Adapting the Pledge to your goals & values
We often get asked very specific questions about how to calculate a pledge. For example - should you count monetary gifts (such as from family members) as part of your income or just your salary? Or, if you gave 8% one year and plan to give 12% the next to “make up” for the missing 2%, do you need to factor in inflation and actually give over 12% the next year?
Our response to these types of inquiries is more or less a version of “it’s up to you.”
This isn’t because we don’t take the commitment aspect of the pledge seriously — rather, we believe that people’s circumstances differ enough that coming up with very complicated, specific guidelines that attempt to address every possible scenario is not a good use of our efforts and would increase barriers to pledging by making it overly confusing.
Instead, we encourage our members to follow the spirit of the 10% Pledge, which is to make a significant and sustainable commitment to give at minimum roughly 10% of what you consider your income (and we’ve offered a bit of guidance on pre-tax vs post-tax here) to improve the lives of others.
A benefit of this is that it encourages a lot of interesting and unique approaches to pledging. We wrote previously about 10% Pledger Philip Popien’s “progressive” pledge approach, where he decided to start at 10% of income and then gradually increased his percentage in line with changes in his salary, resulting in a 27.5% pledge seven years in.
Today, we’re spotlighting two other unique approaches to pledging — one that fits the pledge into the Financial Independence (FI) timeline and one that offers a way to transition from a Trial Pledge to a 10% Pledge simply by reinvesting tax benefits.
Pursuing FI & a Giving Pledge Simultaneously
Inspired by reading about the progressive pledge approach, Odin Mühlenbein, who took the pledge in November 2024, reached out to share another way of gradually increasing donations: aligning the increases not with salary bumps but with milestones on the road to financial independence, a goal he is also pursuing.
“FI means that the income from your wealth can cover your living costs, which makes working for money optional,” explains Odin. “It’s a way to live in line with your values, because you’re not dependent on whatever company you happen to work for — you no longer need to worry about leaving an organization that behaves in ways that you don’t support.”
While many people pursue FI to make big changes in their life – such as switching to a job with purpose or having more time for family, hobbies, and volunteering – Odin stressed that his motivation is different.
He’s not using FI as a path to early retirement; he believes that his work is impactful, and he finds it deeply satisfying, so he has no plans to stop working even when he no longer depends on the income. Instead, he sees FI as a way to make it easier to be morally ambitious, even in light of human weakness.
Above: Odin Mühlenbein, Pledger #9568
“I’m pursuing FI because it helps me donate more – it’s sort of like an emotional “cheat code” that calms down the lizard brain when it rebels against giving money away.”
Odin plans to work up to donating at least 30% of income, as well as donating most of the accumulated wealth (with interest) when he dies.
In other words, while some might see FI and the pledge as opposing goals, he sees them as very much linked. He explains: “I accept that given societal norms and my socialization, donating large portions of wealth and income will be hard. I don't trust myself to do something hard over a very long period of time. With this approach, once I donate over 30% of my income and my ego starts feeling uncomfortable about it, financial independence provides a powerful response: ‘Breathe! We have enough to live in comforts and luxury that people in other parts of the world or 100 years ago could only dream of – forever and without ever having to work again. What more could we possibly want?!’
Here’s Odin’s approach to pledging while pursuing FI:
I link my donations to milestones on the road to financial independence. Based on a rule of thumb in the FI community, you reach financial independence when you have 25-30 times your yearly expenses (more info here). For example, if you spend $30,000 per year, you need $750,000 - $900,000 to sustain your lifestyle without ever having to work again.
| Phase | Milestone that begins phase | Donations during phase |
|---|---|---|
| Initial savings phase | No donations — though in retrospect, I think 0% donations during the initial savings phase might have been a mistake. My savings rate has been above 50% for years, and donating 10% would not have delayed my journey that much. | |
| Later savings phase | 13x yearly expenses | Donate 10% |
| Hitting FI (with a tiny bit of remaining risk) | 21x yearly expenses | Donate 20% |
| Hitting FI (using even very conservative assumptions) | 30x yearly expenses | Donate between 30% of income and whatever I have in excess of FI |
Re-donating tax benefits to transform a 5% Pledge into a 10% Pledge
Jesus Rivas, founder of Redona, takes another approach to gradually ramping up donations: re-donating the tax benefits received. While he’s yet to formally take a giving pledge, he reached out to share his idea, as he thought it could make it easier for people to donate a significant portion of their income. Here’s his proposed approach:
- Base Annual Donation (5% of Income): Each year, the donor contributes 5% of their net income (at least €1,000 in the first year).
- Reinvestment of Tax Benefits: The tax deductions obtained from the initial donation are reinvested as an additional donation in the following year, amplifying the overall impact.
- Cumulative Result: Over the years, this process enables the total donated amount to approach or even exceed the goal of donating 10% of annual income, achieving a substantial philanthropic impact.
Granted, this approach may take shorter or longer depending on your country’s tax system and tax benefits. In Spain, where Jesus lives, donations to charitable organizations offer significant tax benefits: 80% deduction on the first €250 donated and 45% deduction on the remaining amount. This makes the tax system a key ally, and is useful for any donor:
“By reframing tax deductions as additional funds that should be reinvested, we reinforce the idea of a virtuous cycle in philanthropy. Each donor becomes a sort of social investor who, rather than seeking a financial return, gains a dividend of impact upon seeing their contribution grow within the NGO of their choice,” Jesus told us.
Jesus has used this “Donate, Deduct, Re-donate, Repeat” cycle himself and thinks it has huge potential to increase a donor’s impact:
Above: Jesus Rivas, founder of Redona
“This approach introduces the idea of “snowballing” into fundraising: every time you donate and then use the tax deduction to donate again, you add another layer of generosity to your initial contribution. Thus, that portion the government returns to you ceases to be mere savings and becomes a catalyst for increased support when redirected toward the social cause you care about. In other words, every initial donation becomes the first step toward generating additional funds, mirroring the principle of compounding interest found in financial products.”
So if you live in a country that offers significant tax benefits for donations, consider starting with 5% of your income, and then re-donating the tax benefits. Over the years, you should be able to gradually work up to donating 10%, without feeling like you’ve increased your contributions by that much.
What's your approach?
Do you also have a unique approach to the Pledge that could be helpful to others? Drop us a line and let us know!