My giving goal is to find a manageable amount that I am able to donate every year once I am making money. I plan to go to medical school, so that will not be for awhile. In the interim, I plan on volunteering and giving back through time as I may not have the financial means for awhile.
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
Search for Giving Goals
Over 4,200+ course participants have written giving goals in a demonstration of leadership!
Anonymous
- Spring
- 2025
I hope to strengthen my relationship with whichever organization we end up donating to during my time at WashU. I also hope to donate 10% of my income in my first 10 years post grad and 20% thereafter. Additionally, I will donate my time, volunteering at organizations I am passionate about/
Anonymous
- Spring
- 2025
I plan on using what I learn in this class to develop a regular pattern of giving. The process of talking to and finding a donor trains me on what to look for when finding my own nonprofits to support. My goal is to start the first year of giving by regularly donating to two nonprofits and volunteering at one. Each year, I hope to either add another nonprofit I donate to or strengthen my commitment at one of my current ones. The causes I support are related to the environment, food insecurity, and education, but these will very possibly expand or change in the years to come.
Anonymous
- Spring
- 2025
As a working adult, I hope to give as much as I can within my means, both financially and in time volunteering in my community. Specifically, I want to focus my giving not on distant charities but on my direct community, often giving in non-traditional ways or supporting crowdsourcing, collective funds, emergency responses, reparations, and long-term projects as well as local organizations. In doing so, I don’t primarily want to have closer access to the impact of my giving but to be placed into closer contact with my community, whether that be a work, residential, or social community. I think philanthropy can be a tool for greater community and collectivization of resources and want to contribute to that end.