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

Harvard University

Spring
2026

My giving goal is to give away at least 10% of my income. I want to give money in a way that cuts into the way I live, i.e. in a way that forces me to live below my income bracket. I want to be able to balance between giving for relief, societal improvement, civic reform, and for community engagements. I want to focus on the most high-impact charities, as determined by GiveWell.

Anonymous

Harvard University

Spring
2026

I would give more time and effort into advocacy! I plan to study bioengineering and work with global health and health policy which I think advocacy and using biotech solutions to solve disparities is where I find my giving goal to be. In terms of philanthropic donations I think I would work and create a nonprofit focused on advocacy, health research, and technology close to what I believe in like public health, homelessness, and underprivileged communities.

Anonymous

Harvard University

Spring
2026

My giving goal is to find a way to give back to the communities that have raised me and that have given me the opportunities that I have today (and will have in the future). For me, giving meaningfully either means giving money or time. I don’t have a number of time/money that I want to give, but I want to be doing something meaningful each year.

Anonymous

Harvard University

Spring
2026

I forgot what it was

Anonymous

Harvard University

Spring
2026

When I have a steady source of income, I want to give at least 10% of my income to charitable humanitarian/environmental organizations. I plan to work for charitable causes, and in this way I will give my time and energy philanthropically.

Anonymous

Harvard University

Spring
2026

I don’t anticipate making a ton of money post graduation, so my giving goal will be to donate my time–either to voluteer work or advocacy. To quantify this goal, I will aim to volunteer at least 4 hours of time per month to such giving.