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givology

According to one group of college students, millionaires aren’t the only ones who can make an impact with a donation.

Givology, a 100 percent volunteer social impact group that was started in part by 2008 College graduate Joyce Meng in her senior year, published a book titled “A Guide to Giving” in January.

The book discusses effective models of giving, compiling the work of 13 writers — including high school students, college students and young professionals involved with Givology around the country.

Meng was interested in providing education to impoverished students because, as she writes in the book, “Education manifests human dignity and provides a mechanism for self-expression. Learning enables people to have happier, more independent and productive lives.”

The group started on Penn’s campus, but now Givology is a worldwide organization that has raised over $300,000 to support students in 26 different countries through several grassroots partnerships. There are a total of 90 volunteers and 30 core team members in 16 chapters around the world.

The book project began last summer when Givology wanted to spread their ideas to a larger crowd in order to get more people involved.

“The concept of giving has been really limited to people who have a lot of money, people who can have a lot of impact,” College junior and Givology CIO Elise Jun said. “But I think the point of the book is to show that that’s not the case. Even small amounts can make a really big difference.”

The book aims to promote Givology’s mission that “everyone can be donors; everyone can give,” Jun said.

“A Guide to Giving” is divided into two main sections. The first gives advice on how to effectively donate money so that donations will go directly to those in need. The second is a collection of stories about members’ involvement with Givology.

“We’re able to compile a large range of experiences and opinions from different people, but these people are all passionate about fighting education disparities worldwide,” Cornell freshman and co-editor of the book Rachel Chuang said in an email.

Chuang and her fellow writers hope the book will inspire others the way Givology inspired them.

“Now, more than ever before, there are so many ways to give back,” Stanford freshman Stephany Yong, another co-editor of the book, said in an email. “There are other outlets for people to explore and make giving an interactive two-way exchange.”

The book is currently available as an eBook on Amazon for $2.99. All profits go towards funding education for students worldwide.

“We’re doing amazing things in creating opportunities for people through education,” Yong said. “Having more people be aware of what we’re trying to accomplish can make those goals more reachable.”

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