The 🔹Trial Pledge
With a 🔹Trial Pledge, you can choose the percentage of income you wish to give (which could be as low as 1%) and for how long you want your trial pledge to last.
(This page discusses one of our pledge options —the Trial Pledge — in detail. For a more general overview of the reasons to take a giving pledge, see our main pledge page.)
With a 🔹Trial Pledge, you can choose the percentage of income you wish to give (which could be as low as 1%) and for how long you want your trial pledge to last. For example, you could try giving 10% of your income for the next year to see how it feels before committing to the full pledge. Or, you could decide to start with 5% for six months and then if that goes well, increase the amount. Some people keep renewing their trial pledges for their whole career because they’ve found a level of giving that’s right for them.
The 🔹Trial Pledge might be a great option for you if:
- You want to commit to contributing a portion of your resources to high-impact charities.
- You want to first see how regular giving feels (try it out!) before taking the full 🔸10% pledge.
- You have outstanding financial commitments that would make giving 10% of your income difficult.
Sign up for a 🔹Trial Pledge
The impact of a 🔹Trial Pledge
While we recommend the full 🔸10% Pledge for maximum impact, we think the 🔹Trial Pledge is a great first step, especially if you are nervous about committing to giving 10% of your income right away. The 🔹Trial Pledge allows you to set the percentage lower at first, and then gradually increase it as you get more comfortable.
We also think in some cases, it could make sense to continue on the 🔹Trial Pledge for the foreseeable future — for example, if you want to donate a portion of your resources and help create better social norms around charity, but need to pledge a smaller percentage because of your financial circumstances.
In addition to the above, the 🔹Trial Pledge could be an especially good fit for you if:
- You plan to re-evaluate your pledge periodically and consider increasing your pledged amount when it’s feasible for you.
- You wouldn’t otherwise pledge at all. (The 🔹Trial Pledge is significantly more impactful than not pledging at all!)
- You are good at remembering to renew things — maybe this is even helpful for you stay on track!
- We have some members who take a 10% 🔹Trial Pledge and keep renewing it, because they like the idea of continually “renewing their commitment to giving” so to speak.
- On the flip side, since the 🔹Trial Pledge does expire, it can lead people to delay or forget about giving, so it’s a good idea to set yourself a reminder!
Donating (especially regularly) to highly-impactful charities allows even small amounts of money to go much further, and all of these contributions help get us closer to a better world — one where there is less suffering, and where more and more people are stepping up to give what they can to help others. We see each and every pledge as a step towards that goal, even if it’s less than 10%!
How a 🔹Trial Pledge works
The 🔹Trial Pledge works in much the same way as the standard 🔸10% Pledge. You’ll sign a pledge, but also specify how much you’re pledging along with the duration of your pledge. You’ll be able to use our donation dashboard to record your giving and see your progress. When your 🔹Trial Pledge comes to an end, you can:
- Extend your pledge period for the same amount
- Change your pledge amount
- Switch to the standard 🔸10% Pledge if you are ready
Ready to give it a try?