Philanthropy Starts with You

Our Twitter friend Michael Chatman recently tweeted, “Philanthropy starts with you. Your feelings. Your dreams. Your values. And it makes you part of a broader world.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Carlo, who writes the blog Living Philanthropic, has written a great post titled Tips for the Everyday (micro)-Philanthropist. He’s talking about doing small things when you can; it’s about working philanthropy into your day-to-day life. You don’t have to be wealthy, or even give hours of volunteer time every week.

Carlo describes doing simple things like starting a jar to collect loose change that you’ll donate later, or donating some clothes or toys you no longer need. It even makes a difference to smile and wish a good day to somebody who’s asking for spare change.

His blog post demonstrates that it really does start with you. Once you figure out how to make philanthropy work within the framework of your own life, then you can really start to see the change that is possible around you.

Leah Baade is the Youth in Philanthropy and Social Media Coordinator at the Victoria Foundation. Please contact her for more information.