Giving What We Can

File:Toby_Ord.jpg is one of the founders of Giving What We Can.]]

Giving What We Can was launched as a giving society in 2009 by Toby Ord, an ethics researcher at Oxford, his wife Bernadette Young, a physician in training at the time, and fellow ethicist William MacAskill

{{cite news |last1=MacFarquhar |first1=Larissa |date=22 September 2015 |title=Extreme altruism: should you care for strangers at the expense of your family? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/22/extreme-altruism-should-you-care-for-strangers-as-much-as-family |work=The Guardian}}

{{cite book|last1=Singer|first1=Peter|title=The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism is Changing Ideas about Living Ethically|date=2015|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300180275|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GriFBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|language=en}} with the goal of encouraging people to give at least 10% over the course of their working life to alleviate world poverty.{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8360098.stm | title = Academic pledges to give away £1m | date = 14 November 2009 | publisher = BBC}} This is similar to Ma'aser kesafim (giving 10% of income) in Jewish tradition and zakat{{cite news|title=Editorial: Unthinkable? Giving 10%|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/06/unthinkable-giving-10-per-cent|work=The Guardian|date=6 January 2012}} in Islam, but Ord said there was no religious motivation behind it. Ord cited writings from Peter Singer and Thomas Pogge about one's moral duty to give to the poor as inspiration for starting the organisation,{{cite magazine|url= http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/01/man-who-gives-away-third-his-income|title = The man who gives away a third of his income. Would you give up a luxury to save a life?|date = 8 January 2013|magazine = New Statesman|last = Gill|first = Martha}} and personally planned to give away everything above about $28,000 a year, the median after-tax salary in the U.K. His focus was on effective giving, meaning that he emphasised donations to charities which saved a maximal amount of life per donation amount.{{cite news|last1=Geoghegan|first1=Tom|title=Toby Ord: Why I'm giving £1m to charity|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-11950843|work=BBC News|date=13 December 2010}}

GWWC was launched with 23 members. People who joined signed a pledge to give away 10% of their income to any organisation they thought could best address poverty in the developing world, and could pledge more; there was no penalty for quitting.{{cite news | title = Take My Money, I Don't Want It | author = Richard Woods | newspaper = The Sunday Times | date = 15 November 2009 | url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/take-my-money-i-dont-want-it/news-story/353d39b9c4fcf37099babd323a4cc9a6 }} By the end of 2011 it had 177 members, mostly other academics, in five chapters including Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Harvard.{{cite news|last1=Rustin|first1=Susanna|title=The Saturday interview: Toby Ord and Bernadette Young on the joy of giving|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/dec/24/toby-ord-bernadette-young-joy-of-giving|work=The Guardian|date=23 December 2011}}

By November 2011, the organisation was providing its members regular reports on what charities were most effective at addressing poverty in the developing world,{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204528204577010061347756838|title = Small Sacrifice, Big Return|last = Espinoza|first = Javier|date = 28 November 2011|newspaper = Wall Street Journal}} and at that time was recommending a tropical diseases group and a de-worming group that each worked in Africa.{{cite news|last1=Mathieson|first1=S. A.|title=How charity evaluators are changing the donations landscape|url=https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2013/jun/11/charity-evaluators-assess-charities|access-date=18 March 2017|work=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|date=11 June 2013}} Ord relied in part on research conducted by GiveWell, and also used the concept of the quality-adjusted life-year to gauge effectiveness of charities.{{cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Tina|title=Putting Charities to the Test|url=https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/putting-charities-to-the-test/|access-date=18 March 2017|work=Opinionator|publisher=The New York Times|date=5 December 2012|language=en}}

In 2011, a sister organisation at Oxford led by MacAskill and others called "High Impact Careers" was spun off from Giving What We Can. This organisation encouraged people to pursue high-paying jobs so they could give more money away.{{cite web | title = Helping the poor…by getting rich: ingenious or delusional?| url = http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/giving-high-impact-careers-debate/ | publisher = Ceasefire Magazine| date = 24 November 2011|last=Younis|first=Musab}}{{cite journal|last1=Cutterham|first1=Tom|title=The Ethical Careers Debate|journal=Oxford Left Review|date=May 2012|issue=7|page=4|url=https://oxfordleftreview.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/issue-7.pdf}}{{cite journal|last1=Hamlett|first1=Claire|title=The Philosophy of Giving|journal=Philosophy Now|date=July–August 2012|issue=91|url=https://philosophynow.org/issues/91/The_Philosophy_of_Giving}} High Impact Careers was soon renamed to 80,000 Hours.{{cite web|last1=Shade|first1=Robbie|title=80,000 Hours is launched!|url=http://rjshade.com/2011/11/22/80000-Hours/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318035201/http://rjshade.com/2011/11/22/80000-Hours/|archive-date=18 March 2017|date=22 November 2011}} In 2012 the two organisations incorporated the Centre for Effective Altruism as a nonprofit to serve as an umbrella organisation.{{cite web|title=Centre for Effective Altruism|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07962181|publisher=UK Companies House|access-date=18 March 2017|language=en}} In 2024, Giving What We Can became its own legal entity again.{{Cite web |date=31 August 2024 |title=Giving What We Can is now its own legal entity! |url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/en/blog/spin-out |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Giving What We Can |language=en}}

In its early days, it recommended a selected set of charities in the area of global health. In 2017, stopped conducting original research but rather started to recommend to its members to follow the advice by charity evaluators such as GiveWell, Animal Charity Evaluators and Founders Pledge.{{Cite web|title=What are the best charities to donate to in 2021?|url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/donate/|access-date=2021-03-18|website=www.givingwhatwecan.org}}{{Cite journal|title=CEA's strategic update for February 2017 – EA Forum|url=https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/hAeL4DdrDjqfo98t7/cea-s-strategic-update-for-february-2017|access-date=2020-09-25|website=forum.effectivealtruism.org|date=18 March 2017 }} Additionally, they recommend a list of individual charities that cover a wide range of causes including global poverty alleviation, animal welfare and the welfare of future generations.

{{see also|Charity evaluator}}

Giving What We Can used to conduct research to determine which charities it would recommend for members and other people to support. It differed from other charity evaluators in terms of the importance given to metrics of charity performance. While evaluators such as Charity Navigator used the fraction of donations spent on program expenses versus administrative overhead as an important indicator, Giving What We Can solely focused on the cost-effectiveness of the charity's work.{{cite web|title=Charities in the ethical spotlight|url=http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/factsvgreenwash/charitiesandtheirsocialandenvironmentalperformance.aspx|website=www.ethicalconsumer.org|publisher=Ethical Consumer|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319031757/http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/factsvgreenwash/charitiesandtheirsocialandenvironmentalperformance.aspx|archive-date=19 March 2017|url-status=dead}} It believed that the variance in cost-effectiveness of charities arose largely due to the variance in the nature of the causes that the charities operate in, and therefore made evaluations across broad areas of work such as health, education, and emergency aid before comparing specific organisations.{{cite web|title=How We Assess Charities|url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/how-we-assess-charities|website=Giving What We Can|access-date=18 March 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140703090044/http://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/how-we-assess-charities|archive-date=3 July 2014|url-status=dead}} In practice, it recommended a selected few charities in the area of global health. Its work was therefore similar to that of GiveWell. In 2017, the Centre for Effective Altruism stopped conducting original research into giving opportunities based on significant overlap with organisations like GiveWell and the Open Philanthropy Project.

Giving What We Can promotes giving pledges as a means to help individuals align their actions with their values, take concrete steps to improve the world, and influence societal norms around charitable giving. All members share a commitment to donating at least part of their income and are commonly referred to as "pledgers."

The 10% pledge is a voluntary and non-legal commitment to donate 10% or more of one's income.{{Cite web |title=We're renaming the Giving What We Can Pledge |url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/blog/renaming-the-giving-what-we-can-pledge-to-10-percent-pledge |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.givingwhatwecan.org |language=en}} This figure is the minimum percentage and was chosen because it has a good balance of significant and achievable. It is a significant proportion of income, in recognition of the importance of the problem and the need for real action. But it is also within the reach of most people in the developed world. Some members decide to go further and commit to donating 20% or even 50%.

{{cite web

|title= Why 10%?

|url= https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/#43-why-10

|website= Giving What We Can

|access-date= October 25, 2020}}

In late 2023, GWWC added the option to pledge wealth instead of income. This was in recognition of the fact that, for the very wealthy, much of their resources are in the form of wealth rather than income, and so pledging a percentage of wealth would be more in line with the spirit of the pledge. The optional wealth component of the Pledge allows individuals to commit to giving either 10% of their income or a custom percentage of their wealth annually, whichever is greater. {{Cite web |title=Giving What We Can has a new pledge option! |url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/en/blog/giving-what-we-can-has-a-new-pledge-option |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=www.givingwhatwecan.org |language=en}} Head of TED Chris Anderson who helped develop the wealth pledge option, was among the first to take it.

Some members decide to go even further and perform the "Further Pledge". The member defines a basic annual income that they expect to live on. All income above this level will be donated to effective measures.

{{cite web

|title= Further Pledge

|url= https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/further-pledge/

|website= Giving What We Can

|access-date= October 25, 2020}}

Founder Toby Ord further pledged to donate anything he earned over £20,000 a year, based on his conviction that he could live comfortably and happily on this income.

Co-founder Will MacAskill is also among those who have made such a pledge.{{Cite magazine |last=Bajekal |first=Naina |date=2022-08-10 |title=Inside the Growing Movement to Do the Most Good Possible |url=https://time.com/6204627/effective-altruism-longtermism-william-macaskill-interview/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |magazine=Time |language=en}}

Because some people may be interested but not yet ready to take the 10% Pledge, it is also possible to make a temporary commitment called "The Trial Pledge". This involves making a commitment to donate at least 1% of one's income for a specified period of time.

{{cite web

|title=Try Giving

|url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/try-giving/

|access-date= October 25, 2020

|publisher=givingwhatwecan.org

|language=en}}

In 2020, GWWC launched the option for companies to also declare their commitment to donating to effective organizations. In this case, companies commit to donate at least 10% of their net profits to effective charities. By 2024, 51 companies had signed up.

{{cite web

|title = Company members

|url = https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/members/#companies

|access-date= October 25, 2020

|publisher = givingwhatwecan.org

|language = en}}

By 2012, 264 people from 17 countries had taken the 10% Pledge.

{{cite news |last=Hellen |first=Nicholas |date=9 December 2012 |title=Oxford don sparks flood of charity cash |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/People/article1173041.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312233856/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/People/article1173041.ece |archive-date=12 March 2013 |newspaper=The Sunday Times}}

It surpassed 1,000 members in 2015 and 5,000 members in 2020.

{{cite web |date=27 September 2020 |title=5,000 people have pledged to give at least 10% of their lifetime incomes to effective charities |url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2020/09/5000-people-have-pledged/}}

File:Peter Singer - Effective Altruism -Melb Australia Aug 2015.jpg has been a member of Giving What We Can since its foundation.]]

Since its inception in 2009 the Giving What We Can Pledge was signed by various prominent individuals:{{Cite web|title=Members|url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/members/|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.givingwhatwecan.org}}

• A. J. Jacobs{{snd}}American journalist, author, and lecturer best known for writing about his lifestyle experiments
• Adam Swift{{snd}}professor of political theory at University College London
• Alan Fenwick{{snd}}professor of tropical parasitology at the Imperial College London, Founder of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI){{Cite web|title=WHO {{!}} Professor Alan Fenwick|url=https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/Fenwick/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021230744/http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/Fenwick/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2014|access-date=2020-09-25|website=WHO}}
• Ali Abdaal{{snd}} YouTuber, productivity expert, and bestselling author{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5-QN35AJq0 |title=Why I’m giving 10% of my income to charity (forever) |date=2024-08-09 |last=Ali Abdaal |access-date=2025-01-16 |via=YouTube}}
• Amelia Gray{{snd}}American writer
• Aviva Baumann{{snd}}American actress
• Ben Delo{{snd}}British mathematician, computer programmer, and entrepreneur, co-founder of BitMEX
• Ben Lester{{snd}}British recording artist and multi-instrumentalist
• Bruce Friedrich{{snd}}executive director of The Good Food Institute, a non-profit that received donation funding from Y Combinator
• Clare Gallagher{{snd}}American ultrarunner
• Chris Anderson{{snd}}Head of TED (conference){{Cite web|title=Chris Anderson talking about his pledge on X|url=https://twitter.com/TEDchris/status/1750640510782591426|access-date=2024-06-01|website=Twitter|language=en}}
• Derek Parfit{{snd}}senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, visiting professor of philosophy at Harvard University, New York University, and Rutgers University
• Derek Thompson{{snd}}American journalist and staff writer at The Atlantic
• Diana Fleischman{{snd}}American evolutionary psychologist and senior lecturer at University of Portsmouth
• Dustin Moskovitz{{snd}}American entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. and Asana, and philanthropist who co-founded Open Philanthropy{{Cite web|title=Dustin Moskovitz sharing his pledge on Twitter|url=https://twitter.com/moskov/status/1645465885493297152|access-date=2023-04-10|website=Twitter|language=en}}
• Dylan Matthews{{snd}}American journalist, correspondent for Vox
• Ellie Chowns{{snd}}housing and communities spokesperson and Member of Parliament for the Green Party of England and Wales
• Eva Vivalt{{snd}}Canadian economist, assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto and the founder of research institute AidGrade
• Janet Radcliffe Richards{{snd}}professor of practical philosophy at the University of Oxford{{Cite web|title=Profile of Janet Radcliffe-Richards|url=https://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/people/janet-radcliffe-richards}}
• John Bohannon{{snd}}American science journalist and scientist who is director of science at Primer, an artificial intelligence company
• Jonathan Blow{{snd}}American video game designer, programmer and Twitch streamer
• José González{{snd}}Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist
• Kelsey Piper{{snd}}American journalist and staff writer at Vox
• Ken Baumann{{snd}}American actor, writer, publisher and book designer
• Leah Price{{snd}}American literary critic
• Liv Boeree{{snd}}television presenter and former professional poker player
• Marcus Daniell{{snd}}Olympic tennis player from New Zealand with 5 ATP titles{{Cite web|url=https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/new-zealand-s-marcus-daniell-is-giving-back-to-the-game|title=New Zealand's Marcus Daniell is giving back to the game|website=Tennis.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://highimpactathletes.org/blog/i-just-pledged-to-donate-10-for-the-rest-of-my-life|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115031743/https://highimpactathletes.org/blog/i-just-pledged-to-donate-10-for-the-rest-of-my-life|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 January 2021|title=I Just Pledged to Donate 10% For the Rest of My Life|website=High Impact Athletes}} and founder of the organization High Impact Athletes
• Michael Greger{{snd}}American physician, author, and professional speaker on public health issues and advocate for plant-based diets
• Michael Kremer{{snd}}holder of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, professor in economics and public policy at the University of Chicago
• Nir Eyal{{snd}}professor of bioethics and director of the Center for Population–Level Bioethics at Rutgers University{{Cite web|title=Rutgers profile page for Dr. Nir Eyal|url=https://ifh.rutgers.edu/faculty_staff/nir-eyal-dphil/}}
• Peter Eckersley{{snd}}Australian computer scientist, computer security researcher and activist{{Cite news |last1=Hagerty |first1=James R. |last2=McMillan |first2=Robert |date=9 September 2022 |title=Peter Eckersley Helped Encrypt Internet Traffic to Foil Snoops |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/peter-eckersley-helped-encrypt-internet-traffic-to-foil-snoops-11662732014 |access-date=10 September 2022 |issn=0099-9660}}
• Peter Singer{{snd}}professor of bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne
• Pilvi Takala{{snd}}Finnish award-winning performance artist
• Rachel Glennerster{{snd}}chief economist at the Department for International Development (DFID)
• Romesh Ranganathan{{snd}}English actor, comedian and presenter
• Rutger Bregman{{snd}}Dutch popular historian and author of four books on history, philosophy, and economics, including Utopia for Realists
• Sam Harris{{snd}}American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, podcast host, and prominent atheist
• Thomas Pogge{{snd}}Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University, director of the Global Justice Program
• Toby Ord{{snd}}senior research fellow at the University of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute
• William MacAskill{{snd}}associate professor in philosophy at the University of Oxford

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can]
• {{EW charity|1149828|Centre for Effective Altruism}}

{{Effective altruism}}

{{Charity}}

Category:2009 establishments in England

Category:Altruism

Category:British review websites

Category:Charities based in Oxfordshire

Category:International organisations based in the United Kingdom

Category:Charity review websites

Category:Poverty-related organizations

Category:Organizations established in 2009

Category:Centre for Effective Altruism