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!

Sumedha Jani

Emory University

Spring
2021

Outside of donating 5-10% of my household income to charitable organizations, I pledge to spend at least 5 hours a month actively volunteering for a community organization after graduation.

Seetha Natesan

Vanderbilt University

Spring
2021

I aim to donate 5-10% of my annual income while also using my time as a resource and volunteering 10-15 hours a month once I am out there in the working world!

Sam Angileri

Vanderbilt University

Spring
2021

I aim to give back 5% of my income to organizations improving education and will continue to volunteer in an educational setting to preserve my passion and dream for a more compassionate, empowering, and equal world.

Reagan King

Texas A&M University

Spring
2021

I pledge to give 10% of my yearly earnings to my church and whatever else I can manage to other organizations for the first 5 years after graduation. Then that 10% plus an additional 5-10% of my salary to organizations that I am passionate about after that.

Megan Shipman

Texas A&M University

Spring
2021

When I launch into fulltime work in the fall of 2021, I pledge to allocate at least 5% of my annual income to philanthropy; I pledge to spend at least 2 hours every year evaluating my philanthropic giving – both the amount of my giving and the nonprofits I give to. I also pledge to give of my time to serving nonprofits in whatever local community I am a part of, becoming proximate to the work that is being done to combat systemic issues around me.

Maggie McVeigh

Vanderbilt University

Spring
2021

My Giving Goal is to give away 10% of my income each year. When donating, I hope to concentrate on two or three organizations over a long period of time to maximize my impact. There are two main areas that I want to focus on specifically. First, I want to focus on working to reduce and eliminate homelessness. Second, I want to focus on supporting neurodiversity advocacy, especially in relation to neurodiverse women. If I decide to change these areas over time, that is okay as long as I focus on reducing issues that severely impact people’s lives and well being.