preserving the environment or taking on much larger community issues, such as city revitalization or improvement in education, all have been raised by young people.

Getting kids involved
Families, churches, nonprofit organizations, schools and foundations can be intentional about promoting young people as philanthropists. “Effective learning occurs when a child witnesses a primary caregiver or other influential adult, such as a teacher or religious leader, modeling behavior that is intended to help others,” a 1996 Bentley-Nissan study suggested. So it’s true that it does take a village to raise a child.