January newsletter: Some incredible projects we funded together

As we begin a new year, we’ve been reflecting on 2024. It was a challenging year for many, with crises at home and globally. And there’s certainly more of that to come in 2025.

But despite those challenges, we aren’t powerless.

One thing that gives me hope is the number of people who truly care about helping others – who refuse to stand by and do nothing in the face of overwhelm, and who (even though they can’t solve the world’s problems all by themselves) commit to doing something concrete and meaningful – something that is sure to touch the lives of others.

And – if this community is any indication – that number of people is steadily increasing.

  • In 2024, 874 people decided to give at least 10% of their income over the course of their working life to improve the lives of others and the world at large. This is a notable ~50% increase from 2023. 
  • We also had another 802 people sign a Trial Pledge, where they customised their commitment – choosing how much of their income to give and how long their commitment should last.
  • Further, 2024 saw at least $36m USD move through our donation platform to support highly effective charities and high-impact programs.

Together, we’re pushing back on the narrative that there’s no point in trying and that there’s nothing we can do to improve the world. Instead, our community helped fund:

Anti-malarial medicine that helped children in extreme poverty avoid malaria, increasing the chance of healthy, happy, fulfilling lives

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A caregiver administers a dose of SMC medicines to a child. Burkina Faso. Credit: Sophie Garcia/Malaria Consortium

A suite of initiatives to improve the welfare of farmed animals across the world through advocacy, community building, policy shaping, and legislative work

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Read the EA Animal Welfare Fund’s grant reports

Bioweapons prevention workshops that shaped the Biological Weapons Convention, helping influence key discussions on disincentivising bioweapons

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(An 18-month grant begun in 2023)

Read Longview’s Emerging Challenges Fund 2024 Report

A program designed to improve community-based TB treatment and monitoring in children under 5 in India

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Read GiveWell’s report on their grant to CHAI

Ensuring that key AI safety, governance, and research organisations have a seat at the table to define legislative checks on AI development

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Read Longview’s Emerging Challenges Fund 2024 Report

…amongst so many other things.

If I leave you with one thought at the start of 2025, it’s that your donations given to effective charities are making a real difference, and your contributions are creating a healthier, happier and safer world for its inhabitants.

Onward!

Grace Adams & the Giving What We Can Team

Motivations for Pledging

Here are some of our favourite responses from people who took a pledge last month:

What motivated you to take a pledge with Giving What We Can?
  • “As a little kid I wanted to give 50% of my income to charity, especially to help animals and climate change. So this is a great (but more realistic) start.”- Hannah Tönissen from the Netherlands

  • “C'est ma mission personnelle de distribuer progressivement ma richesses de façon discrète, planifiée et stratégique à des projets destinés à créer un monde meilleur.” - Paul Gauthier from Canada

Translation: “It is my personal mission to gradually distribute my wealth in a discreet, planned and strategic way to projects intended to create a better world.”

  • “weil regelmäßige Spenden in substanzieller Höhe einen nicht nachvollziehbar hohen Wert für die dadurch geretteten und verbesserten Leben bedeutet.” - Niklas Diedrichs from Germany

Translation: “because regular donations of a substantial amount represent an incomprehensibly high value for the lives saved and improved as a result.”

Upcoming Events

Did you know we have active GWWC Community groups in: London, Twin Cities, Freiburg, Berlin, Melbourne and Vancouver? Sign up for your city’s mailing list to be kept in the loop about local meetups and events! And if you’re not in one of those cities but would like to organise a casual GWWC meetup in your community, please reach out to us at community@givingwhatwecan.org.

Conference: EA Global: Bay Area 2025

Applications for EA Global: Bay Area 2025 are still open, and the deadline has been extended to Feb 9th due to a large number of incoming applications! Last year's conference was focused on existential risk, but this time around it will be a regular, cause-neutral EA Global. Apply now!


News & Updates

GWWC

  • Our research team is about to undertake our next impact evaluation – and we need your help. We’d be grateful if you could take a moment now to record your donations in your Pledge Dashboard. You will help us gain valuable insights into our collective impact and see your personal giving stats! It’s extremely important to us to consistently and rigorously evaluate our work, and we use the key insights to inform our strategic plans going forward so we can continue driving more resources to the most effective organisations and causes.

Community

Cause areas

Animal Welfare

Global Health and Wellbeing

  • Malaria Consortium
    • Published its World Malaria Report video and news piece highlighting its efforts of “doing more together” to beat malaria.
    • Contributed to this article about a surge in malaria cases due to lack of funding, the effect of covid-19 on health systems, political instability, developing resistance to anti-malarial drugs and insecticides, and other challenges.
    • Is recruiting for several positions in finance, digital health, and compliance. You can find all the job listings here.
  • New Incentives
  • Helen Keller Intl published a 2024 year in review, sharing the ripple effects of its work in 2024. Find the photo essay here.
  • Against Malaria Foundation, one of our recommended charities, is now a registered charity in Portugal: AMF - Associação Against Malaria (Portugal). If you are a donor in Portugal wanting to make a tax deductible donation to AMF, head to their website to learn more and donate.
  • Family Empowerment Media (FEM) is expanding its radio programs about family planning to new countries where its intervention can cost-effectively improve maternal health.
  • Teaching at the Right Level Africa
    • Shared an update on its progress in several countries: In Zanzibar, the Ministry is set to roll out a TaRL pilot following successful workshops in late 2024. In Eritrea, TaRL has developed materials in nine local languages and is preparing for teacher training. In Ethiopia, materials workshops concluded in December, and master trainers are gearing up for a pilot.
    • Is offering an Advanced Course on implementing TaRL programs. Find more information and apply here by Jan 30.

Global Catastrophic Risk Reduction

Evaluators, grantmakers and incubators

  • GiveWell:
    • Launched a public Request for Information to identify organisations that could implement cost-effective water chlorination programs. GiveWell hopes to fund small-scale pilots to demonstrate operational feasibility and consider follow-on grants to scale the programs if the pilots prove successful. The deadline for responses is March 7, 2025. You can read the full announcement here, which includes directions for applying and/or submitting questions.
    • Published a blog post sharing the cross-cutting research team's strategy and focus areas.
  • Open Philanthropy is hiring:
  • Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) published its 2024 Year in Review. In 2024, ACE granted nearly $3 million for highly impactful and promising work, recommended eleven charities, and awarded Movement Grants to 30 innovative projects. Read more about ACE's achievements here.
    • ACE’s Influenced Giving Reports showcase the counterfactual funding moved toward its Recommended Charities and Movement Grantees. Between January 2019 and March 2024, ACE estimates that it influenced $20,000,000 that would not have otherwise been donated to its Recommended Charities and $2,600,000 that would not have otherwise been granted to Movement Grants grantees!
  • Founders Pledge is hiring an Applied Researcher (Global Catastrophic Risks) to join its research team, identifying and evaluating high-impact funding opportunities to guide effective giving. Learn more and apply here.

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We love seeing our community sharing stories about what pledging means to them and spreading the word about effective giving. We are stronger together! Thank you to Luke Furness for helping normalise the concept of giving generously to effective charities!

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Do you have any feedback on our newsletter or communications? Share your thoughts here.

Do you have questions about the pledge, Giving What We Can, or effective giving in general? Check out our FAQ page, or contact us directly.