Community & Government
Identify Your Resources
Lesson time 13:28 min
Learn how to uncover your personal resources, including time, money, your voice, or expertise—and use them to make an impact for others.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Money• Time• Expertise• Voice• Combine Methods of Giving• Exercise: Chart Your Resources
Teaches Impactful Giving
A philanthropist and advocate for women and girls, Melinda French Gates teaches you how to take what you’re good at and use it to create change.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] - So I think, of giving as several different things. One is you can give your money, or your resources, and that's really beneficial. You also, though, have your time, volunteering your time, or doing research, or helping a partner organization. That is hugely beneficial. There's also your expertise. Use your expertise of something that you've learned perhaps in business or in life that you want to give back to a partner organization. And lastly, there's your voice, lifting your voice around a cause or a need. Doing it either alone or, really, in conjunction with others, that's huge. So those are all ways that you can think about giving. Sometimes people look at me and say oh, my gosh, well, of course, they can give. Look at their level of wealth. But I think the thing to understand is that we can all give. If you're taking this class, you're probably thinking well, can I give back? What can I give back? What scale can I give back? How much time do I have? You can always start somewhere. In this chapter, we're going to talk about the different resources that you have at your disposal. [MUSIC PLAYING] - When you're starting off with your giving, I think the most important thing to know is you don't have to be wealthy. You just need to start somewhere and start in some way. One of my favorite examples is Osceola McCarty, who grew up in Mississippi. Her income predominantly came from a washing business that she had, but over the course of her lifetime, she saved $150,000. And she decided she wanted to set up a scholarship fund for college students in her community. Now, that's a pretty profound thing that she did to save $150,000 from her job, but the thing that I think-- what I would call the ripple effect, that is we affect other people in our giving, so she affected not only the students that got the scholarship. 600 other people were inspired by her example and gave to that scholarship fund, and they tripled the amount of the scholarship fund when all was said and done. Her example of doing in her living and then doing again at her death, it inspired other people. And I think that's the thing to realize is that when you decide to give your money, or your time, or your expertise, or your voice, you're going to come into contact with other people, but you're going to also inspire other people to do their giving. And that's a wonderful thing. [MUSIC PLAYING] - We all have time somewhere. And in time is pretty precious commodity, but I think if you think about what time do I have, could I give, an hour a month, could I give two hours a month, you'd be amazed at how much that adds up. It turns out through some of the surveying, we've learned that a third of Americans volunteer their time. When you add it all up it's 69 billion hours of time. Think about how much effect that can change in the world. So if you think about allocating and budgeting your time and think about OK, do I n...
About the Instructor
One of the greatest philanthropists in history, Melinda French Gates has dedicated her life to giving back to the world. Now she’s teaching how you can identify your own unique assets—time, money, specific skills, or even your voice to discover a strategic path that can turn your power into progress.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Melinda French Gates
A philanthropist and advocate for women and girls, Melinda French Gates teaches you how to take what you’re good at and use it to create change.
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