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

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I pledge to give 5% of my annual income to begin with and then to increase my annual giving proportionally with increases in my income. I pledge to proportionally increase my giving and be honest about what my abilities to give are over my lifetime. I pledge to pressure those around me to make giving goals and to create a more equitable wealth distribution. I will do my best to give to both charitable causes and to organizations pushing for structural change and challenging the root causes of inequality.

Anonymous

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I pledge to give 5% of my annual income after I’m financially stable. I hope to direct my giving to local non-profits with a focus on education and health. Aside from this, I pledge my time to volunteer for these same organizations.

Anonymous

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I pledge to donate 10% of my income once I am financially stable, and volunteer on a weekly basis for an organization that I believe will contribute to the well being of others. I hope to invest in causes that I find to be compelling and in line with my personal values, including criminal justice (which I have the opportunity to participate in the grant making process for this class), human rights and equality in race, gender, income, sexual orientation, and ability, environmental issues, probably narrowing my focus to one area with time. Though I haven’t decided on a career yet, I would be interested in engaging with philanthropy and civil society through my professional life as well.

Anonymous

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I pledge to annually give 5% of my annual income to nonprofits that focus on marginalized communities. Through this class I have learned the importance of these organizations to small communities who sometimes go forgotten.

Anonymous

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I plan to initiate my philanthropy with service in the immediate years after I graduate. I hope to serve in a country other than US, and to do so for at least 1-2 years. I hope that, during that experience, I meet people and familiarize myself with organizations that do good work and would benefit from my monetary support when I start working. As an income-earning adult, I plan to donate to local and grassroots organizations that serve forgotten populations and that need support while they are still in their very early stages of being nonprofits.

Anonymous

Stanford University

Spring
2020

I plan to commit 5% of my annual income to philanthropy once I begin earning a full-time salary. Causes I care to donate my service and money to include health policy groups, homelessness-focused community-based groups, free clinics, and women’s health advocacy groups, such as Planned Parenthood. It is not important to me whether I am donating to bigger foundations or smaller, local ones. But, I will choose causes that I personally identify with, as opposed to ones that may have a larger social effect (though these two categories of donation may overlap). I also will be okay with either donating my money to one foundation or multiple in any given year.