More than 120 of the world’s billionaires have committed publicly to giving at least half their wealth to charity, including 19 on this year’s Philanthropy 50 list.
But while the number of people who have signed the Giving Pledge, unveiled nearly four years ago by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, has been growing, so too are concerns about whether the effort is channeling enough new money to urgent causes today and whether some people are motivated to join for...

Richard Semmler, a mathematics professor at Northern Virginia Community College, in Annandale, works two additional jobs so he can earn enough money to give away half of his $100,000 income each year.
In addition to his financial donations, Mr. Semmler volunteers with some of the charities he supports, including Central Union Mission, in Washington.
In this video, he talks about his commitment to Central Union, which works with homeless people, and how giving at this level affects his...

Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-year-old chief executive of Facebook, has announced that he is giving $100-million to improve the public school system in Newark, N.J.
The money, which will come from Mr. Zuckerberg’s Facebook stock holdings, will go into a foundation he is establishing to support the effort.
This is the first such publicized charitable donation from the young entrepreneur, who is worth at least $6.9-billion according to Forbes magazine. He ranks No. 35 on...

When he got offered a job at the technology company EarthLink, Tom Hsieh hesitated.
Could he start early and leave at 3 p.m.?, he asked his would•bebosses. They looked at him with bemusement. This was the mid-1990s, when working in high-tech often meant ordering in pizza and sleeping at the office. But Mr. Hsieh, who’d become committed to Christian ideals of serving the poor as a college student, explained that he needed to be home early so he could tutor neighborhood kids...

Jill A. Warren, nonprofit consultant (West Bloomfield, Mich.)
How much she makes: Ms. Warren, 51, and her husband, the Rev. Robert D. Schoenhals, 60, a Methodist minister, typically earn just over $100,000 when they are both working.
How much she gives: Between 30 and 60 percent of her and her husband’s income, for a total of $520,000 over their 17 years of marriage. The couple gives away what they would be spending on rent or a mortgage if the Methodist church...

Richard Semmler, Mathematics professor (Annandale, Va.)
How much he makes: Slightly more than $100,000.
How much he gives: About half of his income, for a total of about $1.2-million to date. In addition to his professorship, Mr. Semmler, 64, does maintenance work at his apartment complex and editing for an author so he can earn enough to give half of his money away. “I get quite a bit of satisfaction out of it,” he says, “of trying to make a difference...

Pilar Gonzales, philanthropic adviser and consultant (Oakland, Calif.)
How much she makes: Expects to earn between $25,000 and $45,000 this year. How much she gives: Around 25 percent of her income, though it varies from year to year.
Why she gives: Growing up in rural Michigan, Ms. Gonzales, 56, didn’t have much. But her grandparents, who were migrant farm workers, taught her to share the fruits and vegetables she grew. She felt empowered: “That...

A nonprofit organization that encourages people across the economic spectrum to explore philanthropic collaborations and consider how they can give a higher proportion of their assets was a key inspiration for the Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates Giving Pledge, The Seattle Times writes.
Melinda Gates has credited Bolder Giving, started in 2007 by Boston couple Anne and Christopher Ellinger, with being an impetus behind the campaign to persuade the world’s...

Background: Mr. Franklin, 30, has served for the past two years on the board of Bolder Giving, a group dedicated to inspiring people to give more money away and provide them with the knowledge to do so effectively. He most recently served as deputy director of the 21st Century School Fund, an organization in Washington that works to improve school buildings.
Education: He holds a bachelor’s degree in political communication from George...

While Bill and Melinda Gates, along with Warren Buffett, are advocating for billionaires to give more of their wealth away, a separate effort by the couple’s foundation is working to encourage people of more modest means to give and to do so effectively.
Last week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced three grants to advance that goal. The grants are part of an effort by the fund to expand the reach of organizations that try to inform and inspire donors.