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Grace Adams


Earlier this year, we told you about our goal to hit 10,000 10% Pledges by 2025. In the coming few months, we’re going to ramp things up in pursuit of that goal!

I want to flag some exciting upcoming events so you can be sure to keep an eye out if you’re interested in getting involved. We’ll be:

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of GWWC and the 10% Pledge

by lighting up the internet with stories, quotes, and photos from November 18th to 24th

November will mark 15 years since the Pledge was created in 2009! We’ll be encouraging 10% Pledgers to post their pledge stories/experiences/thoughts/photos on social media during the anniversary week.

Running a Pledge Week from the 16th to the 22nd of December

This will be a week where those who have been considering the Pledge for some time but are waiting for the right moment will be encouraged to take the plunge! We’ll be hosting virtual pledge Q&A and pledge signing sessions (so pledgers can sign alongside others) as well as sharing content about the impact a pledge can have.

Reaching 10,000 10% Pledges will represent a community that will save or improve the lives of millions of people and animals over their lifetimes, demonstrating that when we act collectively, we do have real power to affect change.

And finally – we’ve created a great new email series for people who want to learn more about pledging. If that’s you – you can opt into that 

There’s some super exciting news below about a massive increase in funding to combat lead exposure, as well as some other great stuff!

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’m committed to doing the most good I can with the resources I have. –

Because, given my privilege and comfort, it's a clear choice to use what I don't need to effectively improve the world, and to commit to doing so for the rest of my life. –

I am confident that this money will go where it may have the most effect and I am confident that if the society changes, the recommendations will too and stay up-to-date and aligned with my values! –

Online: Webinar Series from High Impact Professionals and Giving What We Can

Effective Giving as a High-Impact Career Path

In the first of our webinars co-hosted with High Impact Professionals (HIP), we will explore how effective giving can be a key component of a high-impact career, addressing common misconceptions such as affordability and the effectiveness of donations.

This session is designed for professionals who want to make an impact, whether you're just getting started or looking to amplify your efforts. We'll wrap up with a Q&A session.

Wednesday, 23rd October from 5 pm BST/ 4 pm UTC. 

Leveraging Your Career Beyond Effective Giving

In our second webinar with HIP, we’ll explore how you can leverage your career to go beyond your personal effective giving and create broader impact through professional influence featuring:

Corporate giving campaigns & donation-matching

Workplace initiatives to amplify social impact (and more!)

Join Grace and the GWWC Melbourne community for a drink on Thursday, 7th November. Come chat with other people who are interested in giving to effective charities as well as just generally being good humans! Grace will be happy to answer any questions you have about giving. Please 

Thursday, 7th November from 6-8 pm AEDT at The 

Cornish Arms, 163A Sydney Rd, Brunswick VIC 3056

GWWC Vancouver: Giving Week 2024 Holiday Party

Join GWWC Vancouver for a festive evening of impact. The question of the night is, “If you had 10% of your income set aside for giving back, where would you give?” Get into the holiday spirit with Christmas and Hanukkah-themed snacks, and come discuss how to best make a real difference in the world! Please 

Saturday, November 30 from 6-9 pm GMT-7 at 1443 W 8th Ave, Vancouver, BC

landmark case against the legality of fast-growing breeds of chicken

 takes place this month, with the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice starting today, 23rd October.

Improving wild animal welfare through contraception

 aimed at introducing and scaling pre-slaughter stunning for farmed fishes in India. The first phase is now live: a request for research proposals exploring the feasibility of pre-slaughter stunning in this context.. Interested researchers are encouraged to respond 

After a century-long campaign, Egypt has been 

officially certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization

, marking a historic victory over a disease that has affected this nation of 100 million people since ancient times.

– introducing additions to its program, including a vaccination completion incentive for caregivers, incentives for clinic staff, and malnutrition monitoring. 

a $104 million fund to combat lead exposure

 in low- and middle-income countries. This is a joint philanthropic fund, with contributions from several other major funders including the 

. You can read more about the increased efforts to fight lead poisoning in 

 (LEEP) is one of the leading global organisations combating lead exposure and is a grant recipient of Open Philanthropy. LEEP is currently hiring for a 

 reported that a growing interest in nuclear energy as a way to combat climate change while meeting electricity demand was evident at Climate Week NYC in September 2024. You can read more about developments 

 announced a program to prevent tuberculosis (TB) among young children in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. This community-based household contact management program is being funded by a five-year, 

GiveWell also published several blog posts:

 - a comparison of popular baseball statistics and the metrics GiveWell considers when evaluating programs

Including GiveWell on Your Wedding Registry

 - a how-to featuring an interview with a couple who recently did so.

 is hiring. You can learn more about their hiring process 

. Get more information about the roles using the following links:

Salesforce Solution Architect and Senior Administrator

Administrator and Technical Project Manager

 to run AIM’s Grantmaking Training Program

 (AAC) published a reflection on their work in the past 5 years. We’re delighted to highlight that among their work to connect passionate individuals to highly impactful roles in animal advocacy, AAC’s efforts since becoming a partner this year led to twelve 10% Pledges and eleven trial pledges being taken with GWWC! You can read the full article sharing their achievements, changes and future plans 

Last month, we highlighted how powerful it is for you to share your stories about pledging on social media – we’re also grateful to the companies that take the 

 and go the extra mile to make sure their patrons and networks know about it:

Are you following us on social media? You can stay connected with us on 

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 

GWWC Newsletter: October 2024

September news: Reversing a decline in generosity

Hi and welcome to our September newsletter!

Together, we’re reversing a major trend.

Generosity is declining, with fewer households donating to or volunteering for charities, according to a new, in-depth analysis of current trends in generosity: 

Although recent years have shown significant progress in many areas – including a decline in child mortality, an increase in the adoption of renewable energy and the creation of a new vaccine for malaria, we have a long way to go towards addressing the world’s problems. For example, there are still a billion people living in extreme poverty, tens of billions of animals in factory farms each year, and global catastrophic risks looming over us.

The world needs the generosity of regular people to tackle these issues. And I’m grateful that each of you is giving what you can to help.

 made me feel a bit disheartened – until I refocused on the fact that I’m part of a community of thousands of people who are helping to reverse the trend of declining generosity and set a new norm of giving significantly and effectively.

If you want to help accelerate this reversal, consider signing up for 

 to help equip you with the tools and confidence to speak to your friends and family about effective giving and pledging.

If you want to read the takeaways of the report on generosity, I liked 

from Vox. And we’ve got lots of great news from this month below!

“I’ve been thinking about it for way too long and it’s time to take action”. 

(Translation) “Because I want to make the world a better place. Because I want to feel useful and know that I am useful. And because I know that my income is largely the result of luck.” 

“I've previously pledged 2%, but given the state of the world at the moment, the degree of uncertainty about the future, but the very real and current suffering, I'm committing to 10% as a way of increasing my impact in parallel with pursuing an impactful career.” 

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. Registration required.

Thursday, 26 September from 5 - 8 pm EDT at 307 West 38th Street, New York, NY

GWWC London and Ambitious Impact: Founding and Funding Effective Charities

 at the new AIM offices in London on the journey from research to reality as founders and early employees discuss funding, running and measuring brand-new effective charities. Please come along if you’re interested in using evidence and reason to find the best ways to help others and then putting them into practice.

Wednesday, 16th October from 6 - 10 pm BST at 52 Old Castle Street, London

We’re spreading the word about the 10% Pledge by partnering with organisations that share our values and commitment to making giving effectively and significantly a global cultural norm. Below are some highlights from the past month – see our pledge page for the 

Word of mouth is one of the best ways for people to learn about the pledge! However, we’ve heard from many pledgers that it can be difficult to bring up the pledge in conversation. To help with this, as mentioned in the intro to this newsletter, we are launching a new 

 to empower our community members to have thoughtful conversations about pledging with their friends, family, and colleagues. We're currently looking for another 20 pledgers excited to help us shape our new Pledge Advocacy Program. Please 

 if you’re interested in joining the programme.

We will be running two 8-week pilots in Q4 2024:

Pilot A, from 30 September to 25 November

We are energised to see more pledgers taking to social media to share their decision to take the 10% Pledge or a trial pledge. Here are some examples for inspiration::

Rebecca Cutter wrote an article to explain why she and her organisation have taken the 10% Pledge – acknowledging that talking about money and philanthropy can feel uncomfortable, but that the benefits are worth pushing through. 

how being a 10% Pledger inspires the way he runs his company

Erin Braid publicly celebrated 10 years of being a 10% Pledger. 

Congratulations and thank you to our 559th pledger

On the 4th anniversary of taking the 10% Pledge, Fernando Martin-Gullans shared with his network that he gives 10% of his income effectively because he knows that 

the best version of himself dedicates a meaningful portion of his resources

 and energy towards trying to make the world a better place effectively.

Two 10% Pledgers are getting married and are asking their guests to contribute to their fundraiser instead of buying wedding gifts. You can donate to 

 if you feel moved to do so – donations will go to 

. Congratulations and thank you, Will and JP!

 for 2023-24, detailing achievements and progress made over the past 12 months and sharing the vision going forward: ending the worst and most widespread abuse of animals raised for food and greatly increasing compassion for these animals by 2050.

 to: The grants award up to $200,000 per project, for a total of over $1 million in this round. With methods ranging from treating wild mice with anti-parasitic medication to developing a “lick-o-metre” to assess wild bee welfare, each project demonstrates novelty, methodological rigour, and a high degree of relevance to high-priority research areas in wild animal welfare science.

 shared news of a malaria vaccine breakthrough for pregnant women, asserting a major step forward in addressing the real-world health needs of pregnant women in malaria-endemic settings. 

support from US AID in scaling its approach

 to getting lead out of consumer goods to reduce lead poisoning and improve the health, wellbeing and potential of children worldwide.

 and Former Member of Parliament, gave a 

 exploring why many global development projects waste money on programs that don’t work. His talk, “

To End Extreme Poverty, Give Cash — Not Advice

” promotes cash transfers as an evidence-based intervention to address extreme poverty.

Many of us can save a child’s life if we rely on the best data

. The article is a wonderful introduction to the principles behind effective giving and the vast differences in the efficacy of different interventions – consider sending it to a friend! You could also use it to open up a conversation about pledging/donating with Giving What We Can if you feel inspired to do so.

how its team has been thinking and acting in light of the 2024 US election

, primarily in relation to climate change policy and investment. The brief describes how the team has been preparing for different outcomes since 2023 and how they think about philanthropic strategy in the context of increased climate policy backlash.

 published several blog posts and reports:

A look at how the statistical concept of 

current strategy and thinking on vaccines grantmaking

 reviewing the evidence for community-based tuberculosis household contact management programs

 to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to study the economic impact of distributing reading glasses

 to design and pilot the “Be In A Net” program with the Behavioural Insights Team.

 after receiving a tremendous response from animal advocates worldwide, with 324 applications from 73 countries. ACE is proud to be disbursing $1,024,172 in grants to support 30 innovative projects that will drive positive change for animals.

 shared the recently-released recording of a July debate between Peter Singer and Alice Crary: “

Does the effective altruism movement get giving right?

 (CEARCH) completed an external evaluation of Giving What We Can’s giving multiplier, estimating that every additional $1 GWWC spends on promoting pledging in 2025 will have an impact equivalent to generating $13 for GiveWell’s top charities. You can 

Blog

GWWC Newsletter: October 2024

GWWC Newsletter: September 2024

Leadership Transition at Giving What We Can: A Message from the Board

Giving What We Can is now its own legal entity!

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