The Foundation for MetroWest, which runs one of the largest youth philanthropy education programs in the country, is widening its philanthropic net with the launch of the Family Giving Circle program, where families pool their money, investigate where the community needs are, then jointly decide where to distribute the funds.
Created as an expansion of the Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program, now in its 20th year, the Family Giving Circle will use a unique, hybrid approach founded on the traditional principles of a giving circle, in which groups of like-minded individuals develop a process for distributing funding to an agreed-upon group of organizations. Under the Family Giving Circle program, ten parent/child teams each donate $500 and grant their collective contributions to a local nonprofit at the end of the semester-long program, which will begin in January 2018.
Students in grades 6-8 learn about what it means to give back to their community alongside their family member, thus expanding the learning across generations. The Family Giving Circle will teach students to make impactful, strategic decisions about giving while encouraging conversations at home about the importance of philanthropic work, giving back and facilitating positive change in their community.
“By expanding our efforts to families, we can encourage meaningful conversations around the dinner table about philanthropy,” said Judith G. Salerno, Executive Director of the Foundation for MetroWest. “Too often, these conversations don’t happen because parents are unsure how to talk to their kids about giving. We want to make those conversations easier for families.”
Register by December 1 to be part of this inaugural program. Registration will open in mid-October at www.yipmetrowest.org.
