How to Become a Philanthropist

Here are some steps on how to become a philanthropist I found on eHow.com. Yeah it's not always this simple but it's a good start.

Step 1
Find out what you are passionate about. Do you care about global warming or the starving children in Africa? Breast Cancer, AIDS...? If you know someone who has suffered from anything and you have wanted to make a difference, this is your chance to start.

Step 2
Do your research. If you are interested in ending global poverty then the ONE Organization might be the easy choice for you. If you are an environmentalist the choices are infinite. A good place to start is asking family and friends where they donate their time and money or what they do. If you have some time and not a lot of money to share, volunteering your time is an excellent way to give back.

Step 3
Buy smarter. If you are shopping, there are a some select organizations out there that give a part of their profits to non-profits and they provide a product that you may desire. You could get RED products from The GAP, Converse, Apple or even Cartier to help fight AIDS. If you would like to go a greener route you could use BLUE PLANET REGISTRAR to help fight global warming of provide water pumps for villages that don't have access to clean water. The idea here is to shop smarter.

Step 4
Get passionate and don't give up. The idea here is not to make a miracle happen over night but to do something today to make the world a better place tomorrow. Stick to your goals and give what you feel comfortable with and then you will be a PHILANTHROPIST.

Tips & Warnings
1. Donating Time is as good as Donating Money
2. Remember to Buy smart
3. Make sure you go with a reputable company. Some non-profits start out meaning well but your time and money may be better spent with an organization that has more business savvy to get the goals reached.