Susan Crites Price with Julianna M. Price (Majestic Oak Press, 2015)
Review by Sara Finkelestein:
If you are a parent, grandparent, teacher or stakeholder in cultivating positive and moral values and traits in children from babyhood to teenaged years, Generous Genes is a great resource for this pursuit.
Susan Crites Price wrote this book with the help and input from her Millennial daughter, Julianna M. Price. Together, they laid out this book in a logical, easy-to-understand progression, which begins with “The Power of Parents” as influencers on their children and continues with how this can be leveraged into raising generous kids. A key component of this book is the way it incorporates the digital world as another tool for raising philanthropic kids. The authors recognize that this can be intimidating to parents or grandparents who aren’t the digital natives that today’s generation is, by seeding the book with applicable and research-based tips as a guide. Moreover, this book doesn’t limit philanthropy to donating money, but suggests a wide range of avenues for cultivating and demonstrating generosity, such as community service, social entrepreneurship, digital activism, crowd-funding and more.
For one example, as 21/64 and The Johnson Center for Philanthropy detail in their 2013 #NextGenDonors Report, Price and Price also highlight the importance of giving Time, Talent, Treasures, and Ties. The next generation want their philanthropy to go beyond check writing and to be hands-on, collaborative and peer-oriented. Price and Price demonstrate how parents can use the Internet as the nexus point of Time, Talent, Treasures, and Ties. It can connect youth with causes and volunteer opportunities, act as a gathering place for a diverse, but like-mined peer community, operate as a fundraising platform and serve as a medium to disseminate these positive values to the world.
If you or someone you know is trying to navigate where to start and how to successfully raise philanthropic children in a digital world, be sure to check out Generous Genes. It has a plethora of creative, actionable ideas and additional suggested resources for readers to pursue.