Hello – Grace and Alana here, from Giving What We Can’s outreach team.
A few years ago, we were just like you, wanting to make a real difference in the world, but not really sure how.
This short email series covers some of the core concepts behind the 10% Pledge (and Trial Pledge) and aims to show you how it can make your life better — as well as the lives of others — in a way that you can be confident is creating real and lasting impact.
We’ll cover how to:
Find charities that really work (follow the research, not the marketing rhetoric)
Assess the impact of donating to charities that really work
Decide how much to give to charity (stepping up without burning out)
Be more confident you’re living in line with your values
Join a broader movement to change the norms so more people understand their personal (and our collective) power to achieve change…and to create a more just, more equal world.
Hello – Grace and Alana here, from Giving What We Can’s outreach team.
A few years ago, we were just like you, wanting to make a real difference in the world, but not really sure how.
This short email series covers some of the core concepts behind the 10% Pledge (and Trial Pledge) and aims to show you how it can make your life better — as well as the lives of others — in a way that you can be confident is creating real and lasting impact.
We’ll cover how to:
Find charities that really work (follow the research, not the marketing rhetoric)
Assess the impact of donating to charities that really work
Decide how much to give to charity (stepping up without burning out)
Be more confident you’re living in line with your values
Join a broader movement to change the norms so more people understand their personal (and our collective) power to achieve change…and to create a more just, more equal world.
Our personal stories
Grace
When I first learned about effective giving, the idea that I could potentially have 100x more impact by giving strategically immediately resonated. It was a no-brainer! I made my largest-ever donation that day and started considering how to give more. But there was a problem: I was dealing with chronic illnesses that forced me to reduce my work hours.
Suddenly, I was earning much less and uncertain about my future earning capacity. Giving 10% seemed daunting, so I decided to take the Trial Pledge for 3% instead. To my surprise, even though I was giving more while earning less, I felt better about giving than I ever had.
During this time, I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on a new medication, and I wasn’t sure it would even work. What struck me was realising how much I'd be willing to pay to minimise my own suffering and prevent disease for myself, compared to the relatively small cost of helping others. This perspective shift was powerful — if I couldn't alleviate my own suffering, at least I could help others.
Thankfully, the medication eventually worked and I was able to return to working full-time. I jumped to the full 10% Pledge and it’s been one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done — I’m proud of being able to prevent the suffering of people I may never meet because everyone deserves to live a life where they can flourish.
Alana
I’ve always felt that I’ve been lucky in the “lottery of birth.” While this came with a deep sense of gratitude, it also came with a strong sense of unfairness. I knew I could use some of my resources to help people who — through no fault of their own — had to face resource, health, and housing insecurity, and I thought this was an obvious thing to do.
The problem was that I was also very sceptical about charity — I didn’t know how to choose between the hundreds of “top-rated” charities on sites like Charity Navigator and Guidestar, and I wasn’t sure my money was really doing anything other than alleviating my own guilt.
Learning about the principles behind “effective giving” — a completely different approach to choosing charities than the one employed by Charity Navigator — was life-changing. I’m now much more confident that my money is having an impact and I feel like I finally know how to choose where to give. This has led me to feel comfortable (and happy) committing 10% of my income to the charities I think can best use it to improve the lives of others, and I’m inspired by the research that has shown the extraordinary amount that can be accomplished if this type of giving became “normal.”
Okay! That’s enough soul-baring for one email! Keep an eye out for the next one, which goes into more detail about finding charities that really work, and the research you can use to help ensure impact.
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