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Nick Dudley

I know that suffering is purely detrimental for humanity. Anyone who has truly suffered knows that. I credit the minimization and then the end of my suffering to people who are much more altruistic than I ever was. I know that we can make a significant, effective change to uplift the lives of others. It isn’t my place to speak for anyone else but me,  but I know that I am insanely lucky to live my life the way I do, and I feel a strong moral imperative to give what I can to improve the lives of others. 

My journey to help fight suffering

I was born to a middle class family and raised in a small town in Northern California. My upbringing was tremendously more fortunate than most but it was not without its challenges. My mother had severe issues with substance abuse and mental health, which created a very toxic home environment. For this reason, I spent as much time as possible at my friends’ houses, often sleeping in their homes. My father was a very supportive force in my life (for the most part) and encouraged me to do well in school and go to college.

I eventually went to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on California’s central coast to study Agriculture. Although I had challenges with my mental health for many years, they really started to manifest when I went to school. Depression and anxiety plagued my early college years. I was abusing substances excessively and engaging in behavior that was extremely destructive toward myself and others. I was very troubled and refused to acknowledge that I was making bad choices or that I had real mental health issues. Eventually, I hit a point where I simply had to open my eyes to the world I was living in.

The radical progress I made didn’t happen overnight but it was sparked by finally embracing the fact that I did have emotional baggage from my upbringing. I was abusing substances. I did have mental health issues. I always saw myself as a middle class white kid who had no reason to complain about anything because I was so fortunate. In my mind, any unhappiness I endured was my own fault. I finally woke up and started to realize that I had been facing real adversity in my life and my problems needed to be addressed. Though it took time, I developed habits that allowed me to live with my challenges and tremendously reduce the negative effect they had on me. Practicing mindfulness was certainly the most beneficial practice I developed during this anxious or difficult time and it continues to be my most important habit to this day.

For the first time in my life, I started to feel genuinely happy. I started to enjoy school and got a fulfilling stable job. I developed better, healthy relationships with wonderful people. I graduated ahead of the normal 4-year schedule and decided to apply for the teaching credential program at my university. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

I watched in sadness as people were suffering and dying, devastated by the virus. Within my community, my country, and our world, the virus has caused so much suffering and accentuated the harsh circumstances many have to deal with daily. For me personally, however, the pandemic was almost purely beneficial. I got more hours at work, a raise, stimulus checks, and more free time to devote to my hobbies. Though I had always recognized that I am an extremely fortunate person, this crisis really shined a bright light on my privilege. Despite the challenges I have faced, many, if not most, of the people on this Earth experience much more daily suffering than I ever did. Even though I live in an expensive area and my yearly income floats above or below (depending on who you ask) the local poverty line, I am still way more fortunate than most people in the world.

 is the culmination of my life and experiences up to this point. I know that suffering is purely detrimental for humanity. Anyone who has truly suffered knows that. I credit the minimization and then the end of my suffering to people who are much more altruistic than I ever was. I know that we can make a significant, effective change to uplift the lives of others. It isn’t my place to speak for anyone else but me, but I know that I am insanely lucky to live my life the way I do, and I feel a strong moral imperative to give what I can to improve the lives of others.

I know that suffering is purely detrimental for humanity. Anyone who has truly suffered knows that. I credit the minimization and then the end of my suffering to people who are much more altruistic than I ever was. I know that we can make a significant, effective change to uplift the lives of others. It isn’t my place to speak for anyone else but me, but I know that I am insanely lucky to live my life the way I do, and I feel a strong moral imperative to give what I can to improve the lives of others.

Luke Freeman

Welcome to our 978 new pledges!

 (December 2020-January 2021) and want to welcome our new members: 513 of you who have taken The Giving What We Can Pledge and 465 who have taken a Try Giving pledge.

2020-2021 has been our biggest campaign yet. December was a record-breaking month with 261 new members of The Pledge and January broke the record for Try Giving with 267 new pledges.

As of the end of January 2021, our community now has 5,718 total members of The Pledge/Further Pledge and 961 active Try Giving Pledges! Together we've already donated over $219 million and pledged over $2 billion. We're so excited to see our community growing, and our members being so generous.

We've learned that one of the most common ways our new members found out about Giving What We Can is from their friends. Thank you to all of our current members who have been 

 right through to those everyday conversations.

Thank you so much for supporting us and encouraging others to give more and to give more effectively. These extra donations make a real tangible difference to lives. Because of you, there are more children safe from malaria, fewer animals suffering in factory farming, and more progress being made on preventing existential risks. This is just some of the impact you are all having.

A huge thank you again to everyone involved in our pledge campaign and to all our new members.

Your commitment to helping others inspires us.

If you are a new member here's a few important things you can do now.

Now that you've pledged to give, it's good to get into the habit of giving early. If it is financially viable for you, consider setting up a regular donation or using workplace giving -- that way it's easier to budget and you won't forget. If you're unsure about where to donate we've collated some 

 that you can read, or join us at our next 

We ask all of our members to record their donations in their 

. This helps you see what your money is achieving and whether or not you've met your pledge for the year. This is our main source of data for assessing the impact we are having, so it's really important we get as much information as possible.

We are all trying to do the most good we can by donating a significant portion of our income to effective organisations. This means we're part of a growing community all working towards a similar goal. If you need help with something, have questions, or want moral support, then you have our community to support you:

We've finished up the 2020 giving season with our biggest year on record! 1,787 new pledges, donated over $16 million, reached 5,000 members of The Pledge, reached $200M in all time reported donations, and $2B total pledged.

January 2021 Newsletter

We've finished up the 2020 giving season with our biggest year on record!

 (1,008 of The Pledge, 779 of Try Giving) and thank you to all of you who've continued to use your income to help improve the lives of others

We hit some incredible milestones in 2020: 

5,000 members of The Pledge, $200M in reported donations, and $2B pledged in total

If you've not yet reported your 2020 donations, we encourage you to do so.

Reporting using the pledge dashboard gives you a convenient way to track whether you're fulfilling your pledge. It also helps us understand how much and where our members are giving. Your personal donation records are private, but seeing everyone's donations in aggregate gives us a better sense of how much this community has accomplished!

Our 1,787 new members came from a wide range of sources, including 

, various podcasts, and referrals by friends and family (a great example of 

Famine, Affluence and Morality by Peter Singer

 which in turn inspired others to take a pledge (here are some ideas for 

how you can also advocate for effective giving

 who took new pledges, donated to effective charities, shared your effective giving stories, attended our events, and made an effort to learn more about effective giving. It has been so inspiring and heartwarming to see so many of you taking significant steps to make the world a better place.

: Effective Giving Open Forum (Europe/Americas)

takes the Giving What We Can Pledge and founds High Impact Athletes

why he decides to donate each and every month

how we are at an unprecedented time in history where we can do something about the abundance of suffering around us

why he took the Giving What We Can pledge

 is a new podcast series by 80,000 Hours.

Company Pledge member Ida Josefiina has launched 

, a digital community and email newsletter exploring the different forces shaping our societies and future.

how it's grown their group during the pandemic, and gave advice for growing your group too

The Centre for Effective Altruism has released their 

The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) is 

 from community members who may want to organize an in-person EA Global x (EAGx) conference in the second half of 2021.

 page has been updated for 2021 with inclusions from various charity evaluators, funds, and regranting organisations.

 email series that helps readers do the most good with their donations.

 as he becomes the richest person on Earth, and Vox's Kelsey Piper and Sigal Samuel 

 sparked discussion of effective philanthropy with responses from 

GiveWell released a report on a new standout charity: 

 (incubated by Charity Entrepreneurship) posted about their plans to improve lives through family planning initiatives.

Animal Charity Evaluators has released a 

comparison chart of its top recommended and standout charities

pledging to sell more plant-based meat and dairy

7 Big Wins For Farmed Animal Welfare In 2020

' Lewis Bollard tells the good news stories you might have missed about farmed animal welfare in 2020.

interviewed on the Hear This Idea Podcast

tracking attitudes to global catastrophic risks and international cooperation

the 21st century will be a crucial test of humanity's ability to manage a wide range of existential threats

develop improving institutional decision-making as a cause area

 within and beyond the effective altruism movement.

what longtermism recommend doing in all sorts of everyday situations

case for longtermism and provides supporting donation recommendations

Two critiques on strong longtermism were published on the EA Forum by 

 (each with many responses in the comments).

without cheap, safe, low-carbon energy sources at scale we are stuck between high greenhouse gas emissions and energy poverty

 effective altruism should focus more on climate change

critique of the new climate change charity evaluator Giving Green

A great way to multiply your impact is to simply tell people about effective giving. Here are just a few ways you can help advocate for effective giving:

 from your website, social media, blog, email signature

 about effective giving (e.g. at work or school, religious or community group, book or social club).

Report your donations with your pledge dashboard

 with Giving What We Can and effective altruism.

Discuss effective giving and effective altruism on the 

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

This is the online edition of our January 2020 email newsletter (

John Yan

"To me, the pledge is a gesture of commitment and accountability that manifests that. I hope to look back on this as one of the proudest things I’ve ever done."

Why I took the Giving What We Can Pledge - John Yan

John Yan | People who give effectively

 is a way of taking something we believe and “making it official”. John Yan shared with us how this process happened for him, and why he thinks this was an important thing for him to do. You can 

read more about John's decision to pledge on his blog

The idea of wanting to help, and that there were people in need, wasn’t new for John. But like many of us, it took some time to work out how to integrate this into his life as an adult.

“When I was a boy, I dreamed of becoming a super-genius inventor. I’d become ultra-rich and then use all my wealth to help those who needed it the most. Then I grew up and learned Bill Gates already sort of did that.
I grew up some more and learned about 

, and all these adjacent organizations.
I remember feeling inspiration and joy knowing I wasn’t alone in this activism.
And yet, it wasn’t until after college that I started to make it a greater part of my life. I started consuming the literature - I read the books, listened to the podcasts, browsed the forums, and went to the meetups”

Nearly four years later, John has a comfortable, stable job. Looking back through the lens of his values he decided it was time to make a stronger commitment.

. But I still recognize that I’m more reciting the convincing points made by the effective altruism community than I am integrating it into my life. I could talk about living my values and flowery principles, but at the end of the day I saw taking the pledge as putting my money where my mouth is. I believe I can exchange a small bit of my own welfare for that of others, at a tremendous rate, and I believed this before I met anyone else that did.
To me, the pledge is a gesture of commitment and accountability that manifests that. I hope to look back on this as one of the proudest things I’ve ever done.”

" series which profiles a selection of the Giving What We Can community. The Giving What We Can is a community of people from all walks of life, with different perspectives and motivations for giving – all united by their desire to make a significant commitment to use their income to effectively helping others. Read more 

For more information about Giving What We Can we recommend you check out our 

Marcus Daniell

Professional tennis player, Marcus Daniell, has taken the The Giving What We Can Pledge to give at least 10% of his income to effective charities.

Olympian Marcus Daniell takes the Giving What We Can Pledge and founds High Impact Athletes

On January 4th 2021, I pledged to donate 10% or more of my annual winnings to effective organisations for the rest of my life.

This decision wasn't completely out of the blue. I began my giving journey in 2015 with a small, tentative donation, then the next year I took a 

 to donate one percent. That felt really good, so the year after I donated five percent. Over the years I steadily increased that percentage until, in 2020, I founded 

 and donated over ten percent. And now we're here.

The more I look into the charity world the more I realise that I won the birth lottery just by being born in a first world country. Compared to the global standard I have been extremely privileged my whole life. It makes sense that I should give a small portion of my own earnings to those who need it so much more than I do.

I want to set a positive example. I have a fervent hope that many others, both athletes and the general public, will join me in whichever way feels right for them.

Making a commitment public like this is a powerful way to hold oneself accountable. Now that I have told the world what I intend to do I expect to be called out if I don't do it.

I have been inspired by philosophers like 

 movement, who donate everything they earn above a living salary. Those two have had truly gargantuan positive impact as a result of their actions, speeches, and writing. I hope to add to their legacy.

Donating 10% of your income sounds scary, but it's really not scary at all. I don't need a fancy car or an expensive watch or even an extra barista-made coffee each day to be happy. Donating that 10% is not going to decrease my happiness, but it is going to make thousands of lives a whole lot better.

I strongly believe that those in the nonprofit world should walk the talk. I wouldn't expect anyone to donate or pledge if I wasn't donating or pledging myself.

Community. I am joining over 5,500 other 10% pledgers on 

, and knowing that I am just one person in a multitude of givers makes me hopeful for the future of this planet and its inhabitants.

I take deep pleasure in knowing that every success I have in my working life will ultimately end up saving or changing lives.

If you are interested in taking the pledge please do reach out to me. Even a 1% pledge is a beautiful life move that will benefit so many, including yourself. You can reach me at 

originally posted on the High Impact Athletes blog

 by Marcus Daniell, the founder of High Impact Athletes.

 is a meta-charity that channels donations to the most cost-effective, evidence-based, and impactful nonprofit organisations in the world. HIA harnesses the wealth and social influence of high-profile athletes to both spread the word about effective giving, and to create an ever-growing snowball of donations starting from the athletes themselves and growing amongst their followings.

Ben Chugg

2020 has been a challenging year. However, we are at an unprecedented time in history: we can do something about the abundance of suffering around us.

When unprecedented times meet unprecedented opportunities

For many, 2020 has been a challenging year.

The global disruption wrought by the pandemic has caused loneliness, estrangement, and sorrow. We have witnessed death and injustice, poverty and sickness. It is a rare person who has been untouched by tragedy. And yet, while the pandemic has brought some of the world's suffering into sharper focus, it also reminds us of the tremendous progress we have made.

We are at an unprecedented time in history: 

We can do something about the abundance of suffering around us

Blog

My journey to help fight suffering

Welcome to our 978 new pledges!

January 2021 Newsletter

Why I took the Giving What We Can Pledge - John Yan

Olympian Marcus Daniell takes the Giving What We Can Pledge and founds High Impact Athletes

When unprecedented times meet unprecedented opportunities

My end of month: Reflections on donating

December 2020 Newsletter

What charity should you donate your stimulus check to?

The behavioural science of donating to charity: Why we sometimes fail to do the most good we can, and what can be done about it