Toni Adleberg

Faiz Surani

GWWC Team

As individuals, we are not able to help everyone in need and so we must make difficult decisions about where we use our resources. One way of making such a decision might be to favour people who live locally. After all, there’s no shortage of people — even in the wealthiest countries — who need and deserve our help. We may be especially well-placed to attend to the needs of those near to us. Yet, while there may be some benefits to making local donations, it is in general vastly more cost-effective to support interventions in low-income countries.

Charity begins at home; shouldn't we solve our own problems before helping others?

This article is part of a series addressing 

As individuals, we are not able to help everyone in need and so we must make difficult decisions about where we use our resources. One way of making such a decision might be to favour people who live locally. After all, there’s no shortage of people --- even in the wealthiest countries --- who need and deserve our help. We may be especially well-placed to attend to the needs of those near to us. Yet, while there may be some benefits to making local donations, it is in general vastly more cost-effective to support interventions in low-income countries.

The proverb "charity begins at home" is often mistaken for scripture. The Bible 

 the importance of helping those nearest to us: "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

The phrase "charity begins at home" was popularised in the 17th century by Thomas Fuller, a British clergyman and historian. However, Fuller's meaning is often 

 today. He didn't mean that we should only help those near to us. His 

" (emphasis added). In other words, we should nurture a sense of compassion and generosity in our relationships with those around us, but we should then work to extend that compassion and generosity to the rest of the world.

Helping those near to us and helping those who are far away are not mutually exclusive. We can do both; it's just a matter of striking the right balance. We've not found that balance yet. For example, according to the 2023 

 report, only 6% of American donations went to international affairs organisations in 2022. This is consistent with cross-cultural research on generosity. A 

 conducted in Germany and China found that subjects in both countries were willing to forego greater sums of money to help those nearer to them than those farther away.

Figure 1. Subjects' generosity decreases as social distance increases.

In some cases, giving within your home country might make sense. If you live in a low- or middle-income country, there might be highly impactful giving opportunities in your community that you are well-suited to identify (see our 

). If you live in a high-income country like the U.S., it might make sense to give domestically depending on which cause you are interested in supporting. For example, if you are interested in advancing climate policy, it makes sense to work in a country where some of the largest corporations are located.

Most of the time however, if you live in a middle- or high-income country, you can maximise the impact of your dollar by sending it to a lower-income country. For $619, you can increase 

 in the U.S. by about 1%. For $547, you can 

 the income of a household in Kenya. In fact, for each dollar spent, those who live in wealthy countries can expect to do at least one hundred times more good for those in low-income countries than they could for themselves. Giving What We Can Co-Founder William MacAskill 

Charity might start at home, but it has a much greater impact when extended around the world.

You can direct your giving overseas by donating to one of our many 

that work internationally. You can also donate to EA Funds' 

, which aims to improve people's lives in the poorest regions of the world.

 of like-minded people who are working to make the world a better place.

Common Concerns About Donating to Charity

Meet Sonya and Carl Christensen, philanthropists and members of Giving What We Can. They have been married for 53 years.

Member Profile: Sonya and Carl Christensen

Meet Sonya and Carl Christensen, philanthropists and 

Sonya and Carl have given away at least 10% of their income for many years. It began when they were working in the Peace Corps and making more money than they needed to live comfortably. Sonya's generosity was perhaps inspired by her father, who had an enduring interest in helping others through charity. Now that Sonya and Carl's children are grown (and they have seven grandchildren!), the couple hopes to increase their giving:

"In the last few years we are trying to reach 50% as the children are grown, our house is paid for and we live simply."

Sonya is a retired librarian and Carl is a social worker in private practice. Both spend significant time volunteering. Currently, Sonya is doing taxes for low-income and older adults. After tax day, she will shift her focus to community gardening and education. With help from friends and neighbours, Sonya maintains seven gardens and created a "Pocket Park" in an overrun city block at the end of their street. Sonya and Carl also love to travel as volunteers, though travel has been on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, they hope to travel to Cuba with 

Sonya and Carl give to a variety of organisations, including 

, and more. They direct the majority of their donations towards the causes they are most passionate about: global poverty and education. They make the majority of their giving decisions each fall, taking care to allocate their giving according to their priorities and ensuring that a substantial portion goes overseas.

"I never find it difficult to give. It can be difficult to decide to which causes to give and to get information about them or ideas of what is most useful."

Sonya uses a wide range of materials to inform her giving. She learned about effective altruism and 

 from The Christian Science Monitor. She reads extensively about philanthropy and enjoyed William MacAskill's 

. She joined the Giving What We Can community to learn more about the charities supported by like-minded philanthropists.

" series which profiles a selection of the Giving What We Can community. The Giving What We Can is a community of people from all walks of life, with different perspectives and motivations for giving – all united by their desire to make a significant commitment to use their income to effectively helping others. Read more 

 to help inspire others to give more, and more effectively.

For more information about Giving What We Can we recommend you check out our 

Toni is a contract researcher, writer, and editor for Giving What We Can. She has an academic background in philosophy and about five years of professional experience in the effective altruism space. She has previously worked as the director of research for Animal Charity Evaluators and the managing editor of "Social Theory and Practice," an academic philosophy journal.

Toni Adleberg

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Charity begins at home; shouldn't we solve our own problems before helping others?

Member Profile: Sonya and Carl Christensen