Research Symposium

BIO

I am from Franklin, Tennessee and decided to pursue a pre-law track with aspirations of being an environmental lawyer. I have always been involved in community service growing up, so research about philanthropy really peaked my interest. I believe it is extremely important to give back and help others, so this research has been extremely insightful. I hope to use this knowledge in my future career to inspire others to positively change the world.

The Giving Pledge Letters

Abstract

My research is about the Giving Pledge Letters and the purpose. I am investigating the Giving Pledge Letters so I can discover the motivations and reasonings behind philanthropic giving. It is relevant because many members are huge figures in society that have forever changed how we live. It is important to read so we can learn the “why” and inspire more billionaires to join the Giving Pledge.
In my research I have read through a few Giving Pledge Letters and filled out qualtrics surveys discussing different aspects of the letters. All my data is online so I analyze it by reviewing the letters. An analytical framework will be used once all the qualtrics surveys are filled out for each letter, but that is my end step.
The results are still in the works, but I suspect many philanthropists will have similar motivations and I will see trends. The research findings will show the readers why key figures in the world chose to donate and their end goals. The next step would be reviewing the most recent people that have taken the Giving Pledge and reviewing their letters.
I do not have the results yet but they will suggest many billionaires have the same drive towards philanthropy. This shows the differences between billionaires and the implications they can have on society.

Keywords: Philanthropy, Letters, Giving Pledge