Do you have an opinion on various proposals to use GWWC pledge status ( + at least self-reported fulfillment of the pledge) as a proxy for membership in the EA community, for purposes of various governance reform proposals? (Examples include electing some or all EVF trustees, a democratic allocation of some donor funds, etc.)
The specific intent of this question is to ask about the advantages/disadvantages of pledge status as a proxy for community membership, any potential positive or negative effects of such a proxy on GWWC, etc. rather than the merits of any proposed governance reform—although of course your thoughts on the latter would be welcome as well.
Great question! I’ve not got very developed thoughts here but here’s my quick take:
As much as I think taking and following through with giving pledges are generally a good norm to have within the community (for many reasons) I’m very sceptical about it being a requirement or anything like that for voting or allocating funds. I think it’s fraught with potential unintended consequences. That being said, I’ve kicked an idea around for a while to have a GWWC community fund where anyone can donate to it (ideally many GWWC members choose to) and there’s a process where active members collectively allocate the funds (likely with recommendations from other members and grantmakers and various ways for people to delegate their votes to others).
Do you have an opinion on various proposals to use GWWC pledge status ( + at least self-reported fulfillment of the pledge) as a proxy for membership in the EA community, for purposes of various governance reform proposals? (Examples include electing some or all EVF trustees, a democratic allocation of some donor funds, etc.)
The specific intent of this question is to ask about the advantages/disadvantages of pledge status as a proxy for community membership, any potential positive or negative effects of such a proxy on GWWC, etc. rather than the merits of any proposed governance reform—although of course your thoughts on the latter would be welcome as well.
Great question! I’ve not got very developed thoughts here but here’s my quick take:
As much as I think taking and following through with giving pledges are generally a good norm to have within the community (for many reasons) I’m very sceptical about it being a requirement or anything like that for voting or allocating funds. I think it’s fraught with potential unintended consequences. That being said, I’ve kicked an idea around for a while to have a GWWC community fund where anyone can donate to it (ideally many GWWC members choose to) and there’s a process where active members collectively allocate the funds (likely with recommendations from other members and grantmakers and various ways for people to delegate their votes to others).