Yesterday we reached 5,000 members who have pledged to give at least 10% of their lifetime earnings!
Read more about this milestone, watch the video message from our founders & members, and join us this weekend to celebrate!
This is the online edition of our September 2020 email newsletter (subscribe here).
This edition includes information about our 5,000 member celebration events; updates from Giving What We Can, EA Funds, Open Philanthropy, GiveWell and Charity Entrepreneurship; a selection of interesting articles; upcoming events you can join; and some ways you can help.
5,000 Member Celebration Events
To celebrate reaching 5,000 members who have taken The Pledge we are organising a huge global hangout day (in person and online) this weekend (3-4 of October) and a few events on other dates.
News & Updates
Giving What We Can
5,000 People Have Pledge To Give At Least 10% Of Lifetime Income
More than 5,000 people have pledged to give at least ten percent of their lifetime earnings to effective charities. We're hosting events to celebrate and many of our members have submitted messages about this milestone.
GWWC has been in the news around the world lately
'The global financial elite? You are that!' in the German Perspective Daily, 'What worms can teach us about the AI apocalypse' in the British Unherd, and 'The Giving What We Can Pledge encourages you to donate 10% of your income' featured our member Tom Bry-Chevalier in the French Carenews.
We've made significant updates to our giving recommendations page, including tips for giving as a community, picking an individual charity, and where to find local regranting organisations.
Giving What We Can member and Swedish singer-songwriter José González did a live streaming performance in partnership with The Life You Can Save to raise funds to help people living in extreme poverty.
Moral Uncertainty by Will MacAskill and Toby Ord
The two founders of Giving What We Can, Will MacAskill and Toby Ord, have released a new academic book "Moral Uncertainty" which looks at how we should make decisions in the face of moral uncertainty.
You can now follow @giving_what_we_can on Instagram -- thanks to the efforts of our wonderful volunteer Carly!
"I think that people unfamiliar with giving not only miss out on the positive impact that we can have on the lives of others, but also the positive impact on ourselves. There is a strong satisfaction in doing what you think is good!"
Grantmakers, Evaluators and Incubators
EA Funds
The Effective Altruism Infrastructure Fund published a payout report for its September Grants 2020 and is calling for applications. The Long-Term Future Fund published a payout report for its September 2020 Grants.
Open Philanthropy
Open Philanthropy made grants to support work on advancing farm animal welfare in Asia, the "Fed Up" campaign, testing the efficacy of a universal antiviral drug candidate against all influenza strains, and conducting research on pain and anesthesiology.
GiveWell
GiveWell has changed the name of their donation option "Grants to recommended charities at GiveWell's discretion" to the Maximum Impact Fund. The new name better reflects how donations with this allocation are used.
Charity Entrepreneurship
Charity Entrepreneurship announced their 2020 Top Charity Ideas. Included specific suggestions in mental health, health & development policy, animal advocacy, and family planning.
Upcoming Events
- October 2-3: GWWC 5,000 Member Celebration Meetups
- October 24-25: Effective Altruism Student Summit
- November 7-8: GWWC November Online Meetups
- November 21-22: EAGxAsia-Pacific
Related Reading
How does GiveDirectly's basic income affect recipients during COVID-19? Did cash transfers keep people from going to work sick, or help them avoid hospitals full of other infected patients?
Can a philosophy class alter ethical behavior? One study found that sitting in a discussion section on the ethics of meat led students to lower their meat consumption.
Will human-level AI happen soon? Understanding the timing of human-level AI is an important consideration if we care about protecting our long-term future. Asya Bergal discusses reasons you might think human-level AI is unlikely to happen soon.
Africa has been declared free of wild polio. Twenty-five years ago, thousands of children in Africa were paralysed by the virus. Today the disease is found only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
ALLFED has published a new research paper in Sustainable Production and Consumption. Their paper explores alternative foods for preventing mass starvation in catastrophic scenarios (i.e. nuclear winter).
Ben Todd on the core of effective altruism and how to argue for it. The latest 80,000 Hours podcast with Arden and Ben covers a range of topics related to effective altruism ranging from whether it includes a moral obligation to give to how to talk about effective altruism for people who aren't already familiar with it.
How do you weigh selfish decisions versus altruistic ones? This discussion on reddit covers how people tackle this question and includes some links to great resources.
Want to fight climate change effectively? Here's where to donate your money. These are six of the most high-impact, cost-effective, evidence-based organisations. You may not have heard of them.
Why we're excited to fund charities' work a few years in the future. This article by GiveWell covers the key reasons why funding today leads to more impact in the future.
Can you help?
Is your company interested in making a pledge? We've had increased interest in companies pledging to give a significant portion of their profits to effective charities. Let us know if you're interested (or are already doing this).
Do you have a personal blog or website? Consider helping us spread the word by (a) writing something about Giving What We Can; or (b) linking to us in your sidebar or footer (e.g. What are the best charities to donate to?, Are you on the global rich list?, I've taken a giving pledge!).
Did you want to write for our blog? Reply and suggest a topic you'd like to write about, or ask us for ideas.
Do you want to run an effective giving event within your workplace, school, or community group? We'd love to help -- simply email us to let us know.
Feel like sharing your effective giving story? Help inspire others by telling the story of your experience, and why you give.
Want to help spread the word about effective giving? We have more suggestions on our share our ideas page, or you can offer to volunteer.