Lesson 9
Inspire them to be charitable
This lesson helps your child understand the importance of charitable giving. Your child can donate their time, their money, or both to a charity of their choosing. Both kinds of donations are valuable. The simple five-step process detailed in this lesson explains what charitable giving is and the kinds of ways children can give.
1) READ THE CHAPTER
For information and a deeper dive into having money talks with your kids. Read the chapter with relevant financial literature to give you a sufficient foundation on the topic. Order your copy of the book below.
2) LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Listen to this lesson’s episode where I’ll walk you through the questions to ask your kids during the conversation as well as the likely responses you’ll hear from them.
3) SEND THE TIKTOK
Send this video to your child, so you can set the stage for the topic you’ll be discussing, in a language they understand.
4) HAVE THE MONEY CONVERSATION
Using your printed one-page conversation guide and enjoy the dialogue with your family to get them financially launched. Now’s the time to discuss and start the conversation.

Additional Lesson Resources
Books
- Philanthropy, Heirs & Values (Williams)
- Everyday Ambassador (Otto)
www.everydayambassador.org - Creating Change Through Family Philanthropy: The Next Generation (Goldberg)
- A Kids Guide to Giving (Zeiler)
- The Kids Guide to Service Projects (Lewis)
- Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change (Sundem)
- Youth Philanthropy Connect
www.fcfox.org - Before Giving to a Charity by the Federal Trade Commission
Before making a donation, follow these research guidelines. www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0074-giving-charity#Checklist - Giving by The Mint.com, Northwestern Mutual
Learn how to make a plan for giving money, giving time and energy, and giving things.
https://www.themint.org/teens/giving.html - 378 Starbucks Customers “Pay It Forward” by the Associated Press, Smithsonian Tween Tribune.
Read about the concept of “paying it forward” in this real-life example.
http://tweentribune.com/teen/378-starbucks-customers-pay-it-forward
Podcasts
- Kids, Take Charge (TED Talk by Sethi) https://www.ted.com/talks/kiran_sethi_kids_take_charge?language=en
Financial Literature (FinLit)
- Research Charities
www.charitynavigator.org
www.guidestar.org - Giving Time & Energy
www.themint.org/teens/give-time-and-energy.html - National Philanthropic Trust (great stats) www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-givingstatistics/
Other
- 10 Great Philanthropists Who Are Kids
children and teen philanthropists such as those featured at
http://listverse.com/2011/01/27/10-great-philanthropists-who-arekids/ - Federal Trade Commission’s Before Giving to a Charity Guide Discuss how people take advantage of goodwill through charity scams and why it is important to conduct thorough research on a charity or organization before making the decision to donate.
www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0074-givingcharity - 378 Starbucks Customers “Pay It Forward” by Tween Tribune
Read about a real-life moment of giving through a simple act of paying for someone else’s coffee.
www.tweentribune.com/article/ tween56/378-starbucks-customers-pay-it-forward