You may have heard about the Billionaires Pledge, a call to the world’s wealthiest individuals to give away a majority of their wealth to philanthropy.  I think that’s a great idea.  I’m not a billionaire, though, so is there a club for the rest of us?  Well, some friends and I thought there should be, and we recently launched Givr, a movement about giving.  You can pledge to give more than you gave last year – more time, service, money, advice, writing, or anything generous.

Working in the nonprofit sector, I used to feel that my daytime vocation is sufficient for giving back.  But then I read Seth Godin’s post about how insurance salesmen should buy their own insurance to 1) show they believe in their product, and 2) understand what it feels like to buy their product.

I believe in the nonprofit sector’s ethic to give without expecting anything in return for personal benefit but for social benefit and since I’ve been finding excuses to give more often.  Over the summer I gave what I could to the Haiti and Pakistani relief efforts, as well as $25 for a friend’s charity bike ride and a day of service for 9/11 with the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of DC (YNPNdc).  I now understand the experience of being a funder, or philanthropist, more directly.  This helps me out professionally and personally.

We young professionals working in nonprofits may not be able to give billions, but we can give collectively adds up.  You can take the pledge and join other young professionals in a greater commitment to giving here: http://givr.razoo.com/ and fan us on Facebook.