Thanks. Maybe it’s just my blindspot. I couldn’t find anyone discussing this for more than 5min, except for this one. I googled it and found some blogs that are not about what I have in mind
I agree that donating to my favourite charity instead of my friend’s favorite one would be unpolite, at least; however, I was thinking about friends who are not EAs, or who don’t use to donate at all. It might be a better gift than a card or a lame souvenir, and perhaps interest this friend in EA charities (I try to think about which charity would interest this person most). Is there any reason against it?
If your friend doesn’t donate normally, then probably their preferred person to spend money on is themself. It still seems rude to me to say you’re giving them a gift, which should be something they want, and instead give them something they don’t want.
For example, my mother likes flowers. I normally get her flowers for mother’s day. If I switch to giving her a donation to AMF instead of buying her flowers, she will be counterfactually worse off—she is no longer getting the flowers she enjoys. I don’t think that kind of experience would make her more likely to start donating, either.
Thanks. Maybe it’s just my blindspot. I couldn’t find anyone discussing this for more than 5min, except for this one. I googled it and found some blogs that are not about what I have in mind
I agree that donating to my favourite charity instead of my friend’s favorite one would be unpolite, at least; however, I was thinking about friends who are not EAs, or who don’t use to donate at all. It might be a better gift than a card or a lame souvenir, and perhaps interest this friend in EA charities (I try to think about which charity would interest this person most). Is there any reason against it?
If your friend doesn’t donate normally, then probably their preferred person to spend money on is themself. It still seems rude to me to say you’re giving them a gift, which should be something they want, and instead give them something they don’t want.
For example, my mother likes flowers. I normally get her flowers for mother’s day. If I switch to giving her a donation to AMF instead of buying her flowers, she will be counterfactually worse off—she is no longer getting the flowers she enjoys. I don’t think that kind of experience would make her more likely to start donating, either.