It’s amazing how the Lord can use a small gesture of generosity to produce a big impact. This summer, we encourage you to take advantage of extra time with friends and family to see every day as an opportunity for giving.
Here are 23 simple ways to make the summer of 2023 your most generous yet:
1. Go on a family giving adventure: Set up a time with an organization and surprise your kids or grandkids with an opportunity to serve others. Or, choose a nonprofit together by signing into your Giving Fund and searching charities by cause.
2. Start a generosity book club: Call some friends or ask your small group if they’d like to join you in discussing a generosity classic or a new book that’s inspired you. For ideas of books that cover a variety of generosity topics, check out our Generosity Library.
3. Leave a positive review: If you enjoyed the book, sermon, podcast episode, or job completed, leave a positive review online. You may be surprised how often people receive negative comments, and a few words of encouragement can touch their heart and expand their influence.
4. Take time to tutor: Remote learning has left a lasting gap for many children. To catch up this summer, they need individual instruction, but often their family can’t afford it. Contact your local school or children’s charity to see if you can lend your skills to tutor a student near you.
5. Help a teen (or someone else) get a job: Many teens are applying for summer jobs. Help them create a resume, practice interviewing, or find an outfit – or give them a ride to their interview. Boosting their confidence could be life-changing.
6. Call instead of text: Look at your texts or emails and make it a point to call someone you haven’t actually spoken to in a while. If you have to leave a voicemail, share your favorite verse or a silly song. It’s a simple way to spread joy and a nice alternative to digital connection.
7. Explore your giving passions: Do you know who your family supports and why? Before the year-end appeals come flooding in, use the summer to explore who God is calling you to support using this Giving Strategy Causes exercise.
8. Give someone a ride: There are probably many people in your church or in your community who may not be able to afford transportation to their medical appointments or to complete errands. A free ride can be a lifesaver for them.
9. Babysit for friends: Many couples and single parents with smaller children desperately need some down time. With most people living away from extended family these days, free babysitting can feel like an extravagant gift to a weary parent.
10. Share your bounty: If your garden is overflowing or it’s time to empty your fridge before vacation, donate to a community fridge near you. Find one near you at freedge.org, or learn how to start one in your neighborhood.
11. Research your family giving story: Where do your beliefs about money and giving originate? And how are they being passed on to the next generation? Use this helpful worksheet to learn how to tell your giving story and why doing so is so important.
12. Spread good news: Notice someone in your neighborhood doing something generous or uplifting? Does your church or favorite charity have some good news to report? Take a minute to send a story tip about them to a local reporter. We could all use more good news these days!
13. Encourage your encouragers: Tell your spouse, parent, grandparent, or someone else who has influenced you, how they have blessed you. Start with: “The greatest gift you ever gave me was _____,” or “I want you to know how much it meant to me when you _____.”
14. Support the art(ist)s: Tell a worship leader, a Christian writer or speaker, a painter, or other artist you admire how much their work has encouraged you. Their importance is often overlooked in the body of Christ.
15. Celebrate Christmas in July: As you vacation this summer, dream big about how God wants you to give in the future. Now is a great time to start planning your year-end giving. Before the rush of autumn kicks in, contact your local NCF team to discuss opportunities to maximize your resources with non-cash giving.
16. Make someone’s day with a playlist: Support a friend with a Spotify playlist of worship songs or music that speaks to their situation. Send it along with a note like, “Listen to this when you’re lonely on the long drive home,” or “Play this to pump you up before your surgery.”
17. Talk to strangers: Look for the opportunity to encourage at least two people God puts in your path today. Slow down and take a moment to really listen and connect. You never know how a small word of kindness could make a difference.
18. Take a vacation day from digital: Put down your phone, close the laptop, and give the gift of uninterrupted time to your family and friends. Make it a priority to savor the moments together. Encourage everyone to look at life through each other’s eyes, rather than through the lens of the phone camera.
19. Keep a generosity journal: Take some time out of your vacation to reflect on your giving journey. You can download our 10 days of biblical generosity devotional to explore Scriptures about giving and then record your thoughts, prayers, and questions. Your journal will come in handy as you consider your Giving Strategy.
20. Pay off someone’s medical debt: Every day one in two Americans chooses between paying medical bills and covering basic needs. Ask your church’s benevolence pastor if there’s someone you can help, or explore how your church can partner with a local hospital or a charity like RIP Medical Debt to pay off debt for pennies on the dollar.
21. Reveal your secret recipe: Create an instant bond with a child or neighbor when you share the recipe of your favorite dish. Bonus points if you take time to make it together with them and then send them home with all the ingredients to make it on their own.
22. Empower someone to make their first grant: Share the joy of generosity by opening a Giving Fund for a family member, friend, or employee. Tell them how you use your fund, choose charities, and budget for giving. Then, plan a celebration for when they make their first grant.
23. Cultivate joy with a thankfulness jar: Take time to savor the blessings that come your way each day by jotting them down on a scrap of paper and placing them in a special jar. Make sure the whole family participates. Then, open the jar on Labor Day to look back on the highlights of your generous summer.
For more ideas to infuse your summer with giving, connect with your local NCF team.
Sheila Dolinger, co-founder of truthinadvertising.net, is an Atlanta-based writer, video producer, and content consultant who thrives on telling stories that promote hope and inspire compassion. As a 30-year advertising industry veteran, she has learned to lean into what she loves: partnering with people who make the world a better place, traveling the earth with a sense of awe, and writing from grand hotel lobbies.