There are more billionaires now than ever before who are changing the world and the shape of philanthropy. Students weigh in on what they would do if they were suddenly billionaires!
"If I were one of these billionaires, I think I would sign the Giving Pledge. I wouldn't just sign it to make myself look good, I would sign it because I truly want to make the world a better place. I would probably support causes that have to deal with homeless, hunger, and youth. In my hometown, Butte, MT, we currently do not have a homeless shelter and it makes me so sad when I am driving around seeing street benches used as beds. Although we do have a food bank, there are so many people that go without food. At the Butte Food Bank, you are only allowed to get a box of food a month for your family. The one box is not enough food to last the whole month. There is not enough funding to provide more food to hungry people and there are not enough food drives to keep the shelves stocked enough to give more food to the people. Some local grocery stores are nice about their donations, but often times they give fresh produce or bakery items that do not last long. Drinking is a big part of the culture in Butte. Many youth start drinking before legal age. I would help a local organization that I was part of all through middle school and high school with funding to improve their organization. They have a very good message but do not have enough funding to do everything they want to do to help young people. I would also try to create different programs where youth could go and just have something to do when they do not have anything to do, that would be of no cost."
" If I were a billionaire, I would want my money to make the biggest impact possible wherever I invested it, so I would want to contact locals in the areas in which the charity/non-profit would be enacting the most change. An important distinction is that the most change would not have to be the best known or easiest to see change, but the organization that would improve quality of life of the people/source receiving the funds in the most meaningful way possible. I would choose to support causes that help to educate young girls on their bodies and rights as equal under the eyes of the law and deserving of general human decency. This is somehow still an issue even now, even though we have been through women's suffrage and the women's lib movement, and I hope to tackle this issue through targeting areas where there are high levels of violence against women and finding organizations that seek to take on this issue. Another option would be to create an organization of my own if there is a lack of strong groups in the target area."
Comments