Giving is a universal opportunity. Regardless of your age, profession, religion, income bracket, and background, you have the capacity to create change.

Of course, giving is deeply emotional. But supplementing emotion with research makes it more likely that a gift can have a bigger impact. It's like any investment. After all, you wouldn't put funds into stocks or bonds without understanding the potential return. Why wouldn't you do the same when investing in society?

The fact that 35 percent of all American giving went to religious organizations in 2010 reflects how closely bound many of us are with our place of worship.

ANYONE WHO GIVES ANYTHING—TIME, MONEY, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS, AND NETWORKS—IN ANY AMOUNT, TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD.

Medical tests have shown that giving stimulates a part of the brain that gives us the same gratification as when we eat food or have sex.

We’re seeing that business models and philanthropic models are not mutually exclusive.

Nonprofits are the intermediaries between generosity and social change.