My giving goals after taking this course are to live each day with an increased awareness of the needs around me and my ability to impact those needs. I will increase my financial giving as my income increases, and I will give an increasing amount of my time to volunteer and work for not-for-profit organizations. I will provide testimony to others to encourage them to be aware of their ability to impact the world through their personal philanthropic efforts. I will encourage other organizations to create non-college Philanthropy Lab type programs so that others can learn the valuable lessons and systems resulting from the support and resources of The Philanthropy Labs.

In my “Letter to a Future Me,” I promised that as I move through my career, I won’t forget the people who never even get the chance to step onto the starting line. Growing up on a farm in South Jersey and then spending seven years in New York City made something very clear to me: talent exists everywhere, but opportunity is uneven. My pledge: I will commit at least 5% of my annual post-MBA income to nonprofits focused on breaking cycles of urban poverty, specifically organizations that provide job training, mentorship, and economic mobility for young people in cities like NYC. I plan to focus my giving on programs that help someone get their first real job, build financial stability, or access the education they were never set up to receive. I am also committed to volunteering each year with a NYC-based youth empowerment or workforce development program, with the goal of serving on the board of a community-focused nonprofit by age 35. Long term, my goal is to fund a small annual grant for a student from a low-income city neighborhood who wants to pursue a technical or business education, because that path changed my life, and I want to pass that forward.

My giving goal is to develop more philanthropic habits to scale my annual impact, both monetarily and qualitatively. I’d love to get to place where I am donating a significant amount of money across numerous organizations every year. I’d also like to engage in philanthropic behavior that is impactful, such as mentoring youth or volunteering my time. I’m excited to continue my philanthropic journey.

My philanthropic goal is to support schools and organizations that reflect my core values and have played a meaningful role in shaping who I am. I want to commit my time and resources on a yearly basis to support the principals I stand for and create opportunities for others to share in the same positive experiences I have.