The assumption that if she gives up, she is most likely to give up on donating completely seems not obvious to me. I would think that it’s more likely she scales back to a lower level, which would change the conclusion.
Yep, I agree that that’s probably more likely. I focused on giving up completely to keep things simple. But if it’s even somewhat likely (say, 1% p.a.), that may make a far bigger dent in your expected lifelong donations than do risks of giving up partially.
Perhaps we should be encouraging a strategy where people increase their percentage donated by a few percentage points per year until they find the highest sustainable level for them. Combined with a community norm of acceptance for reductions in amounts donated, people could determine their highest sustainable donation level while lowering risk of stopping donations entirely.
Yep, I agree that that’s probably more likely. I focused on giving up completely to keep things simple. But if it’s even somewhat likely (say, 1% p.a.), that may make a far bigger dent in your expected lifelong donations than do risks of giving up partially.
That certainly sounds sensible to me!