I hope that I remain committed to coalition work, alternative pedagogies, restoration work, and the humanization of people. My goal is to dedicate my life to giving, not a numerical sum, and believe in reciprocity.
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 info@thephilanthropylab.org
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
Search for Giving Goals
Over 4,200+ course participants have written giving goals in a demonstration of leadership!
Anonymous
- 2025
- Fall
I plan to give 5% of my income for the first 1-5 years of my career, then as I progress in my career allocate around 10% by the end of the 10th year into my career then ultimately by the end of my career I hope to be donating at least 20% of my income. I think that this will motivate me to manage my finances well to live comfortably while making an impact.
Anonymous
- 2025
- Fall
There are a lot of different things that I want to help change in the world. homelessness is a very unfortunate problem that I see often because I’m from a big city. Poverty in general is an unfortunate problem that affects a person’s life in so many different ways. Human trafficking is common and tragic and it’s important to help those people. Systemic oppression and discrimination against various marginalized groups is something I care about. The homelessness problem is caused by many different other problems and addressing the route of what’s causing someone to be homeless is the best way to help them long-term. Things like poverty and systemic impression are most likely to be solved long-term by political policy change. Currently I don’t do as much as I would like as school has kept me incredibly busy but I have been volunteering and I am going to try to do more. The time period for actions such as volunteering is short. I want to do more volunteering as soon as I can. Long-term, my efforts will begin when I begin my career
Anonymous
- 2025
- Fall
I want to support underprivileged students who do not have opportunities to access higher education. My goal is to save and give 5% of my yearly income to organizations that support educational access. In the future, when I am able, I also hope to give back to American University, as I am deeply grateful for the privilege of being part of this school and for the scholarshipI have received.
Anonymous
- 2025
- Fall
I pledge to participate in some form of service at least twice a year. After paying off my student loans and settling into a somewhat steady career, I pledge to donate around 4% of my income annually to causes that matter to me, such as my alma mater, educational equity, student groups, and children’s welfare.