Not long ago we all celebrated the news of The Giving Pledge announced by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Through The Giving Pledge Buffett and the Gates’ have invited the richest Americans to commit to giving a majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
But why stop at just encouraging the rich to contribute? Why shouldn’t everyone who is able pledge to the cause of making our world just a little better? Contrary to some who believe that people shouldn’t be required to give to the poor (presented in one of our previous blog posts), the One Percent Foundation invites the whole American population to do just that.
The thought behind the One Percent Foundation is that every working man and woman in America should be able to contribute one percent of their incomes to the charities they choose. The initiative is primarily aimed toward people in their twenties and thirties, and in a recently published article in the Huffington Post, it was stated that if every person in that age bracket gave one percent to philanthropic causes the total annual sum would add up to $16 billion. Imagine what kind of effect that would have on our community! One cannot help being excited about statistics like that.
It doesn’t matter whether you sign the actual pledge on the One Percent Foundation website or simply commit on your own to support a charity – the act in itself is what is important. And if you are having trouble deciding on one cause or charity to give your money to, you can join the One Percent Foundation, which is a nationwide, online giving circle.
Happy giving everyone! And, once you’ve signed your personal Giving Pledge, post a comment about what motivated you to make this bold commitment!
– Annette Wind, MCF administrative assistant
