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26 ways to be generous right now

by Lauren Street

One of the best things about the end of the summer season is the new things ahead. That’s why we want to encourage you to look for new and unique opportunities to continue sharing your time, talents, and resources through the rest of this year.

Try some of these simple ways to make the rest of 2026 your most generous season yet:

1. Set a generosity goal for the rest of the year – Set aside time for yourself, your spouse, or your family to talk about how you want to be generous in the remaining months of 2026. What goals do you have for giving your time, your resources, your words, your skills, and your money? Explore who God is calling you to support using this Giving Strategy™ Causes and passionsopens in a new tab exercise, and then set some goals to start making an impact on those specific causes.
2. Go for a walk and talk – While the warm weather lingers, spend a little more outside time. So, invite a friend, your kids, your spouse, a struggling neighbor, or just someone in need of a little quality time to walk and talk with you. Take the time to get to know them a little better, listen to their words, and offer a prayer of encouragement.
3. Host a neighborhood hangout – Invite the families in your neighborhood over for an outdoor gathering. Meet up in your driveway or cul-de-sac, provide a few snacks, and share in some laid-back fun with the people in your community.
4. Pray for kids who attended Vacation Bible School – Spend time in prayer for the families who attended and the leaders who served them.
5. Follow up from a summer mission trip or service project – Check in with the student pastor at your church to see how students served abroad or at home this summer. Consider seeing if any of those students need a mentor as they process what they experienced and think about next steps.
6. Create goodie bags for teachers to enjoy – Encourage your local teachers by putting together some goodie bags for them with treats, gift cards, and handwritten notes.
7. Offer childcare for a family with two working parents – Help alleviate a potential pain point for families with two working parents by providing free childcare for their kids. Offer a day or two of after-school care on early-release days or volunteer to babysit on a school holiday.
8. Go on a generosity scavenger hunt – In a world where pain, struggle, and heartache are easy to see, make a point to look for the good. Take your kids on a generosity scavenger hunt of sorts, encouraging them to keep their eyes open for ways they can be generous or ways they see others around them being generous.
9. Curate and share an encouraging playlist – Support a friend with a Spotify playlistopens in a new tab of worship songs or music that speaks to their situation. Send it along with a note like, “Listen to this when you’re on the long drive home,” or “Play this when you need a pick-me-up.”
10. Take a digital vacation day – Put down the phone, close the laptop, and give the gift of uninterrupted time to your family and friends. Make it a priority to savor some digital-free moments by staying screen-free and enjoying some quality interactions.
11. Invite someone else on an adventure – Planning a fun activity? Invite someone else to join you. Ask a family or friend who may not otherwise get a time away to join you on a trip or weekend getaway. Or keep it simple by inviting them along for a weekend visit to the zoo.
12. Coordinate a neighborhood cleanup – Gather your neighbors to spruce up your neighborhood. Pick up trash, do a little lawn care, plant bulbs for next spring, and enjoy a day of fellowship and service together.  
13. Partner with others to make a bigger gift – We can do more together, right? That’s true in most areas of our lives, giving included! So, consider making a bigger impact by partnering with othersopens in a new tab to make a bigger gift.
14. Support families who need meals during busy times – For many families, the challenges of everyday life – working and getting kids to extracurricular activities – make meal prep a challenge. Look for ways to surprise a busy family by providing a freezer meal they can heat and eat during a hectic time.
15. Clean out your closet – Take time to look at your clothing items to see what you and your family could offer to those in need in your community. Donate what is in good condition to a local shelter or charity to repurpose the items for someone else.
16. Host a Journey of Generosity in your home – Offer to host a Journey of Generosity.opens in a new tab It’s a great opportunity to facilitate discussion around the transformational topic of biblical generosity.
17. Support local businesses – Make a point to shop local. Whenever you can, opt to support a local business with your dollars, your business, and your good reviews online.
18. Drop off handwritten notes of gratitude to first responders – Show your support of local firefighters, police officers, paramedics, nurses, and other frontline workers and first responders. Write them personalized notes of gratitude, care, and prayers to encourage them in their incredibly important work.
19. Take a charity leader to lunch – Is there a charity you routinely serve in your community or an organization you want to learn more about? Offer to take the leader to lunch to get to know them personally, discover more about their work, and learn ways you can help.
20. Leave flowers on someone’s doorstep – Brighten someone’s day with something beautiful. Make a habit of dropping off some flowers for someone you know might need something to boost their spirit.
21. Grocery shop for a young family – Young parents in the throes of caring for a newborn or in the early childhood stages of parenting have a lot on their plate and little time to fill the dinner plates! Take one thing off their long to-do list by offering to do the grocery shopping for their growing family. 
22. Provide free tutoring – Are you a math pro? A literature lover? A science specialist? Reach out to your network to let them know you are providing free tutoring sessions to help students grow in their knowledge of your preferred subject.
23. Spend individual time with each of your kids – Nothing deepens a relationship with a child like individual quality time. Make space for one-on-one activities with each of your kids. Do something they like to do, ask leading questions, actively listen to what they’re interested in, and find ways to tell them how special you know God made them to be. 
24. Volunteer at a children’s hospital – Show up for those battling illness by reading books, playing games, providing gifts, or spending quality time with patients at your local children’s hospital.
25. Dive into NCF’s database – Sign into your Giving Fundopens in a new tab, and explore the charities in our database. Spend time learning about the ones that speak directly to causes you and your family care about. Then, recommend a grant to the amazing charity (or charities) you learn about!

For more ideas to infuse your year with giving, connect with your local NCF team.