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The habit of giving seems truly ingrained in the wealthy, which got me wondering: How is this philanthropic propensity established? Surely, philanthropists are made, not born. When and by whom is this inclination to give installed in the wealthy (and those likely to become so)?

Kianga M. Ellis is one person who recognizes that philanthropists don’t grow on trees, and she has decided to take active steps to encourage them. Ellis, a sometime corporate lawyer and foundation program officer, is the brains, and most of the muscle, behind Avail Art LLC, which she described to me as, “a company that develops programs to cultivate arts philanthropy among society’s future leaders.”

Avail Art was established last year, and this summer it is conducting its first “Summer Art Circle,” whose purpose is to create a new, streamlined way for cultural organizations to identify and court future supporters. The group first met on June 9 and will run a series of activities until mid-August.

What Ellis has done is to match six of New York’s top law firms with 10 of its major arts organizations, specifically their young supporters’ and patrons’ groups.

She has set up a program of arts activities in which nearly 400 of the law firms’ summer associates are involved. (For those who unfamiliar with the term, Ellis explained that “summer associates are those entering their final year of law school in the fall. They go through a very rigorous interview process to be invited to join the firm for the summer; most firms will eventually hire all of them. So it’s an opportunity for the summer associates to get to know the law firm that they will probably join after graduating.”)

To entice these future graduates to join them, the firms traditionally lay on a summer-long program of entertainment. “What’s different about what we’re adding to the equation,” says Ellis, “is helping people build their relationship with art. We’re helping young professionals navigate the art world and helping to demystify the whole thing and making some of the institutions and some of the ways that you can get involved with them a lot more accessible.”

Already the Circle members have attended a special preview at Phillips de Pury & Co. where they enjoyed a demonstration and tasting hosted by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson; visited the Affordable Art Fair; been treated to special events at a string of galleries, artists’ studios and museums; and attended a seminar on the arts and the law, hosted by Sotheby’s, with speakers including the general counsels of MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum and the New York Public Library.

I asked Ellis why she’d got herself into this. “The spark was my passion for artists,” she told me, “and my respect for the important work that they do for all us, both individually and as a society. My feeling was that there’s probably not many more important things that I could do with my life than help artists tell their story.”