How much importance do you place on Charitable Giving in your household?

[SweetMelody]

Hello everyone first post just wanted to talk about this a bit

Do your children understand the concept?

I am trying to teach my kids about charitable giving. We have set up bank accounts for them already and encourage them to save money that they get from their allowance for a their future, college, rainy day, for things they want, etc.. But I also think it’s important to spend time helping other people and donate to charitable causes? What do you think about this?

Thx

[zebra15]

Well, in this house 'charitable' can mean a whole bunch of things and its not tied to money.  Charitable can mean taking your outgrown clothes and toys to the shelter.  It can mean donating to the foodbank or taking extra office supplies to the school on the corner.  - just some examples

*I* have a difficult time donating money but thats my issue so I tend to donate things instead.  DS10 understands that we 'give' in some capacity during the year to a couple of organizations in the community.

[HollyBearsMom]

We do a lot of non-monetary charitable giving-volunteering, used clothing/toy donations, etc. so my son is exposed to "giving back" on a regular basis and as part of every day life.

However we also try to teach him that it is important to give financially as well.  He gets an allowance (not tied to chores, or anything, basically his "paycheck") and we follow the third/third/third rule.  He can spend a third, he needs to save a third, and donate a third. Last year his "charity of choice" was the local no-kill animal shelter and he gave them 100% of his charitable funds. This year he is saving to give half to the food pantry and the other half to shelter. 

[woodchick]

We are big on charitable giving. We tithe 10% to our Church, give to a couple other charities and donate time, canned goods and thrift items to our local aid society.  We have been blessed with the life and the resources that we have and we are happy to pass that blessing on.

[Poddi]

We don't consider it too vital.  We do give money to charities we support monthly, and I donate stuff to local thrift shops regularly.  We probably remember to drop some stuff in food bank every month or so, but it's more random.  Usually we donate some extra money or stuff before Christmas.  Overall I think we donate as much as other people we know do.  We feel that you should only donate if you can afford it comfortably and support the cause.  There's no reason to feel compelled to donate if your budget is very tight.

[ilovemygirl]

I think it's of the utmost importance BUT in the spirit of giving not the amount. My dd knows we give money in the envelope at church. We do not tithe anywhere near 10% but we've explained we give what we can to help our church and those less fortunate. We also visit our local animal shelter frequently and bring a box of food or treats or something so she can also see that bringing what is needed and being there to help is just as important as money. 

I want to instill the desire to be compassionate but to also understand we can only do so much. 

[BetsyS]

We give 10% of our take home, which works out to be about 7.8% of our income, right off the top (we're working it up to 10% of gross--not quite there yet). 

We also donate a lot more tangible things, especially to the thrift store and food bank, as a way for my kids to see giving in action.  And we give our time to a few organizations we feel strongly about. 

[gumshoegirl007]

I work in the not-for-profit sector and charitable giving and community involvement is a very important part of our family philosophy.

With respect to giving, we give 6-10% of our gross income to charities each year.  In addition, our kids get a monthly allowance.  Of this, they're given 50% to spend on whatever wants they may have and the other 50% is divided however they'd like between their savings and charities jars.  I'd say each of our kids gives about $100/year to charity.  They pick the charities they give to - we ask them to research the cause, the charity and we talk about why a given cause is meaningful to them.  They also undertake fundraising by participating in an event for one to two charities each year.

We're also very involved in the community.  DW and I actively volunteer - we both sit on Boards of local charities and undertake casual volunteer opportunities.  We also make sure that we volunteer from time to time as a family and get the kids involved in their school and larger community. 

Giving back, shaping the community we live in and making a difference is part of the value system of our family.