A free online course started Monday to teach young people on the value of philanthropy and its students will have the chance to help Warren and Doris Buffet give away their money, the Associated Press reported.
Warren, 82, and his older sister Doris will be featured in the class "Giving With Purpose" along with Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr., Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, Ben and Jerry's founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, and journalist Soledad O'Brien.
The 4,000 students that have signed up for the course will be able to help Buffet decide on how to spend more than $100,000 of his sister's money. Depending on the final count of students signed up for the course, that total could be higher.
"It's an experience that gives profound insight into deciding how we meet the needs of our society," said the course's instructor, Rebecca Riccio, of Northeastern University.
Warren and Doris are both slowly giving away their fortunes in the later stages of their lives. Warren plans to give away all of his $58 million Berkshire Hathaway stock while Doris has already given $150 million toward her goal of re-distributing her entire fortune before her death.
"The trick is not to have her give it away faster than I make it," Warren joked, his family's wealth is tied to the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate he runs.
Giving With Purpose is based on an online course already held at more than 30 universities. The previous courses allowed students to donate $10,000 after thoroughly researching various non-profits.
"Giving With Purpose allows us to extend the classroom walls to include any individual passionate about philanthropy," Doris Buffett said in a statement. "There are thousands of people with the energy and ideas to make a difference."
Riccio said the course will equip students with strategies to donate money effectively.
"I'm trying to teach people about giving with their heart and their head," she said.
Doris' grandson Alex Buffet Rozek organized the course and said he hopes to see more institutions offer similar classes.
"These grants are huge to the organizations that receive them," Rozek said. "And because they went through the process, they do understand how to fill out a grant application and get funding."
