Expanding Our Perspective of Gift Giving
When children hear the word GIFT, they often think of either their birthday or the pile of presents they will receive at Christmas.
I remember being excited by all the packages under the Christmas tree. My brother Allan and I would shake each present to find out which were clothes, and which were the good stuff.
But GIFT giving can also be associated with other traditions as well.
As an example, Boxing Day in Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries, held on the day after Christmas, is a tradition where servants, tradespeople, and the poor are given gifts. While this tradition has faded over time to be now more associated with shopping and sporting events, there is no reason families during holidays can’t continue this wonderful tradition of giving to others.
When our family is all together, one of our traditions is to focus on giving gifts to charitable organizations. If you plan on establishing a tradition of charitable giving, here are some points to consider:
Set a budget – the dollar amount does not need to be large, rather just meaningful.
Pick a holiday that best works for your family - Our family originally picked Thanksgiving for this tradition. When our daughter and family moved to a different state, we now focus on a holiday when we will be together.
Initially focus on issues, not organizations - Our family typically has a diversity of issues they want to focus on. As an example, during our last family meeting, our granddaughter Elsie was concerned about ocean pollution and species preservation. Others wanted to support our granddaughter’s grade school. Some were more concerned about hunger in America. To meet these diverse needs, we selected three different organizations that supported these initiatives. My wife Sharon and I have other charities that we support annually, which are not included with this family giving tradition.
Consider other forms of giving – There is more than just monetary gifts in charitable giving. Have you thought about giving your time and talents to organizations? Our family has participated in beach cleanups along the Oregon coast as well as volunteering at food banks. What talents would you like to share?
In some ways, the most important GIFT is not just what is given today, but rather what will build and support important family values for the future.
Charitable giving can be one of these important values. But your family may want to encourage other values to build a family legacy that can persevere over time.
Have you thought about what other values might be important to you or other family members? Perhaps it has to do with education, arts, sports, ancestral history or travel. Holding an annual family meeting to build and reinforce these special values may be the real GIFT to future generations.
You are in charge of the GIFTS you leave to future generations. If we each commit to thoughtfully share our legacy with future generations, we create opportunities for a brighter future.
About the Author
Richard O. Weijo, PhD, received an undergraduate degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and went on to receive his MBA and PhD degrees from the University of Minnesota. He was an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Richard was also a Senior Analyst at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and his most recent corporate position was as a Manager of market research and Director of customer channels at Portland General Electric. Currently, he is a consultant and a writer. He adores his young granddaughter Elsie, whose birth inspired his book, Remember Me: Creating and Leaving an Inspiring and Memorable Legacy.
