I think this is a useful mindset to have âon the menuâ. It seems reminiscent of the idea that we can have different âbucketsâ: some of our time and money can be for ourselves, some can be for doing good in âcommon senseâ or âwarm and fuzzyâ ways, and some can be for doing good in the way that seems genuinely most effective, from an impartial perspective (or something like that).
Personally, I do something like that in some ways. E.g., for friends or family who will appreciate charity gifts on their birthdays, I give to charities that match their interests, rather than shoe-horning some EA into their days. And I also give plasma regularly, without having really thought about whether thatâs the most effective use of my time (though it also doesnât âcostâ much time given that I can still listen to audiobooks/âpodcasts as I donate).
But my long-term plans are closer to the âFurther Pledgeâ than the 10% pledge, in that I aim to eventually give everything beyond perhaps $15-30,000 USD yearly. Though I havenât taken the Further Plesge yet, because Iâm still working out things like my long-term location and career path, and because of arguments that might favour investing for a while and giving more later. So for now, I basically give 10% per year, spend at a frugal though not incredibly ascetic level, and save the remainderâbut with that remainder still mostly in a âfor EA-aligned stuff eventuallyâ bucket, rather than in a âfor me or for âcommon senseâ good stuffâ bucket. (The rough idea is that Iâll eventually âback-payâ what I âshouldâveâ paid during the years in which I hadnât yet taken the Further Pledge.)
All that said, I ultimately did decide to donate to CEEALAR the amount that I wouldâve paid for my stay if Iâd had to pay, with the motivation partly being what you describe: Theyâd provided me a service, and I had the ability to help support them in return. And I donât plan to donate more in the foreseeable future, as I think the argument for donating to ALLFED or GCRI is probably stronger. But I did count that CEEALAR donation as part of my 10%, as I do think thereâs at least a decent EA argument for supporting them (coming from a longtermist perspective).
I think this is a useful mindset to have âon the menuâ. It seems reminiscent of the idea that we can have different âbucketsâ: some of our time and money can be for ourselves, some can be for doing good in âcommon senseâ or âwarm and fuzzyâ ways, and some can be for doing good in the way that seems genuinely most effective, from an impartial perspective (or something like that).
Personally, I do something like that in some ways. E.g., for friends or family who will appreciate charity gifts on their birthdays, I give to charities that match their interests, rather than shoe-horning some EA into their days. And I also give plasma regularly, without having really thought about whether thatâs the most effective use of my time (though it also doesnât âcostâ much time given that I can still listen to audiobooks/âpodcasts as I donate).
But my long-term plans are closer to the âFurther Pledgeâ than the 10% pledge, in that I aim to eventually give everything beyond perhaps $15-30,000 USD yearly. Though I havenât taken the Further Plesge yet, because Iâm still working out things like my long-term location and career path, and because of arguments that might favour investing for a while and giving more later. So for now, I basically give 10% per year, spend at a frugal though not incredibly ascetic level, and save the remainderâbut with that remainder still mostly in a âfor EA-aligned stuff eventuallyâ bucket, rather than in a âfor me or for âcommon senseâ good stuffâ bucket. (The rough idea is that Iâll eventually âback-payâ what I âshouldâveâ paid during the years in which I hadnât yet taken the Further Pledge.)
All that said, I ultimately did decide to donate to CEEALAR the amount that I wouldâve paid for my stay if Iâd had to pay, with the motivation partly being what you describe: Theyâd provided me a service, and I had the ability to help support them in return. And I donât plan to donate more in the foreseeable future, as I think the argument for donating to ALLFED or GCRI is probably stronger. But I did count that CEEALAR donation as part of my 10%, as I do think thereâs at least a decent EA argument for supporting them (coming from a longtermist perspective).