On my thirtieth birthday, my partner Rand was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  He passed away just four months later, on Independence Day of 2008.  Nothing in my life had prepared me to deal with such a loss. In the four years since his death, I... continue reading

Themes: Palette Fund, LGBTQ Youth, Health and Wellness, Patient Navigation, Rand Skolnick, Private Foundation, Grantmaking Style, Philanthropy and Loss

In my twenties I inherited enough money to live without a paid job. I had grown up in Denver in a culturally Jewish family that emphasized Tikkun Olam, the value of healing the world through economic and social justice. I took these values to heart and... continue reading

Themes: Leadership, Women Donors, Be Present, Activating All Your Resources, Social Impact Investing, Tikkun Olam

Giving has become absurdly easy for me. I started giving when I was working part-time as a student: I'd give $30 any time I earned $300; then $50 when I'd earn $500. Now that I'm working full-time, every two weeks I glance at my paycheck and give... continue reading

Themes: Teacher, Russian Immigrant, Give What We Can, Poverty, International Giving, Malaria

The world is out of balance.  We need to support the divine feminine parts of life that are much more loving and peaceful.  When it comes to giving, that means breaking through the isolation and barriers that often exist between and among donors and... continue reading

Themes: Women and Girls, Ms. Foundation for Women, Women Moving Millions, Funding Exchange, Women Donor Network, Giving Plan, Feminism through Philanthropy, Finding Community through Giving

When we started Ben and Jerry's in 1978 we had no business experience and no money, so we sure weren't thinking about philanthropy. We were worried about making the business successful. We had both failed at other things we had tried: Ben at being a potter... continue reading

Themes: social entreprenuer, for benefit business, vermont workers center, money in politics, corporate giving, ben and jerry's ice cream, employee run giving, occupy philanthropy

My wife Judy and I don't aim to give a specific percentage of our income--we simply give each year as we feel led. Only when I prepare our tax return do we see what the total represents. I firmly believe that proportionate giving is what we are supposed to be... continue reading

Themes: giving motivated by faith, philanthropy as a family activity, Faith and Money Network

The first question people usually ask when they find out I gave away a three million dollar trust fund at the age of 25 is: do you regret it? Since this was one of the most joyous decisions of my life-I've never felt any regret-it's an easy question to... continue reading

Themes: Chahara Foundation, inheritor, transgender funding, women and girls, foundation, young donors, resource generation

There was nothing about my childhood to suggest I would become a radical economist and entrepreneur, giving away most of my money to finance worker cooperatives in Argentina, Nicaragua and the U.S. As a kid growing up in generic suburbs of Rochester, NY, I... continue reading

Themes: worker co-ops, inheritor, Argentina, finance, Chicago, Bold Investor, economic democracy, republic windows and doors workers

The half-million dollar inheritance we gave away in the mid 1980's turned out to be a shockingly good investment: it has helped to unleash over $200 billion in charitable giving.  How's that for leverage!  Of course it was more than... continue reading

Themes: donor organizing, inheritors, bolder giving, playback theater, more than money

When I was twenty-five, I inherited a lot of money.  I'm not sure exactly how much, but I know it would be worth millions today.  I wasn't given any direction in how to use it.  I was literally handed an envelope filled with stock... continue reading

Themes: Minnesota, women as donors, inheritor, talking about money, LGBT philanthropy

I focus my giving on organizations and efforts that increase access.  This means opening pathways to positions of power for people from communities that are traditionally excluded.  As a gay, black man who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia during the... continue reading

Themes: Liberty Hill Foundation, The Blackhouse Foundation, Creating access, Los Angeles, Brown University, Benefits of Philanthropy, Challenging Yourself Philanthropy, Board Invovlement

My wealth was serendipitous from the beginning. In 1912, my father began delivering packages at age 12 for a small start-up company that became the United Parcel Service.  He stayed with UPS most of his life, and when he died in 1964, left $250,000 to my... continue reading

Themes: Southern Partners Fund, family philanthropy, farm workers, Atlanta, inheritor

I grew up in Ogdensburg New York, in a business-oriented family, where our business was one of the main employers in the small town.   My father was an executive at the Newell Company and my mother a home maker. After my father died at 48, my mother... continue reading

Themes: British Columbia, Renewal Partners, Endswell Foundation, Impact Investing, Play Big, Impact, Money Manners, Whole Portfolio Activation

In 1982, I was 25 years old, living in NYC, doing international banking in the Asia Pacific region for Chase Manhattan.  I didn't love banking - nor was I particularly good at it.  One day a friend invited me to something called "The Ending... continue reading

Themes: International Giving, The Hunger Project, Connecting with a Cause, Engaging Donors on Deep Personal Level, Missionizing Fundraising

I was just 14 years old when I had my first success as a community organizer.  Angry about major proposed cuts to public education in state, I co-founded a student organizing effort to "save the Oregon school system."  I was thrilled as we grew from... continue reading

Themes: Next Generation, Family Foundation, LGBTQ Philanthropy, Bolder Giving, Giving Strategy

Over the past three years, I've completely transformed myself as a giver.  Previously, I was the uninspired yet loyal trustee of our family foundation.  Although our grant-making was generous and thoughtful, the process seemed perfunctory, not... continue reading

Themes: Healthcare, Haiti, Africa, Women, Children, Social Entreprenuer, Family Foundation

I believe that a happy life is a purposeful and meaningful one, one filled with connection and service to others.  Ten years ago, after being laid-off as a technology lawyer in San Francisco, I wrote a mission for my life: to help people learn and... continue reading

Themes: Community Foundations, Values into Action, Quaker, Oregon

I am an action person.  Lots of people are upset about the state of the world but don't do anything about it.  My mother and I were never like that; we are doers. My mother spent her life giving to others, a virtue she passed on to ... continue reading

Themes: Mama Hope, Africa, Connected Development, Starting a NGO and Uniqueness Factor, Young Inheritor

Deciding to give it all was easy.   I was an early partner in RSVP, the first tour company to give gay and lesbian people a spectacular and harassment-free vacation. After 16 years in the business I sold my share to one of the partners.  The... continue reading

Themes: LGBTQ Philanthropy, giving to the global community, making values visible, developing giving strategies

During the years I earned as much as $50,000-$100,000 a year, I gave 25-50% of my annual income. One year I earned a modest $16,000, a drop due to health issues - yet I still gave the same percentage of my income. My giving has now settled at 10-25% though I... continue reading

Themes: Communities of color, rights of day laborers, women donors

My goal is to bring safe drinking water to 200 million people by the year 2022.  So far I've volunteered ten years of my full-time energy and given $7 million (half my wealth) towards that goal- -and at age 73, I'm having the most interesting and ... continue reading

Themes: Putting yourself on the line for a cause; unique online methods for vetting and monitoring large numbers of projects; using your wealth fully

At age 33, I'm at last coming into my own about my wealth.  I've made mistakes.  I've learned a lot.  I'm finally clear that, for me, using my resources to make change is about collective action. I grew up wealthy in New York City. ... continue reading

Themes: Engaging young adults as donors, activists and organizers; ways to prepare if you're expecting a future inheritance

I grew up in a family that passed on values and faith, and my adult life has been guided by those roots. Early on we learned that a part of our allowance was to go into the church offering basket each Sunday. My mother taught me that life isn't fair- and we... continue reading

Themes: Calling to Give Big, Sustained Giving to a Cause, Faith and Philanthropy, Global Poverty, CARE, Passing on the values of giving to future generations

"How do I do the most good with my philanthropic dollars?" This challenging question has guided my development as a bold giver for the past two decades. I was 21 when my parents created a family foundation so their five children could learn about... continue reading

Themes: Foundation spending out, "Giving while living," Social Justice organizing, Family Foundation, French American Charitable Trust, Grassroots organizations, Next steps after foundation spend-out

When I was 44, I could have received a substantial inheritance.  Instead, I persuaded my dad to change his estate plans so nearly all the money went directly into a charitable foundation.  In the years before and after my father's death I've... continue reading

Themes: Giving away money before it becomes yours, being a long-term, major funder to causes you are passionate about, watch-dogging human biotechnology (the efforts to genetically modify humanity)

We are deeply committed to giving significantly, and to helping others experience the joy and power of effective giving. Currently, we're getting our PhD's in philosophy at Rutgers University. Graduate students aren't exactly rolling in money, but we... continue reading

Themes: Giving effectively, combating global poverty, giving is possible for everyone, Giving What We Can (lifetime pledge to give 10%)

I'm on a mission to inspire the African American community to be bold givers - not just with our time and talents, which we always give abundantly -- but with our money as well. What will it take, I wonder, for more of us to give to organizations outside the... continue reading

Themes: Inspiring the African-American community to be bolder givers, International giving, influencing her world-wide sorority

I was afraid to be bold in my 20s. The first leap I took was moving from LA to NYC - far from my family of origin, to have the space to become myself. My husband and I started a family foundation in 1991 because it seemed like a good thing to do. The... continue reading

Themes: Building genuine relationships as a donor, giving to one's full capacity in all three of Bolder Giving's areas -- give, risk, inspire

When I was growing up, I thought only millionaires could be philanthropists. I came from a working-class family, so I thought I could never be a philanthropist. Still, I wanted to solve social injustices so I became an activist, first as a student in my... continue reading

Themes: Making small gifts matter, building genuine relationships between donors and nonprofits, giving to one's full capacity

As a passionate environmentalist, John Hunting believes the time to give is now. When he inherited $130M from the office furniture company his father started, he committed nearly all of it to the Beldon Fund for environmental grantmaking. Instead of paying... continue reading

Themes: Spending out a foundation's assets in a given time, environmental funding, urgency in giving

My father is a very successful high-tech entrepreneur, and he gave me a significant amount of wealth before I even turned 21. In fact, even as I write this, he is probably making more money, and a significant portion of that money might be headed my way.... continue reading

Themes: Responsibility to give,environmental funding and impact investing, strategic giving, how much is enough, youth giving

Every year our Bay Area office supplies company, Give Something Back, allocates money for our customers to donate, for our employees to donate, and for my co-founder Sean Marx and myself to donate. We don't give a fixed percentage of the profits. We... continue reading

Themes: Business as a force for positive change, businesses giving far beyond the norm, involving employees in grantmaking

When Bob and I were married in 1993 and were combining our households, we were stunned by how much stuff we both owned. It seemed almost obscene to have so many things and it was shocking to consider the money spent on so many items that had been stored in... continue reading

Themes: Giving "beyond our means," the role of faith in giving, bold giving on ordinary salaries, how much is enough

As I was completing my degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, I realized that I wanted to do something for mankind instead of working for the family business which was involved in the heavy construction industry. After completing my... continue reading

Themes: Social entrepreneurship, strategic giving, moving from business to philanthropy and social impact investing

I've never thought of myself as a bold giver, although generosity has been one of my core values and is a legacy from my wealthy family.  My great-grandfather and his brother founded Champion Spark Plug Company over 100 years ago. As a teenager, I... continue reading

Themes: Generosity and happiness, making a giving plan

Our family is a fairly prototypical American foursome: my wife, Joan, and I live with our two teenagers in a nice house with two dogs. The kids play baseball and volleyball, we like to ride bikes and take family vacations. On the financial front, we have more... continue reading

Themes: Giving half of what you don't need, family giving, being effective, international giving

Chuck: My grandfather was the meat packer Oscar Mayer. In 1986, when I turned 25, I gave my entire inheritance to the Funding Exchange and other community funds working for social justice.   It was worth almost half a million dollars. (Had the funds... continue reading

Themes: Fair taxes, giving big, inheritance, Wealth for the Common Good

Meeting the people you help is a transformative experience. My mother and I journeyed to Malawi to visit a community-based organization in the countryside town of M'chenga. Leaving the capital of Lilongwe, we traveled along dusty roads and arrived at a... continue reading

Themes: International giving, family foundations, youth engagement

Tom Hsieh is a happy man - and he busts all myths about the American Dream. Guided by faith, he gives more than half his lucrative salary every year to address poverty in Los Angeles, while he and his wife and child stay committed to keep their personal... continue reading

Themes: Faith and giving, addressing poverty, how much is enough?

My husband Jim and I adopted four children, three from impoverished parts of Latin America. So we live every day with the effect early poverty has on children: intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Desperate parents give up their children to people... continue reading

Themes: International giving, taking leadership, giving big

Mike Schaefer, the surviving partner of an early Microsoft pioneer, has distributed more than $180 million - nearly 100% of their assets - to 20 charitable organizations since his partner's death in 2006. Mike's story offers profound insights to donors and... continue reading

Themes: Strategic planned giving, giving all of assets, joy of giving