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 [email protected]

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!

Maddie Yi

University of California, Irvine

Spring
2022

I would like to give 10% of my income to charitable causes after graduating and securing a full time job. Eventually, I would like to increase this amount to 15% and if possible, continue to increase as I advance in my career throughout my life.

Maddie Roth

University of Texas

Spring
2022

My giving goal is to feel that I am actively making the world a better place. Whether this is through my work, volunteerism, or an annual donation of 5-10% depending on my financial situation, I want to know that I am affecting positive change.

Luiza Gruntmane

University of Texas

Spring
2022

I pledge to give at least 1% of my yearly income to philanthropic causes. I will do my best to supplement this with volunteer work, more donations, and taking part in fundraising for charitable causes.

liz mcguffee

University of Pennsylvania

Spring
2022

Over the next five years my husband and I (nontraditional aged student) will create a DAF with a strong, impact-focus personal statement of philanthropy informed by the UPenn NPL class, and I will continue to give to nonprofits which provide me no personal benefit. I also pledge to support organizations addressing food insecurtity on a monthly basis.

Linnea Hjelm

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Spring
2022

After I finish my graduate program and start in my professional career, I pledge to donate 7% of my post-tax salary to causes that represent my values and priorities. 5% of those funds will be donated to local organizations where I live and the other 2% of those funds will support either national or international scale causes.I pledge to donate the 5% to local organizations who support survivors of sexual and domestic violence who provide life-saving services and work to educate the public (particularly young people) about how to prevent these issues. I also would like to support organizations that provide underserved young people with tutoring and opportunities to explore higher education, particularly low-income and racially minoritized youth. In addition to these important causes, I plan to support local organizations working with formerly incarcerated people and reintegration. While the 5% of funds may support different orgs with different amounts, I hope to financially support orgs that enrich the local community and the people within it.Of the 2% to national or international causes, I pledge to support large-scale organizations that provide inclusive, accessible, and choice-affirming reproductive health care (e.g., Planned Parenthood) and those that work to address and educate about the climate crisis (e.g., Sierra Club, to whom I currently donate).Further, I pledge to donate 24 hours a year minimum (2 hours a month) of my time to serving my local community, whether that be serving food in a shelter, cleaning up local parks, or tutoring high school students. I pledge to invite others to join me in this effort, whether that be my partner, neighbors, children, or extended family.

Lina Fowler

Stanford University

Spring
2022

I pledge to give my time and resources to advancing environmental justice-related organizations, and regularly give a percentage of my salary to causes that show real impact where it is needed.