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!

Emily Petersen

University of Washington

Winter
2020

I pledge to give my time in the form of volunteer work with groups whose missions I support. I pledge to give at least 8 hours of every month to these organizations. When I am done with all of my schooling, I will give 5% of my earnings to organizations that are working to dismantle unjust systems in hopes of creating effective and permanent change. I will continue giving my time as well.

Elise Eschrich

University of Washington

Winter
2020

I pledge to always involve myself in causes that are associated with social justice. I will do this by spending up to 100 hours per year volunteering in my community.

Drew Zbihley

Northwestern University - Undergraduate

Winter
2020

I pledge to give 5% of my salary annually to a cause in which I am passionate unless my salary exceeds $250,000 in which case I will increase my contribution to 10%. Additionally, I pledge to volunteer a day of my time once a month for at least my first 5 years after graduation.

David Eng

Northwestern University - Undergraduate

Winter
2020

I pledge to give my time and money to nonprofits that I deeply care about and have reason to care about. Philanthropy is important especially as we are privileged to have a great education. Therefore, I will make an effort to support nonprofits and their causes in the future.

Danielle Durbin

University of Washington

Winter
2020

My giving goal is to consistently donate my time every week to local organizations. As I become more financially stable, I pledge to regularly donate a portion of my income every month to international aid organizations. I was raised to help people regardless of their wealth and grew up volunteering. I hope to someday have a family of my own, and I intend to instill these values and the importance of giving to my kids.

Daniel Konstantino

Northwestern University - Undergraduate

Winter
2020

I plan to start analyzing my impact with respect to a counterfactual. This would be both as a metric for my finances and simply the way I split my resources and time. The nonprofit needs more quantitative reasoning injected and intertwined with the philanthropic spirit.