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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.

Turning the value of my scholarship into effective donations has been a rewarding experience, and it’s one I look forward to continuing. By focusing on effective charities and encouraging others to do the same, we can multiply our impact. Whether through donations, career choices, or conversations, each step we take brings us closer to a world where privilege is leveraged for the greater good.

If you're inspired to learn more or get involved, please don't hesitate to reach out. Together, we can make a significant difference.

High Impact Professionals (HIP) offers several programs designed to maximise the positive impact of experienced professionals:

 and get seen by impact-oriented organisations.

: A 6-week program to help driven professionals make real-world impact. To join a group of like-minded people in this action-focused program, 

By aligning professional skills and career choices with impactful causes, HIP enables individuals to maximise their effectiveness and drive substantial change.

Grace Adams

An online copy of our July 2024 email newsletter

GWWC Newsletter July 2024

July news: Our pledge’s new name & a request for your insights

We need your help – for science! (Well… research)

We want to better understand how to get more people across the world to give to effective charities. So, we are running a study to improve our understanding of what facilitates or stops people from giving to effective charities or pledging.

We need around 200 people who have taken the pledge and 200 who have not taken the pledge to participate in this study by taking a 15 minute survey.

While this is an ambitious goal, it's important for us to meet it. A better understanding of what facilitates or stops pledges helps us base our work and strategy on evidence, something we care deeply about.

If you take part in the study, we will also directly follow up with you and send you a document that compares your responses to each question to the average responses of all participants. This should give you some interesting information about how some of your beliefs, conceptions, and answers compare to others!Once again, we will be very grateful if you take the survey.

There are some more great updates and news down below!

By signing this pledge, I hope to contribute to establishing a culture of donating in my social environment.

I want to reduce astronomical suffering both in the near term and long term future, for both human and non-human animals, and expand our moral circle to promote welfare more widely.

After donating 10% over the last year without pledging, I have found that I have had no reduction in the quality of my life. It's a no-brainer!

I want to ensure some of my resources are directed to effective impact, and this commitment device will help it actually happen, and may help others to do the same! 

Because I acknowledge the harm that wealth inequality causes and am enthusiastic to see how much further my money can go elsewhere. 

Summer is here, and we'll be hosting a relaxed picnic in Dude Chilling Park, complete with vegan snacks and food. We'll bring some board games and a Frisbee to enjoy the park and the sun. Feel free to bring more snacks and games to share with the group. Some of us have just returned from EA Global London, fresh with ideas to help increase donations to high-impact charities. Come and enjoy a chill picnic in the sun—everyone is welcome!

. July 28th, 11am - 1pm PDT at Guelph Park, 2390 Brunswick St, Vancouver, BC V5T 3L8

As the July picnic was forced inside thanks to the fine British weather, GWWC London is hosting 

. Hang out, chat or play some frisbee in the sun with other Giving What We Can 10% pledgers, trial pledgers, further pledgers and effective givers.

Bring your own picnic blankets, snacks, games and, if you’re so inclined, crafting materials (Gemma will be bringing her watercolours and some other materials for others to use). We’d also like to explicitly encourage you to invite along a friend who might be interested in effective giving. Families and the pledge curious are welcome!

. Sun, Aug 4 at 8 – 11 am EDT at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, UK

We are looking for a skilled volunteer to help support us on PR and media

The Giving What We Can Pledge is now the 10% Pledge

! The name change will help us grow awareness of the pledge by reducing brand confusion and facilitating partnerships. You can help by adding the orange diamond emoji 🔸 to your social profiles if you’ve taken the 10% Pledge, or the small blue diamond 🔹 emoji if you’ve taken the Trial Pledge.

Rutger Bregman, historian and author, studied the history of great social movements and noticed that most of them were financed philanthropically. Previously a sceptic, he learned about effective giving from Giving What We Can and took the 10% Pledge in 2020. He says it changed his life. We are grateful Rutger is so proud to be part of our community! 

He wants to help us make this a cultural norm.

 from Amsterdam who shared how effective giving unites his nerd and hippie tendencies, how being a pledger has made donating much easier for him, and that he sees his 10% Pledge as part of a portfolio of ways he tries to effect change in the world: through his resources, work, voice, and actions. Read 

 in collaboration with the Open Sanctuary Project, gathering together research insights to help farmed animal sanctuaries do their valuable work.

Faunalytics is also accepting applications for a 

 to oversee and maintain their Research Library, help develop and edit content, and support the Content Director to drive the overall vision and execution of Faunalytics’ content plan. Applications are due July 31st.

 for Q1 of 2024. We picked out some highlights!

Campaigns by THL UK helped convince Morrisons and Lidl to commit to giving their chickens 20% more space, improving the lives of an estimated 114 million chickens annually!

The organisation achieved an impressive 318 million potential media impressions through extensive media coverage of their campaigns, significantly raising awareness about animal welfare issues.

 (ACE) is hiring for a Communications Director who will be accountable for establishing and executing strategic marketing and communications plans. Check out the full job description and 

A Day in the Life of Hauwa Ibrahim, a Mother from Kwamarawa Village

, a story about a dedicated and resilient mother impacted by their work to incentivise child immunisations. Read about how this impacted Hauwa, a mother of eight, who previously almost lost one of her children to measles. You can 

 – certain things can transcend continents, culture, and circumstances: a mother’s desire for her child to be healthy and a baby’s simple contentment playing with plastic kitchenware.

! The team reported back that 100% were satisfied with the video, that they were happy to see their community’s joy and success and appreciated this visit to their market. The community also gave actionable feedback for next time, which you can read in GiveDirectly’s 

Blog

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

80-year-old Bob Layne thought others should know about effective giving. So he made it happen.

March Newsletter 2024