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!

Anonymous

Columbia University

Spring
2022

I pledge to give 2% of my annual income to philanthropy until my household income reaches over $150k and will give 5% of my annual income. In addition, I pledge to spend at least 10 hours a month volunteering and not only give through monetary funds.

Anonymous

Columbia University

Spring
2022

I pledge to give 1% of my income per year to philanthropic causes and will look to increase that amount as I develop in my career. I will also look to maintain my focus on developing education for underprivileged communities in South Africa.

Anonymous

Columbia University

Spring
2022

I pledge to give 1% of my income once I begin working full time. I will then aim to increase that annually by one basis point up to 10%, once I have paid off what I owe for the cost of my education.

Anonymous

Columbia University

Spring
2022

I pledge to donate between $5,000 and $10,000 of my income to charity, dependent on my level of income, for the first 5 years of my career. I will re-evaluate my pledge after 5 years.

Anonymous

Columbia University

Spring
2022

I pledge to donate 1% of my income in the first five years of my career and following that donate 2% if my income is above 115k a year.

Anonymous

Columbia University

Spring
2022

I pledge to budget out at least a portion of my income for giving each year. Preceding this giving, I pledge to continue learning about the most effective giving practices and to work towards decreasing my tendency towards materialism so that I can give that money to people who need it while also relying less on capitalist systems that perpetuate the oppression that philanthropy fights in the first place.