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Luke Freeman

How much money should we donate to charity?

Something I've found to be shockingly common is that uncertainty around how much we should give to charity can often prevent people from giving anything at all.

Yet if you search the internet for advice, you'll mostly find claims that there's "no right answer" and that it's a "deeply personal decision." While these answers are largely true, they are not very helpful. They don't actually provide any actionable advice, any directions whatsoever for what we should do.

Instead of dodging the question or trying to divine a single prescriptive answer from the fabric of the universe, we are going to look at a range of standards that you could apply to your life, and recommend some approaches that might work for you.

To start with, let's look at the extremes of giving.

There are some people who believe that the right amount to give is nothing, ever. They might believe that charity doesn't help people, that it's not their responsibility, or they're not excited by the incredible opportunity most of us have to use our money to help others. If that's you, I'm not going to dissuade you here (but we recommend that you check out our page that addresses 

common concerns about donating to charity

Others believe that they should give nothing, yet. This might be suitable for you if:

Your material circumstances are very dire.

 who is putting away money now in order to give to charity later (and have taken measures to make sure you'll actually follow through).

You could have a greater positive impact by investing in yourself (perhaps through education, or accruing enough savings that you can pivot into a more impactful career without significant financial risk).

The other far extreme of giving is to give everything humanly possible right up until your circumstances are equal to those whose welfare you are concerned about.

One of the most powerful moral arguments for charitable giving comes from the renowned philosopher 

According to Singer, given that there are millions of people around the world in need, engaging in frivolous consumption instead of donating to charity is quite like walking past a drowning child and not saving them for fear of damaging a fine suit.

The trouble with this thought experiment is that, taken to its extreme logical conclusion, it becomes very 

 Not only are we morally required to give something to help others, but we should give 

One man did just this. After converting to Christianity, evolutionary scientist 

 was convinced that he had a moral obligation to give away all of his possessions to the poor.

Price would seek out the homeless and give them anything they asked for, from his money to the clothes off his back. If they needed a place to sleep, he hosted them at his place indefinitely. Eventually he had given away so much that he became homeless and as poor as those he was helping. This, very unfortunately, eventually led to his suicide.

His altruism is in many ways admirable, but it's clearly not a healthy path to follow, and is ultimately going to be self-defeating (leading to less good for everyone involved, not more).

So, when we look down the barrel of these two extremes and see that neither of them are right for us, this begs the question: "What is the right amount for us to give to charity?"

Let's look at some standard approaches to giving.

If you feel a strong moral obligation to help others, you might decide to give what you don't need. This idea has been formalised by Oxford philosopher 

 who was inspired by ethicists such as Peter Singer.

In 2009, Toby felt that he had a true moral obligation to give what he didn't need. He knew that a significant portion of his income could be so much more valuable to others than it would be to himself.

To put this into practice, he set himself a living allowance and then gave everything that he earned above that level away. He calls this the 

 everything above his inflation-adjusted living allowance. Many others have since taken this Further Pledge, and even more people have modelled their giving on this 'living allowance' idea — deciding what they need to live on sustainably, and giving away the rest.

You might be more motivated to have a steady increase in your standard of living as your income rises, but still want to give a meaningful amount that is more generous than what most people give.

 in your country, it's likely that you can give more generously than an average person can give. If you were born in a high-income country, it is likely that your income is 

at least 10 times that of the average person

 and roughly 100 times that of someone living in extreme poverty.

"Imagine a happy hour where you could either buy yourself a beer for five dollars or buy someone else a beer for five cents. If that were the case, we'd probably be pretty generous — next round's on me!" 

 to choose to be generous with their relative wealth — whether they see this as an obligation to share their luck, or as an incredible opportunity to 

Religious traditions across the world also ask their followers to not just give, but to give generously. In Judaism and Christianity this is made more explicit as a contribution of 10% of income, referred to as 

 also uses 10% as a benchmark number for giving generously.

Ten percent has a few perks as a giving standard:

It is low enough that it's accessible to those who have means.

It is high enough that it really feels meaningful to most people.

It is much more generous than what most people are otherwise giving.

It's not so high as to be off-putting or overly demanding.

And finally, 10% is very easy to calculate.

Many people would jump at the chance to take a job if it were more meaningful, even if it paid 10% less.

So if you're seeking to make a meaningful contribution (and you aren't under any financial strain), this is probably the right number for you.

If you care about helping others but don't want to give more than average, you could aim to give what an average person gives.

This can vary significantly by income level and country, but for many people this is 

At the very least you could give what you wouldn't miss. This is the idea behind the 

 pledge, both of which encourage people to give at least 1% of their income. Similarly, 

 pledge recommends a variable amount that's calibrated to have a "barely noticeable" effect on your standard of living.

Very few people would notice a difference if they were to live off only 99% of their income, rather than 100% of it. 

 would take a job that paid 1% less if it brought them more meaning in life.

We've covered some income-based giving standards. However, there are a few other approaches that you may take:

 where billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their wealth, and 

 where Muslims donate 2.5% of their wealth each year.

Event-based approaches such as increasing your giving when you get a raise; 

, or tax rebate; giving when you receive an inheritance (e.g., 

); or giving from a liquidity event such as the sale of a business (e.g., 

The 'fair share' approach where you give the amount that would lead to the best outcome if everyone in the world gave the same amount. The problem with this approach is that most people will not give their fair share, and it's incredibly difficult to calculate what your fair share would in fact be.

 where you seek out high-paying jobs so that you can give much more than ordinarily (e.g., working on Wall Street while donating 50% of your income).

 where you give from your estate when you pass away.

Now that we've covered some of the most common standards, here's what I would personally recommend.

Unless you're financially insecure, I recommend that you start giving something.

Getting into the habit of giving will change who you are as a person. You will become 'someone who gives money to charity' and will start to experience the joy and satisfaction that you get when you know that you're helping others with your money.

Beyond giving something, I recommend that you pick a standard that makes it meaningful to you. Be bold, be ambitious, be generous!

You might want to start small and work your way up — each year — to your ideal target, sit with that for a while, and then challenge yourself.

My favourite example: one couple reported that they increase their giving by 1% of their income each year on their wedding anniversary.

If you're wealthy, give much more. Perhaps follow the example of many notable philanthropists like 

 and start drawing down that wealth before you die so that there's less inequality in the world, and so that your children will not be spoiled with excess wealth.

It's not just how much you give, but also how effectively you give that matters. This is because the 

A $1 donation to a highly effective charity is going to be worth tens, hundreds, or thousands of times more than the same donation to an average charity... and worth infinitely more than a donation to a charity that accidentally does harm.

Giving 10 times more effectively is much easier than giving 10 times more.

Combining these two approaches is ideal: if you give 10 times more 

10 times more effectively then you've increased your impact by 100 times! Impact multiplication is a really powerful force.

For more on this topic, I recommend that you check out Giving What We Can's 

Another way to multiply your impact is to influence others through 

. This is the well-established psychological phenomenon that people tend to do what they see others doing. Because as humans, we are incredibly social animals.

If everyone kept their giving private, most people would think that giving isn't normal. On the other hand, giving publicly can influence others to follow your behaviour.

By being public (but not boastful) about your giving decisions — for example by making a 

 — you can help create a social norm where people give more, and give more effectively.

Take the view of giving over your lifetime. Ask yourself what will be sustainable. Because you don't want to end up like George Price, and you don't want to give too much too soon if it causes you to burn out and stop giving.

Take the time to plan your giving. Think carefully about how much you want to give and how you are going to do it.

Why you should save enough to live for 6-24 months

I recommend you also give regularly. This is because regular donors are more generous, and therefore more likely to have a bigger impact. They are estimated to give 

around 42% more per year, and up to 440% more over a lifetime

Giving habitually means you are more likely to continue, less likely to skip donations, and you can budget your giving much better.

Regular giving also helps the recipient charity to operate more efficiently, since they will receive more predictable revenue, and also spend less on fundraising.

If you are a patient philanthropist and want to invest to give later, use a mechanism like a 

 to get the immediate tax benefit while preventing 

 and making sure that you'll live up to your values.

Finally, share the joy of giving with other people. This will not only help establish norms around giving, but it can help you make better decisions, and you will have people to share this meaningful part of your life with.

Involving your family with your giving is a great way of building a family culture of care, generosity, and critical thinking. Involving your friends and colleagues can be a great activity to bond over. You could try running a fundraiser, a giving circle, or a 

If you want to discuss your donation decisions with others, you're very welcome to join the 

At the end of the day, charity is optional. No one is forcing you to give away your money, it is truly your choice... and that is what makes it so incredibly empowering.

We get to choose to make the world a better place. We each have an incredible opportunity to use our money to help others.

Not only does this make the world better, 

We're thrilled to announce that we've just passed 6,000 members of The Pledge! We're growing faster than ever, with 1,000 new members in only eight months.

May 2021 Newsletter

We're thrilled to announce that we've just passed 6,000 members of 

! We're growing faster than ever, with 1,000 new members in only eight months.

Thanks in no small part to those of you who have helped 

We hope to continue our growth by exploring new avenues, including appearing on more podcasts, collaborating with YouTube channels, giving talks in workplaces and universities, and developing original rich content. 

 us with any of these (or in any other ways).

We also ask that you take a few minutes to 

send a message to your favourite content creators

 suggesting that they cover these topics, have us as a guest, or collaborate with us.

We hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter which will cover our upcoming events, the latest from our blog, and news and updates about effective giving.

Come along and meet other people who are committed to effectively using their resources to improve the world:

:
Do the most good with your money for yourself and others


:
Explore the most effective ways to combat climate change


:
Ask anything, discuss donations, meet effective givers


If you have any questions or want to discuss your donation decisions with other members or our team, we recommend registering for an Open Forum event. 

Our volunteers have released more in our 

Charity begins at home; shouldn't we solve our own problems before helping others?

Shouldn't we address human suffering before working to reduce animal suffering?

Shouldn't we focus on economic growth, which can lift people out of poverty?

Do effective altruists only value short-term, measurable outcomes?

 written when signing up to a pledge give us so much inspiration that we decided to share some -- 

 in 2021. We have also made significant updates to the 

 platform and its resources (we invite you to apply for sponsorship).

, Dutch historian and author, recently took the Giving What We Can Pledge (adding to the number of 

'If you believe everyone is equal, why are you so rich?'

 (retired librarian and social worker from the USA).

why he dedicated his birthday to the Against Malaria Foundation

So much of our progress this month is due to our fantastic team of volunteers (of which you're welcome to 

Blog

How much money should we donate to charity?

May 2021 Newsletter

I Dedicated My Birthday to the Against Malaria Foundation

Shouldn't we address human suffering before working to reduce animal suffering?

Giving What We Can is Sponsoring 2021 Charity Elections

Shouldn’t we just focus on economic growth to lift people out of poverty?

Charity begins at home; shouldn't we solve our own problems before helping others?

Member Profile: Achim Fischbach

Do effective altruists only value short-term, measurable outcomes?

Member Profile: Sonya and Carl Christensen