A Time to Give

Published: December 2, 2025

The final quarter of the year marks a season of generosity, the highlight of which is Giving Tuesday on December 2nd, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. According to BetterWorld, nearly a third of annual charitable contributions occur in December, with Giving Tuesday generating billions of dollars in donations.

For many families, thoughtful, long-term planning can transform giving into something even more meaningful, creating deeper impact, shared purpose, and a legacy of involvement across generations.

Earlier this year, we hosted a conversation on Family Philanthropy, where we explored how families can approach giving with intention and unity.

A few guiding principles that can help families build a strong foundation for impactful giving include:

Establishing Shared Values: Focus initially on your reasons for giving and the type of issues you and your family want to address. This will help you coalesce around a shared family vision that can serve as a platform for identifying causes your family wishes to support. With a clear mission in place, you can then identify organizations that reflect your family’s goals and priorities.

Encouraging Multigenerational Perspectives: Even when parents make the final decisions, inviting family input creates a more collaborative and thoughtful giving process. Considering different perspectives not only strengthens the outcome, it also affirms that each voice has value.

Empowering Next-Generation Engagement and Responsibility: Ask each family member to take ownership of a philanthropic activity or task, such as researching charities, deciding where to allocate a small portion of your designated charitable funds, or, depending on their ages, serving on a board. You could also offer to participate with younger family members in a volunteer activity of their choosing. Some families formalize their efforts through rotating leadership roles of their philanthropic organization, such as CEO, CFO, and COO. These approaches build financial literacy, responsibility, and a deeper appreciation of the complexities of philanthropy.

If giving is central to your family’s values and culture, it is never too early to begin bringing the entire family into the conversation. We, at Klingenstein Fields Advisors, can help guide that process.

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Important Disclosures

This material is provided for informational or educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, accounting, tax or legal advice. Always consult a financial, tax and/or legal professional regarding your specific situation. This communication is not intended as a recommendation or as investment advice of any kind. It is not provided in a fiduciary capacity and may not be relied upon for or in connection with the making of investment decisions. Nothing herein constitutes or should be construed as an offering of advisory services or an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities or a recommendation to invest in any specific investment strategy. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. The views expressed herein are as of a particular point in time and are subject to change without notice. The information and opinions presented herein are general in nature and have been obtained from, or are based on, sources believed by Klingenstein Fields Advisors (“KF Advisors’) to be reliable, but KF Advisors makes no representation as to their accuracy or completeness. Although the information provided is carefully reviewed, KF Advisors cannot be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information provided. KF Advisors represents two investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission: Klingenstein, Fields & Co., L.P. ® and KF Group, LP. If you are a KF Advisors client, please remember that it remains your responsibility to advise KF Advisors, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services.