Blog

Stay up to date with Giving What We Can's blog. Featuring the latest news about our community, how to donate effectively, charity evaluation, community events and more!

Giving What We Can's blog, featuring the latest news from our community.

Donate

Pledge

footerNavigation

About us

Contact us

Our team

Our values

Our members

Our events

Transparency

Our mistakes

Our impact

Donate to Giving What We Can

Careers

About

Our best charities

Take a giving pledge

Get involved

Make a bequest

Videos, books, podcasts

FAQs

Learn more

Press kit

Media coverage

Case studies: People who pledge to give

Media

Footer Navigation

DONATE

topNavigation

Best charities

High-impact causes

Why give to funds

How much to donate

Why donate publicly

Recommendations

Our research & approach

Comparing charities

Evaluating evaluators

Our approach

Giving guides

Videos, books, podcasts and essays

Hesitations about charitable giving

How rich am I?

Can money buy happiness?

Resources

Research

Team

Newsletter

Podcast

Videos

Take the Pledge

Connect with our community

Share our ideas

Events

Giving games

Charity elections

Pledge drive

Fundraisers

Social Shareable Images

Community

What is the Pledge?

Why pledge instead of just donating?

Share the Pledge (inspire others!)

Pledge signers

My Pledge

🔹Trial Pledge

Company Pledge

Further Pledge

Bequests

Have a 1-on-1 call about pledging

Donate now

Manage my donations

Tax deductibility

Top Navigation

Alana Horowitz Friedman

Philip Popien 

A 10% Pledger shares an interesting way to gradually increase your giving pledge

Pledger Philip Popien Shares A Unique Approach to Pledging

The "Progressive Pledge”

You’ve heard of progressive tax systems, but have you heard of a progressive pledge? While giving away 10% of income feels daunting for some, for others, it doesn’t feel like enough. 

We spoke with Philip Popien, who took the 10% Pledge in 2016 after reading 

. He’s been following an approach he’s termed the “progressive pledge,” whereby he gradually increases his pledged percentage upon any salary increase. 

 in 2015, he noted down that his goal was to take the 10% Pledge immediately and then adjust that percentage upwards to 25% when his income rose. After following the “progressive pledge” approach for about 7 years, he’s exceeded that goal and in 2024, is up to 27.5

Note

s what Philip has to say about his “progressive pledge” approach to donating:

1. Can you explain how the “progressive pledge” approach works?

You start by donating 10%. Then, with any increase in salary, add 50% (or any other % above 10%) 

. The idea comes from Daniel Kahneman who wrote about doing the same thing with saving for retirement in 

2. Why do you like this approach to donating?

It balances your altruistic and non-altruistic goals in life. I knew I wanted to eventually give more than 10%, but I also didn’t think it was realistic for me to take something like the 

, where you give everything away above what you need to live on. With the progressive pledge approach, an increase in salary still means being able to spend more on yourself than before even with the increase in pledge percentage.

It allows your altruistic ambitions to rise with you getting richer. As I mentioned before, donating 10% is a large sacrifice for lower salaries, but not even noticeable for large incomes.

It increases your donations a lot over time without you ever "losing" money. If you would first see that money as yours, spend it, and later think about how much you would like to donate, it is much harder as now you have to give the money away which triggers 

It increases your motivation to negotiate well, since any salary increase means you get benefits not only for yourself, but for others as well.

3. Can you walk us through how this approach gradually increased your pledged percentage from 10% to 27.5%?

Sure! I started at 10% in 2016. My largest jump from 10% to 20% came from a job change, and then the incremental increases from 20% to 22% to 24% to 26% to 27.5% came from salary increases at the same job.

4. Would you recommend this way of pledging to others? In what circumstances?

Yes! I think a lot of people would like to donate more, but it feels painful to give away more and more. By giving away only from what you earn extra, it is easier to give more!

5. Do you think this approach to giving has increased your overall impact?

Definitely, as I have other monetary goals in life which made it hard to give away more. By coupling my job changes and promotions with increasing my donations, I never felt I lost something which made it possible to increase my donations from 10% to over 25% in 7 years.


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.

Blog

The "Progressive Pledge”

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