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!

Eliza Steffen

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I plan to spend a large portion of my career, if not all of it, in the public sector, working on democratic access, civic engagement, criminal justice reform, and other issue areas, and to donate at least 5% of my income once I am financially stable. Also, I hope to volunteer in local organizing groups and increasing education access, especially providing college advising for FLI students. If I “sell out” and work in a corporate role, I will increase the percentage of funds that I donate, with an even greater increase if that job would be time consuming enough to make previous volunteer commitments not feasible. Also, I think that I would prefer not to have children unless I know I would be able to continue my public service commitments even with the additional time and cost of raising kids.

Diana Jordan

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I want to give back in as many ways as possible: donating, volunteering, or in my future career in law school/ or as a professor. I want my actions to one day benefit those who come from similar backgrounds as my own low-income and diverse, neighborhood.

Devon Sullivan

Emory University

Spring
2020

Twice a year, I plan to reflect on the causes that mean the most to me. To one cause, I will donate my time, and to the other I will contribute a proportion of my monthly income. I plan to repeat this process every six months to keep philanthropy an active element of my life.

Devon Meyer

Emory University

Spring
2020

I want to include philanthropy in my life after graduation. I hope to give both time and money to organizations in my community to help causes like education and the environment. I hope to give monthly.

David Song

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I plan to donate everything to a foundation including my time and effort after I retire. There’s just too many important problems out there to ignore. We live in such special times that we can actually go out and solve many of them with technology and make a huge impact.

David P.

Columbia University

Spring
2020

I pledge to donate anonymously to forego glory and recognition. I swear to live a modest lifestyle so that I can give more. I will never discriminate when gifting, and I promise to work with the government and the people I’m trying to serve because they must be part of their liberation. I will always research organizations before gifting to measure their impact, success, and multiplier effect. I pledge to give at least 10% of my annual income to causes such as education, quality of life, elder care, and solving the world’s biggest problems. I will never expect the benefactor’s gratitude. I understand that there is no right way to give, so I will never ask others about their donations. I pledge to only donate to organizations that have replicable solutions and are impact-focused for the long term. Finally, I swear the majority of my Estate Plan to a non-profit.