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Grace Adams

February 2023 Newsletter

Hello and welcome to our February newsletter!

Earlier this month, we were shocked to hear about the devastation across Turkey and Syria caused by the earthquakes. Our hearts go out to our members in Turkey, and their communities. Although harrowing, hearing about and seeing pictures of disasters helps us empathise with the most challenging conditions people can face.

In the wake of this disaster, we published a blog from Stefan Shaw and Louise Kihlberg about 

what to consider when thinking about donating to disaster relief efforts

One thing that’s always on my mind after these highly publicised tragedies, are the ongoing tragedies occurring around the world, that aren’t receiving any media attention. The famine and 

 have received little news coverage. And the suffering from the “silent catastrophes” of 

With all of the suffering in the world, I am extremely grateful to be surrounded by a global community of people who are dedicated to effectively improving the lives of others. Your gifts have a meaningful impact on those you are helping, and are contributing to a more equal world. I hope giving makes you feel empowered to be a part of positive global change, as it does for me.

 to donate a portion of your income to highly effective charities today. Committing to a pledge was one of the most powerful things I’ve done.

We also published a great article from member Alana Horowitz-Friedman 

busting the myth that “the best charities are the ones with low overhead costs”

. This is an excellent piece to bring up with friends and family when discussing where to donate. Thanks, Alana for this well thought out article!

-Grace Adams & the rest of the Giving What We Can team

Family Empowerment Media (FEM) is an evidence-driven nonprofit committed to eliminating maternal deaths and other health burdens from unintended pregnancies. FEM produces and air radio-based social and behavioural change campaigns on family planning to empower women and men who want to delay or prevent pregnancy to consistently use contraception. 

Effective Giving Global Coordinator and Incubator

 to help us support the global effective giving community and the development of new effective giving initiatives. Applications close March 1st. 

Are you interested in volunteering to help us with marketing our events? We’re looking for an ongoing volunteer who can assist with promoting our upcoming events. 

We have decided to have a single meetup each month and alternate between Europe/Asia and Americas/Oceania each month. We invite you to connect with other members from around the world at these events. This month will be a social event getting to know other community members.

Our open forum is an event where you can come along with questions about effective giving and/or to meet others interested in effective giving. This event alternates between Europe/Asia and Americas/Oceania each month.

new post about how much solutions differ in effectiveness

, this is a great piece from Ben Todd, who found that some of Toby Ord’s original research that underpins the concept of effective giving holds up, and can be expanded to other areas. But Ben also points out that it might be most fair to say that the best charities are 10 times better than the median.

Do you know a lawyer who can do a small amount of work to help our Charity Elections program expand into new countries? 

Due to the changes in the rules surrounding Meta’s Giving Tuesday match, the project has officially been hibernated, which we communicated in this 

Charity Entrepreneurship has announced their 

top interventions in Large-Scale Global Health and Biosecurity

, which potential entrepreneurs can launch through the July-August 2023 

. The application deadline is March 12, 2023. Links for applications can be found 

 on February 20, 6PM UK Time, where Sam Hilton, Director of Research, will introduce the ideas and answer questions. Team members and incubatees will also be present at EAG Bay Area.

Animal Charity Evaluators is accepting applications for our 2023 Movement Grants! If you’re looking for funding to support your promising charity or initiative, 

Open Philanthropy is hiring for two exciting new roles

 - work with the Global Health & Wellbeing cause prioritization team to 

 potential new focus areas enabling Open Phil to prioritize across causes which informs their grantmaking. (Deadline February 26)

 - make grants to support the forecasting community, support Open Phil staff in commissioning external forecasts on specific questions of interest, and lead their 

Faunalytics has released our newest original report, 

Reforming Animal Agriculture Subsidies: A Guide for Advocates

. This report dives into animal agriculture subsidies and how advocates can reduce their harmful impact. Additionally, we have released a companion report, 

The Animal Agriculture Industry's Perspective On Advocates & Cage-Free Reforms

investment data analysis + survey results

 show that long-term investor appetite for alt proteins is strong despite challenging macroeconomic & market conditions slowing growth in 2022.

 and began offering cash incentives to caregivers in Kano State last month in order to encourage childhood vaccinations.

The Happier Lives Institute published a shallow cause exploration of 

, including some rough cost-effectiveness estimates for possible interventions.

 with Aga Khan University doctors which found that 40% of oil-based paints sampled from the market in Pakistan contained dangerous and illegal levels of lead, endangering the health of children. Some paint contained 1000 times the legal limit for lead.

The Council on Strategic Risks is excited to debut our inaugural class of our 

Fellowship for Reducing Nuclear Weapons Risks

. They had their first convening in late January and are meeting regularly ahead of an experiential learning trip sometime later this spring.

Support from our community has enabled TerraPraxis to launch its 

to help coal plant owners, investors, and policymakers evaluate the opportunity to decarbonize the global coal fleet – the single largest source of carbon emissions – with emission-free heat sources by 2050.

Have any feedback on our newsletter or communications? 

Why not streamline your giving by setting up a recurring donation to a highly effective charity today?

 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 

Stefan Shaw

Louise Kihlberg

The news of the latest earthquake affecting Turkey and Syria is devastating. In this post, we discuss how effective donations to disaster relief are and what to keep in mind if you want to donate to support the recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Turkey and Syria earthquake: Effective donation advice

The news that is currently reaching us from Syria and Turkey is devastating. The number of victims is revised upwards almost every hour. As of this writing, there are already over 

. The images are even worse, such as the photos of rescuers recovering bleeding and distressed infants from the rubble. And perhaps worst of all, imagining people still lying beneath the ruins calling for help while their loved ones try to reach them with their bare hands.

With the pictures and the news, human suffering reaches us unfiltered. What is happening there is beyond imagination.

Many people worldwide want to help and are looking for ways to support the rescue work through donations.

Experience shows that acute disasters accompanied by heartbreaking images trigger a desire to help in many people. In countries around the world, this can lead to enormous amounts of donations.

However, a very high volume of donations triggered by an acute disaster can sometimes lead to individual organisations receiving more money 

The horrific earthquake in Haiti in 2010 is an example of this. The overwhelming global support response meant that billions of aid funds had to be spent in Haiti, even when there were no longer any meaningful uses for the money. These organisations are often legally obliged to use the donations for the purpose defined by the donor — 

even if it no longer brings the recipients value.

At the same time as events such as those currently occurring in Turkey and Syria, other “silent” catastrophes are taking place worldwide. Unlike earthquakes, they do not suddenly appear — they have always been there. They rarely feature in international reporting because the newsworthy angle is missing and there is a lack of powerful images that capture attention.

One of these silent catastrophes is the young children dying daily from preventable diseases. 

More than 1,300 children die every day from malaria alone

, which can be prevented by providing simple interventions like mosquito nets. These deaths are like an earthquake occurring every day. And because this suffering goes largely unnoticed by the world, donations in fields like this are low — even though 

the life of a child can be saved here with just a few thousand dollars

, and many more children can be saved from pain and suffering.

But you can also look at it differently: Precisely because the high infant mortality rate from malaria is not the subject of ongoing reporting and the amount of donations is low, an individual can achieve a great deal here with their donation.

This is why Giving What We Can continue to recommend their 

, even in light of current disasters. The brutal and heartbreaking truth is that we do not have enough resources to help everyone. We believe individuals are likely to do more good by donating to these ongoing “silent” catastrophes.

What to consider when deciding to donate to the crisis in Turkey and Syria

Understandably, we strongly desire to contribute to acute crises, even when it is not where the money could make the most significant difference.

If you choose to donate to the situation in Turkey and Syria, here are some general tips to ensure your money goes the furthest.

Support an organisation with skills and experience.

Before donating your money to a charity, you should research to ensure they are running a well-coordinated effort with a professional approach and experience. If you can’t find an independent third-party evaluation, consider donating to a charity with better evidence supporting its work.

Act with consideration instead of making a quick decision. Rather than donating to the organisations that reach you quickly through outreach, take the time to find organisations with a high level of competence and the most significant potential to make a difference with your contributions.

Make sure your contribution will be used where it is most needed — even if it is not for this specific crisis.

Crises that receive a lot of attention can lead to an abundance of charitable giving, which can mean that money is not the limiting factor in how much help can be given (instead there might be other operational factors). If you don’t earmark your gift for a specific disaster, the organisation can choose where your money can make the most significant difference. Experience shows that money is sometimes left unused (as in Haiti in 2010).

Ensure that your gift will be used effectively by reviewing how the organisation reports its efforts and results.

Added 15 Feb 2022: Our friends at EA Turkey have compiled a 

 that may be well placed to help during the current disaster. These organisations have not been looked into for their effectiveness but we are sharing this list as potential organisations to look into if you did want to support the recovery efforts.

Thank you to Stefan Shaw and Louise Kihlberg for authoring this post.

Stefan Shaw is the Founder and Head of Philanthropy at Effektiv Spenden.

Louise Kihlberg works with communications for Ge Effektivt in Sweden.

Jon Lumer

Jon Lumer, a former attorney who started Western Pine Realty in Vancouver Canada shared his story with effective giving with us and we wanted to share it. Jon and his wife signed the Giving What We Can Pledge in July of 2020. They've now donated over $50,000 to effective charities and advocate for effective giving through the business.

Member Story: Western Pine Realty


On August 29, 2016, I heard Will MacAskill on the Making Sense podcast. The notion that a person could in fact save another person's life with what seemed like a relatively small amount of money was a revelation. The idea that this created some sort of obligation to do 

 was also immediately persuasive. I read Doing Good Better shortly thereafter and this conviction was reinforced.


I sent $1,000 to the Against Malaria Foundation at the end of November that year. Certainly this was the biggest donation I had ever made in my life at the time. Feeling confident that the money would actually do something made all the difference.


In 2015 I had stopped practicing criminal defense law in Montreal, moved across Canada with my wife, and began working in residential real estate sales in Vancouver, British Columbia by the middle of 2016. It wasn't easy getting off the ground, but I could see that the people around me were often making astounding incomes. We were living a nice life off much less. If we made a lot more, would we need it all? Could we justify keeping it or did others need it more? The answer was fairly obvious after reading Will's book.


We tried to become regular givers. It felt empowering when we made a big donation. But the giving could be sporadic. My income, entirely made from sales commissions, was (and is) unpredictable. How much did we need to save for lean times? How should we systematize the giving? Nevertheless, a seed had been planted and we kept giving and increasing our donations. I also felt like an evangelist for effective giving now. I wanted friends to know about GiveWell and effective altruism. I wanted my clients to know.


In July of 2020 my wife and I signed the Giving What We Can pledge. We were ready to commit to giving at least 10% of our income to effective charities for the rest of our lives. We also started our own real estate brokerage shortly thereafter.


By the middle of 2021, we had decided to make all of our donations via the corporation. More and more, I liked the idea of our brand being tied to the effective altruism movement. This would keep us more accountable and hopefully would help spread a message as well.


I decided that even though we couldn't fully anticipate our costs throughout the year and where we would be at the end of the year, it made sense to make our donations as soon as commissions were received. I have found it much easier to give if I do it before I start to even think the money is mine.


We started to give clients the choice of who would receive the money connected with their transactions from a predetermined list of GiveWell's top charities and eventually a couple from Life You Can Save.


We celebrated these donations by giving out sweaters with one of our logos on them and taking photos. We shared these on social media.


By the end of 2022, we had given away $50,000 (Canadian) through the corporation to effective charities over 18 months. For us, this is major. We plan to keep up with this giving and hope we can increase the dollar figure and proportion of giving year over year. We also wanted to put an emphasis on transparency, so we made all of the receipts available to our clients as well.



We have offered clients a free copy of Doing Good Better with every transaction and a few have taken us up on it. One client took us up on an offer to match any additional donation they made to one of the charities up to an amount of $1,000. I'd say we have received a lot of positive feedback.


But the truth is we are not sure of any impact beyond the money that has been donated and we are happy enough with that. This kind of giving feels like a big part of lives now and it makes work feel more meaningful. It makes everything more meaningful.

" series, which profiles a selection of the Giving What We Can community. The Giving What We Can community is comprised 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 help others. 

-Read more 

 to help inspire others to give more, and more effectively.

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

Luke Furness

Member Profile: Luke Furness

We recently spoke with Luke Furness, an Australian lawyer who started his effective giving journey after picking up a book during COVID lockdowns. He also was the previous CEO of Out for Australia, a national LGBTI+ student mentoring non-profit, and currently volunteers at his local community kitchen. 

Tell us about yourself. What keeps you busy and what makes you tick?

Day-to-day, I'm a lawyer at a major Australian law firm. I love dancing (hip hop please), bird watching, having friends round for dinner, and reading books (particularly moral philosophy).

I drifted into law on autopilot because I got the grades in school, because I was good at debating, and because it seemed prestigious and secure. It turns out I really like it (the intellectual challenge, the strategy, and working with some super smart people), but I only discovered that much later.

I've kind of always been a joiner and wanted to do "extracurriculars". I had leadership roles in quite a few university societies and so was keen to contribute in my working life too. I also kind of stumbled into Out for Australia, an Australian nonprofit, too. I found them before LGBTI inclusion initiatives had really taken off and was keen to see more of them in my own home town of Brisbane, Australia. I was attracted to the idea of supporting LGBTI students transition into the workplace because I wasn't out when I first started at my law firm. I started as the Queensland director and then got the chance to apply for the CEO position which was my first leadership position in a non-profit and something I'm really proud of.

Tell us about your effective giving journey.

It all started in COVID when it felt like the world was falling apart and I did a lot of thinking about what there was to live for. I stumbled into a bookstore on the Sunshine Coast and picked up a book on a whim - Hugh Mackay's 

. The bookshop owner said "you'll enjoy that," and I did. It was the first book that showed me that a good life is a life lived for others and I've been looking at ways to make an impact ever since. The book taught me a few things:

First, that happiness is a fleeting emotion. While happiness is a great thing, having your own, personal happiness as a life goal seems difficult and unfulfilling. Second, that living a good life must mean a life lived for others, even if you don't know them or even particularly like them. Third, that most people discover that way too late in life and spend too much time barking up a succession of wrong trees. Why not start right now?

I think I was sold by the logic of effective altruism. It seemed right that if I can give up a little to prevent a lot of suffering, then I probably should. I also thought that it was a bit of a cop out to expect the billionaires to do all the giving. There are many of us living comfortable, middle-class lives in western countries, but that have some resources to spare.

I was very apprehensive at first about donating even 1%. I remember (embarrassingly) feeling like I was a sucker for giving away "so much" to people I'd never meet when I didn't know anyone who did the same. Now, I give 10% and barely notice, which proves just how lucky I am and how I should have been doing this for years.

Why did you take the Giving What We Can pledge?

To keep myself committed. I liked the idea for a life-long commitment, particularly as I got married this year too!

What are the issues in the world that you care most deeply about?

Ending extreme poverty. It just seems such an obvious proposition that there are still people in extreme need of financial assistance to have a chance at a quality life.  There are a lot of causes that we don't know whether they help or not, but I was convinced by the research from organisations like GiveWell that there are effective ways to get the money and supplies to those that need it.

Which organisations do you give to (and why)?

Effective Altruism Australia. I just let them do the split. I figure if I agree with the logic of effective altruism, I can leave it to the experts to work out the best way to use my money.

At the start, yes. Not anymore. It actually gives me great contentment now to know that I'm giving back.

Do you have any examples of times where you decided to not spend money on something your peers would have?

I live far more modestly than I once did. I remember being in Florence when I was 19 and buying a pair of EUR 360 shoes! That's embarrassing to me now. My last pair of shoes came from K Mart.

Do you try to effect change in any other way?

I've volunteered across several LGBTI+ organisations and was the CEO of Out for Australia, a national LGBTI+ student mentoring non-profit. I also volunteer at my local community kitchen. Despite a strong belief in effective altruism's internationalism, I still find myself drawn to poverty alleviation in my own city.

What suggestions do you have for other people considering the pledge?

Just start by giving a really small amount. It could be the 1% trial pledge or even something less. Then increase it over time like I did. Once inspiration strikes, set up a recurring transfer. Once that's set up, it's "set and forget" and if you're lucky like me, you won't even notice it's gone.

Have any books or documentaries or articles or studies significantly changed the way you see giving?

Have you found anything to be helpful in talking to people about effective giving?

Just talk about what you're doing and how it gives you joy. Don't couch it as things that they should be doing. Be empathetic to responses like "I can't give that much because..." People don't like being told what to do.

Are there any other concrete ways that Giving What We Can has helped you?

I think that there is a warm glow you get from knowing that there are whole organisations out there dedicated to helping people find the answers to living a good life and giving out things, like the pledge certificate, for free. It's cause for great optimism.

For this interview with spoke with Luke Furness, an Australian lawyer who started his effective giving journey after picking up a book during COVID lockdowns. He also was a previous CEO of Out for Australia, a national LGBTI+ student mentoring non-profit and volunteers at his local community kitchen. 

Alana Horowitz Friedman

Aren’t the best charities those with the lowest overhead costs?

I used to be heavily sceptical about charitable giving. I wanted to help others, but worried that my charitable donations might be doing little more than alleviating my own guilt. After all, how could I know that my money was actually 

The pile of address labels, stickers, and greeting cards arriving in the mail from charities I didn’t even donate to certainly didn’t inspire confidence; why were charities spending precious funds on unsolicited address labels while simultaneously putting out “urgent funding appeals” left and right?

Because I wasn’t sure how to evaluate the impact of a charity’s programs, I instead would focus on a charity’s spending habits: in other words, I would use Charity Navigator or a similar website to look up the percentage of funds spent directly on the charity’s programs vs. on administrative costs/CEO pay. I told myself that the charities spending the most on their programs must be better than those spending more on overhead.

Blog

February 2023 Newsletter

Turkey and Syria earthquake: Effective donation advice

Member Story: Western Pine Realty

Member Profile: Luke Furness

Aren’t the best charities those with the lowest overhead costs?

Member Story: Sam Voigt

Financial Independence to Philanthropy: Yield & Spread's Rebecca Herbst

Member Profile: Forrest Wells

Member Profile: Meera Bradley

Giving effectively by hacking your psychology