What is a Giving Goal?

Often, the idealism of youth is lost as one achieves success and acquires material possessions later in life. What was originally considered to be “enough” or even “beyond my wildest dreams” can become just another milestone on one’s quest…

Capturing your current vision of how you wish to give of yourself and your resources in the future could help you plan to give more meaningfully. Revisiting this vision in ten or twenty years could provide a reminder of the ideals of your youth that may shape or re-shape your future actions.

If you have already posted your Giving Goal and would like to update your email for future reminders, please contact info@thephilanthropylab.org

Step 1

Have a healthy and vigorous dialogue in your class on the general idea of having a personal Giving Goal as a college student.

Step 2

Set a Giving Goal concerning your future giving plans.

Step 3

Share a brief statement of your Giving Goals on The Philanthropy Lab’s portal as a way to inspire others to do the same. You may post anonymously to the public if you wish.

Step 4

Share your permanent email address and phone number with The Philanthropy Lab, for the sole purpose of the reminder mechanism, so we can remind you of your goal in 5 year increments for 20 years into the future.

Alumni Reflections

"What a sweet reminder of this pledge! I've definitely given and volunteered in the last 6yrs. It's been a joy to continue the journey of generosity since graduating from undergrad. I'm back in grad school and I am looking forward to finishing my MSW. There will be new ways I give back to the community!"

"Thank you so much for this valuable reminder of my Giving Pledge. I'm proud to say I've dedicated several hours of volunteer time & services to Arts Education non-profits and will continue to live out this pledge"

“Thanks for reaching out––I'm actively still volunteering at two non-profits now in NYC (one free food service called "Wellfare" and a neighborhood homeless shelter)”

"Thank you for your email! The Philanthropy Lab was a life changing experience for me. I ended up joining the board of Malawi Children's Village to run the women empowerment program, which is what the Philanthropy Lab grant was for. In August, I am going to Malawi to see the project in action!"

"I was so happy to see this email pop into my inbox, it feels like a lifetime ago I was in this course. I appreciate all that I learned in this class and have taken its messages with me through these past 5 years. I do plan on maintaining the promise I made in this class"

"Thanks for this reminder. I actually still have a handwritten version of that note on the magnet board in my home office."

Search for Giving Goals

Over 4,200+ course participants have written giving goals in a demonstration of leadership!

Ashley Paredes

University of Texas - Ugrad

Spring 2026

I hope to continue to dedicate my time to philanthropy in my future. No matter how much money I may have, it will be important to me to dedicate my time and money to helping others. I plan to volunteer at least once a month (and hopefully more!) in my future to help different causes that have always been important to me such as feeding the homeless and the environment. Wherever I am down the road, I will keep working to help others and solve these issues I am passionate about.

Anonymous

Baylor University

Spring 2026

I plan to give 10% of my income to non-profits in my area over the course of my entire career. While I hope to give more than 10%, I will never allow myself to give less. One thing of note is that I would like my contributions to go to the community I am in. I find it really gratifying to invest in my community rather than address needs abroad, where I am less likely to see a return.

Loulie Reyes

Harvard University

Spring 2026

give 10 percent of my income for the rest of my life!

Kevin Buemi

Harvard University

Spring 2026

I would like to give a reasonable portion of my income to a philanthropic cause (Maybe 15-20%) and work closely with or be associated with a specific foundation.

Anonymous

Harvard University

Spring 2026

Once I am financially independent and beyond stable, I hope to put at least $10,000 over the course of my mid adulthood to women’s health and education.

Gavin Nguyen

University of Texas - MBA

Spring 2026

3% of my annual take-home income.