Blog

Stay up to date with Giving What We Can's blog. Featuring the latest news about our community, how to donate effectively, charity evaluation, community events and more!

Giving What We Can's blog, featuring the latest news from our community.

Donate

Pledge

footerNavigation

About us

Contact us

Our team

Our values

Our members

Our events

Transparency

Our mistakes

Our impact

Donate to Giving What We Can

Careers

About

Our best charities

Take a giving pledge

Get involved

Make a bequest

Videos, books, podcasts

FAQs

Learn more

Press kit

Media coverage

Case studies: People who pledge to give

Media

Footer Navigation

DONATE

topNavigation

Best charities

High-impact causes

Why give to funds

How much to donate

Why donate publicly

Recommendations

Our research & approach

Comparing charities

Evaluating evaluators

Our approach

Giving guides

Videos, books, podcasts and essays

Hesitations about charitable giving

How rich am I?

Can money buy happiness?

Resources

Research

Team

Newsletter

Podcast

Videos

Take the Pledge

Connect with our community

Share our ideas

Events

Giving games

Charity elections

Pledge drive

Fundraisers

Advocacy Assets

Community

What is the Pledge?

Share the Pledge (inspire others!)

Pledge signers

My Pledge

🔹Trial Pledge

Company Pledge

Further Pledge

Bequests

Have a 1-on-1 call about pledging

Donate now

Manage my donations

Tax deductibility

Top Navigation

Board of Directors

Leadership Transition at Giving What We Can: A Message from the Board

We are writing to share important news about the leadership of Giving What We Can.

Luke Freeman has decided to step down from his role as global CEO, effective October 3rd, 2024. He explains and provides context for this decision in 

We’re incredibly grateful to Luke for four years of dedicated service. He is an energetic, committed, and visionary leader who oversaw tremendous growth in the reach of the Pledge, and of the organization as a whole. He has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, judgment and kindness to the GWWC team, the GWWC members, the effective giving community, and to all of us. We wish him well and look forward to continuing to work with him in the community.

To ensure a smooth transition, Sjir Hoeijmakers has stepped in to serve as Interim CEO until a permanent global CEO is appointed. Sjir has been with GWWC for several years and very capably stepped in as Acting CEO during Luke’s recent parental leave. We are confident in his ability to ensure Giving What We Can continues to grow and thrive during this period of transition.

We have already initiated the search process for the new CEO to lead the organization into its next phase of growth and impact. We are seeking an exceptional leader who is passionate about effective giving and can build upon the foundation laid over the past years. The job description and application process can be found 

We are deeply appreciative of the significant impact Luke’s leadership has had on our organization, and we're excited about the future and the opportunity to further expand our impact under new leadership. For any questions or concerns about the transition, please contact ceo-search@givingwhatwecan.org.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to making the world a better place through effective giving.

The Directors and Trustees of Giving What We Can

Giving What We Can

Giving What We Can is now its own legal entity!

Giving What We Can (GWWC) has now completed the “spin-out” we 

. As a result, we are no longer a legal project of the Effective Ventures Foundation UK and US (collectively referred to as “

”), and have instead set up our own independent charitable entities in both the US and the UK, with Canada coming soon!

We’re super excited to take this important step as an organisation. While our core mission, commitments, and focus on effective giving remain unchanged, we’ve already begun to feel some of the benefits of being fully in charge of our own operations, including:

Aligning our organisational structure and governance more closely with our mission

Facilitating greater internal clarity and transparency around our core processes

Having greater control over our operational costs

Processing donations made via bank transfer, DAF, stock, or crypto more quickly than before


Of course, we owe a very big thank you to the team at EV for its incredible support over the years, which has helped us grow into the organisation we are today, and has prepared us to embark on this new chapter.

As we continue to move our ambitious plans forward, we’re focused more than ever on our core mission: 

to make effective and significant giving a cultural norm

Check out the details of our new entities (

Lucas Moore

August news: New effective giving initiatives in the US, Europe and India

My name is Lucas, and I’m writing to you this month as Grace is taking some well-deserved leave. We wish her a restful break!

Today, I'm excited to share some news about a project I've been working on as part of my role as Effective Giving Global Coordinator and Incubator here at Giving What We Can. For the past 15 months, I've been supporting the 

 and helping develop new effective giving initiatives (EGIs). Today, I want to tell you about some exciting developments in this space.

In May 2024, we partnered with Ambitious Impact (AIM) to incubate five new EGIs across different countries. These initiatives focus on raising awareness and channelling donations to some of the most cost-effective charities worldwide. The new EGIs include 

 in France and French-speaking Switzerland, 

 in India. You can find out more about these new EGIs 

. If you live in any of these regions and would like to get in touch with your local EGI, you can reach out via their 


You might wonder, "Why do we need more EGIs when we have GWWC?" Great question! While GWWC has been incredibly successful globally, we’ve recognized an opportunity to help create and support new specialised organisations that can cater to specific demographics, regions, or approaches to giving.

This expansion of the effective giving ecosystem is a crucial step towards our goal of making giving effectively and significantly a cultural norm, since it allows for a diversification of approaches and the ability to tailor messaging to different audiences; in short, by helping to incubate and support new EGIs, we're creating more entry points for people to discover the stunning impact that we can all have through evidence-based giving.

Together, we're building a global community committed to making sure that our giving does as much good as possible! Lots of more great news below –

P.S. Speaking of new entry points into effective giving, have you seen

? We’re thrilled that Ali felt motivated to share these ideas with his extensive network! (By the way, we had nothing to do with this video; Ali’s thoughts are entirely his own.)


P.P.S. A huge thank you to everyone who filled out the recent survey we ran to improve our understanding of what helps or hinders people from giving to effective charities and/or pledging. We have had responses from over 300 pledgers and almost 250 non-pledgers and will be in touch over the coming months with the results!

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?

I wish to see the world become a better place and want to contribute to that cause in a society where the wealth gap is continuing to grow and things are becoming more and more divisive. Kraze Kode from India

In challenging personal circumstances, upholding one’s values is both necessary from the standpoint of personal integrity and serves as a source of strength. Hawk Yang from Canada

As I progress into my 20s and beyond, I want to cultivate generosity as a habit as well as a key value. Making a commitment to doing good now puts me on the path of doing more good later. Tyler Stark from the United States

GWWC Meetup (Online): Interview with founder of Fair Fryer Tristan Makking: Fair Priced Doughnuts for Effective Giving

You can join online for this interactive interview with fair pricing and effective giving entrepreneur Tristan Makking, hosted by Tjeerd Dijkstra from Amsterdam-Netherlands. Tristan is the founder of the Dutch doughnut vendor Fair Fryer. He doesn’t only put time and effort into doing good, he also charges fair prices and donates effectively to invest in the future of the planet. This meet-up will be an open and interactive interview – join and ask Tristan whatever you’d like!

 and you’ll receive the link for the video call.

Thursday, 5th September 24 at 8 - 9.15 pm (CEST)

GWWC Sydney – Profit for Good: Driving Social Impact with Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy

Join us for an inspiring evening featuring innovative entrepreneurs and thoughtful philanthropists who are reshaping the business landscape. You’ll gain practical insights on building impactful businesses, strategies for effective giving, and networking opportunities with like-minded professionals. Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or professional interested in maximising your positive impact, this event is not to be missed!

Tickets are limited and previous events sold out. 

Wednesday, 18th September at 5:30 - 8 pm AEST

Giving Green: How to Drive Systemic Change Via High-Impact Climate Donations

 on high-impact climate giving, featuring panellists from organisations such as the 

. Giving Green’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr Dan Stein, will lead a panel discussion with leading changemakers in climate about the most promising philanthropic strategies and where more capital is needed to accelerate them.

You can join the evening of drinks and conversation to learn what the latest research says about how and where to donate to spur the systemic change we need to slow global warming. 

Giving What We Can is seeking a Senior Community and Growth Manager to lead the expansion of effective giving in Canada! As the Senior Community and Growth Manager (and first hire for GWWC in Canada), you will play a pivotal role in embedding and growing GWWC’s presence across the country [Role Closed].

on August 31st. We have already spun out from Effective Ventures US and will finalise the UK transition by the end of August. Read more 

We published a guest post from Nina Friedrich of 

Turning Privilege into Effective Donations

 to educate and empower high school students, 12 school events were organised with 3,519 participating students! The charities on the ballot this year were the 

Animal Charity Evaluators Recommended Charity Fund

. Some of our favourite reflections from participants are showcased below:

Charity Elections Participants Share Their Reflections

It makes me realise how much I can do for the world.

I realised it's a lot more cost-effective to help out than people assume.

The charity election helped me realise that I need to do more research so I can help [more] people.

It helps me feel like I am a part of a change that will make things better in the long term.

, after taking the pledge as an individual back in 2019. He posted the following video about why he took the pledge (both as an individual and for his company), and why he thinks others should learn about the pledge too!

 for 2024, entitled: 'Who's Selling You Frankenchickens?' The report names companies in the UK that are profiting from the use of cruelly-bred Frankenchickens and also provides a handy 

 (ACE) awarded $1,394,955 to its 2023 Recommended Charities this year through the ACE Recommended Charity Fund – its second-largest disbursement ever! ACE recently posted an update about 

how those organisations have used their grants to help animals

 (GFI)’s Alt Protein Project (a student-led movement) has expanded, 

 announced that Nick Allardice, former CEO of Change.org, will be GiveDirectly’s new President & CEO! Interim President Samuel Mwale has returned to his position on GiveDirectly’s Kenya Board of Directors. Read more about 

this appointment and the organisation’s ambitious plans

 for continued scaling on GiveDirectly’s blog.

 based on Max Roser’s classic article "

The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better

Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa

 took part in the 2024 Nigeria Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Conference where both government and partner organizations gathered to discuss Kaduna’s recently published Learning Poverty Report and discuss the current Teacher Professional Development program and different teaching methodologies, culminating in a concrete action plan for government and partners.

the industry response to California’s AI Safety bill

 was published in The Nation, with the tagline: “AI’s top industrialists say they want regulation—until someone tries to regulate them. Garrison Lovely, the author of the article, also published 

 with additional context from past reporting and a commentary on the veto letter sent by eight Democratic California Members of Congress.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security 

Tackling Rumors and Understanding & Strengthening Trust (TRUST) in Public Health website

, which aims to better prepare public health professionals to address rumours and misinformation during public health emergencies and “tackle some of the most important issues we face today in public health preparedness—lack of trust and the spread of misleading information.”

Evaluators, grantmakers and incubators (and other opportunities)

 to its 2025 programs. You can now apply to their 

Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program

 until September 15th. To answer questions about each program, they'll hold two webinars:

Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation: Top Charity Ideas

 we wrote about in the introduction of this newsletter.

 published a blog post and a video about “

How philanthropy can drive systematic climate risk reduction

,” explaining how systematic risk reduction, across political, technological and other risks, is a key unifying theme of the climate work you can support through the 

Applications are open for the fall session of the 

. The 6-week program begins October 28th and the deadline to apply is September 5th.

The co-founders of Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) published 

this essay on why they decided to shut down

 MHI rather than continue investing in the project. They discovered their approach was not as effective as they had originally thought when they launched MHI through the 

. We recommend reading this exploration of a potentially highly impactful shift in entrepreneurial culture!

We usually feature posts from our broader community of pledgers, but this month we wanted to share this significant milestone from Grace, Head of Marketing at GWWC! Check out her 

Have any feedback on our newsletter or communications? 

 with Giving What We Can and effective giving.

Do you have questions about the pledge, Giving What We Can, or effective giving in general? Check out our 

In May 2024, we partnered with Ambitious Impact (AIM) to incubate five new EGIs across different countries. These initiatives focus on raising awareness and channelling donations to some of the most cost-effective charities worldwide.

GWWC Newsletter: August 2024

Nina Friedrich

Nina of High Impact Professionals talks about the impact of taking a 10% Pledge and explains how she's now donated the full amount of her school scholarship's value to highly effective charities — her way of leveraging the privilege she was lucky enough to receive!

I am incredibly grateful to have received a scholarship that funded university studies from a bachelor’s to a Ph.D. The financial support I received not only eased my education but also made me reflect on how I could extend this privilege to others.  I am thrilled to share that as of August 1, 2024, I have reached my goal of donating the full amount of my scholarship's value to effective charities. Here's an overview of what inspired me, what lies ahead, and how you can get involved.


Above: My dad and me on the first day of my master studies in Cambridge, UK


Recognising our own financial privilege can be eye-opening and humbling. Many of us enjoy a level of wealth that far exceeds that of the average person worldwide. To understand my global financial standing, I used the "

?" calculator from Giving What We Can: If you earn at least £50,000 GBP (post-tax) in the UK per year, you are in the richest 1% globally! This tool reveals that many of us are among the wealthiest people on the planet. This stark comparison made me realise the immense potential I have to make a positive impact and motivated me to commit to giving back effectively.

Some charities are vastly more cost-effective than others. For instance, 

, an organisation that rigorously evaluates charities, estimates that around $5000 can save a life through particularly impactful global health interventions. By prioritising donations to charities like these – that do so much more good per dollar than the average charity –, we can ensure our contributions have the greatest possible effect.

By donating the value of my scholarships, I have likely impacted 50,000 lives, prevented 9 deaths, and significantly improved the lives of thousands of animals. Before I started giving to these types of organisations, I could never have imagined that I could do so much good, while working as a software engineer and a consultant.

Reaching my donation goal is a huge milestone, but it's not the end. I will continue my monthly donations to effective charities. Additionally, I took the 🔸10% Pledge, committing to donate 10% of my income to effective charities.

In addition to contributing financially, I now lead High Impact Professionals, a non-profit whose mission is to support experienced professionals in using their careers to do the most good. There's more information about High Impact Professionals at the end of this article, as our programs might be interesting to readers like you.

Above: High Impact Professionals’ co-founders, Devon and Federico, and me at an event in June 2024

If you're inspired by the idea of effective giving, there are several ways you can get involved. Here are some steps you can take to make a difference:

: Consider committing to donate 10% of your income to effective charities. This pledge can make a substantial impact. 

directly through High Impact Professionals

: If you're not ready for a long-term commitment, consider taking the trial pledge to see the difference it can make – you pick your own percentage (starting at as little as 1%) and duration of the pledge. 

: Sharing your commitment to effective giving can inspire others to join the cause, amplifying the overall impact.

By taking these steps, you can make a significant difference and help create a more equitable world. In addition to helping others, effective givers often experience personal rewards such as a sense of achievement, a deeper sense of meaning, and a strengthened sense of community.

Blog

Leadership Transition at Giving What We Can: A Message from the Board

Giving What We Can is now its own legal entity!

GWWC Newsletter: August 2024

Turning Privilege into Effective Donations

GWWC Newsletter: July 2024

Member Profile: Duncan Hamra

We’re renaming the Giving What We Can Pledge

The general population cares more about effective giving than you might think: Results from a 2024 study in Australia

Member Profile: Christoph Hartmann

5 things you've got wrong about the Giving What We Can Pledge