Giving Season: How to Make Philanthropy a Family Affair

Philanthropy may feel especially top of mind during the holidays, but for many families it is a year round effort to connect their wealth with their values. It is also one of the most meaningful ways to bring generations together. From early lessons in giving to building a long term legacy, thoughtful philanthropy can become a shared language that helps families stay aligned and engaged.

To explore how to make that happen, Haute Living spoke with Anne Black, a philanthropy specialist at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management and a New York Metro Area Regional Lead on the Family Engagement and Governance team. Drawing on her experience helping families align their giving with their values, she shares approachable ways to bring younger generations into the conversation and build a philanthropic strategy that can evolve over time.

In the conversation that follows, Black breaks down where to begin, how to spark genuine interest in younger family members and the steps that turn giving into a lasting tradition.

HAUTE LIVING: Many families see philanthropy as a way to align their wealth with their values—how can parents begin involving the entire family in charitable giving decisions to make it truly a family affair?

ANNE BLACK: With family philanthropy, there is nothing better than learning by example. You can start by involving your children in discussions around your giving. The holidays are often a popular time for these conversations. Include the rising generation in your meetings with your spouse, allow them to review the grant proposals you may be considering and let them listen to your dialogue about how you’re evaluating one idea over another, and perhaps most importantly, encourage them to ask questions. Lots of questions!

If you’re visiting a nonprofit you support, you can have your children join you to meet the staff and see what your donations have been supporting. With site visits to a variety of charities, the rising generation has the chance to see how impact takes many forms.

HL: What are some practical strategies for engaging younger generations in philanthropy, especially when children are still at a young age, to instill lasting values of giving back?

AB: Food drives and other charitable activities organized by your child’s school or religious institution are often one’s first introduction to the nonprofit community. Beyond just donating from your kitchen cabinets, consider giving your child a set amount of cash and shopping with them at the grocery store so they can pick the foods they would like to donate. Equally important, they see how much food costs.

For teens, the holidays can be a wonderful time to talk with them about charities. I often recommend starting kids out with a budget of certain dollar amount multiplied by their age for them to make a charitable donation. It can be eye-opening to hear what organizations interest them and how they made their choices.

HL: How can families structure their philanthropic efforts to ensure that their commitment builds a multi-generational legacy?

AB: Ensuring a multigenerational legacy takes foresight, communication and flexibility. I always say, if you’ve seen one family foundation, you’ve seen one family foundation. Each is unique!

For families that want the family legacy to flourish long after the founder is involved in the day-to-day operations, there needs to be a few ingredients in place. Deliberate and organized knowledge sharing and communication can help keep the values and beliefs of the founder at the core of the giving strategy.
You can empower future generations by giving them some room to impart their own experiences and knowledge and evolve the philanthropy to meet present-day needs. You want them to feel a similar level of ownership and commitment to the mission.

HL: From your experience on J.P. Morgan Wealth Management’s Family Wealth Services team, what common challenges do families face when trying to make philanthropy inclusive, and how can they overcome them?

AB: Our Family Wealth Services team at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management helps families align their philanthropy to their values. We support them at all stages of their giving, from determining which causes are important to them to crafting a tailored philanthropic strategy and finding the right vehicles for giving back. We also host boot camps for the rising-gen family members to gain philanthropic training.

I’ve worked with a lot of different families. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that making philanthropy inclusive means recognizing each family member for their unique skills, interests and motivations. Each person will have their own read of a grant proposal, interpret a nonprofit organization’s budget differently or prefer one charity over another. Just like with a sports team, it’s about recognizing these individual qualities and capitalizing on each family member’s strengths.

HL: What key steps did a family that successfully turned philanthropy into a shared tradition take to involve children and grandchildren effectively? 

AB: One family established a mentoring program where the rising-generation family members were paired with an older relative (such as an aunt, uncle or grandparent). Each mentoring pair was expected to meet in person or virtually at least 2-3 times every year to impart and exchange knowledge about the family foundation. This tradition kept family members engaged and connected across generations. And it wasn’t just the rising-gen learning from these conversations. The older generations learned from the pairing, too.

HL: For families just starting out, what initial conversations or activities would you recommend to spark interest in philanthropy and align it with the family’s core values?

AB: Conversations about philanthropy come up more often than one might think. Perhaps one of your friends works in a nonprofit and your child can learn about their job. Schools, religious institutions and community organizations also offer direct engagement with charities throughout the year. For parents, demonstrating your interest in community engagement by volunteering – near home or even on a family vacation – can impart your values on your children in what is often a fun, hands-on activity.

HL: Anything else?

AB: The needs are so great in the world. The best advice I can give today is to dive in. When families come together to give back, they are not only making a real difference – they are creating a legacy built on kindness and shared purpose.

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is a business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which offers investment products and services through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS), a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC. Insurance products are made available through Chase Insurance Agency, Inc. (CIA), a licensed insurance agency, doing business as Chase Insurance Agency Services, Inc. in Florida. Certain custody and other services are provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPMCB). JPMS, CIA and JPMCB are affiliated companies under the common control of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Products not available in all states.