I plan to give 10% of my income (as per my Giving What We Can Pledge). I’d previously gotten into a rather weird Feb donation cycle so I’m looking to shift this year back to December. My primary cause area is global poverty and development.
I expect the majority (~75%) of my donation to be to a mixture the Givewell Maximum impact fund or the EA Funds Global Health and Development Fund. I’ve found the EA funds process to be somewhat lacking in transparency but generally I have been pleased with the donations made. I’d consider donations to the Founders Pledge Health and Development fund which appears a promising new entrant in this area however there does not appear to be a tax efficient (gift aidable) way to donate to this fund at present from the UK. I’m undecided on the split between these two so at the moment it will probably be 50⁄50.
For the remainder of my donation I intend to support promising smaller EA Charities. In the past I have donated to the Effective Altruism Infrastructure Fund but I’m less convinced that this is a good use of funds and more concerned than in the past that my donations shape towards those aspects of EA I want to encourage and away from those aspects I don’t align with. I intend to donate to Charity Entrepreneurship which I have been impressed by as an incubator and I intend to investigate the Global Health charities incubated by Charity Entrepreneurship and do some additional research in December to look at this area. (At least some of my donation will go to the Lead Exposure Elimination project).
In addition I plan to make nominal donations to all Givewell’s Top Charities and standout charities (as well as a number of non-EA charities) directly so that I am registered on their supporter databases. One downside about giving through EA funds is that you are somewhat disconnected from the charities themselves and I’d like to be “on their radar” and getting email updates about their work.
I’d previously gotten into a rather weird Feb donation cycle so I’m looking to shift this year back to December.
You might consider keeping with your February donation cycle. I’ve heard from some charities that they don’t like how a disproportionate amount of their funding comes from December donations, because it makes budget planning much harder.
I’ve vaguely thought about this but I’m not a significant enough donor that I’m going to register in people’s calculations, and if I’m donating primarily through third party funds then I’m already quite disconnected. (I.e my money isn’t arriving at the charity in December/Feb in any case). I think I prefer the “end of the year” feeling and communal discussions like this to improve my donation habits.
Monthly is fine, it’s probably better for charities. I personally donate annually because it’s a lot simpler. I donate appreciated stock, and transferring stock is a substantial amount of work.
I continued my regular contribution to MIRI. Their approach to openness does make me wonder if they are being effective, but their regular updates, publications on some of their research, and support from people who are in the know suggests that they continue to do a good job.
I also give to a program for autistic youth. Less effective, no doubt, but fuzzies are worth something too.
I plan to give 10% of my income (as per my Giving What We Can Pledge). I’d previously gotten into a rather weird Feb donation cycle so I’m looking to shift this year back to December. My primary cause area is global poverty and development.
I expect the majority (~75%) of my donation to be to a mixture the Givewell Maximum impact fund or the EA Funds Global Health and Development Fund. I’ve found the EA funds process to be somewhat lacking in transparency but generally I have been pleased with the donations made. I’d consider donations to the Founders Pledge Health and Development fund which appears a promising new entrant in this area however there does not appear to be a tax efficient (gift aidable) way to donate to this fund at present from the UK. I’m undecided on the split between these two so at the moment it will probably be 50⁄50.
For the remainder of my donation I intend to support promising smaller EA Charities. In the past I have donated to the Effective Altruism Infrastructure Fund but I’m less convinced that this is a good use of funds and more concerned than in the past that my donations shape towards those aspects of EA I want to encourage and away from those aspects I don’t align with. I intend to donate to Charity Entrepreneurship which I have been impressed by as an incubator and I intend to investigate the Global Health charities incubated by Charity Entrepreneurship and do some additional research in December to look at this area. (At least some of my donation will go to the Lead Exposure Elimination project).
In addition I plan to make nominal donations to all Givewell’s Top Charities and standout charities (as well as a number of non-EA charities) directly so that I am registered on their supporter databases. One downside about giving through EA funds is that you are somewhat disconnected from the charities themselves and I’d like to be “on their radar” and getting email updates about their work.
Side note:
You might consider keeping with your February donation cycle. I’ve heard from some charities that they don’t like how a disproportionate amount of their funding comes from December donations, because it makes budget planning much harder.
I’m not sure how much this matters if you’re giving to funds, depending on their granting schedules.
I’ve vaguely thought about this but I’m not a significant enough donor that I’m going to register in people’s calculations, and if I’m donating primarily through third party funds then I’m already quite disconnected. (I.e my money isn’t arriving at the charity in December/Feb in any case). I think I prefer the “end of the year” feeling and communal discussions like this to improve my donation habits.
To me, an automated monthly payment from your credit card or bank order makes sense. What are the arguments for an annual donation?
Monthly is fine, it’s probably better for charities. I personally donate annually because it’s a lot simpler. I donate appreciated stock, and transferring stock is a substantial amount of work.
I continued my regular contribution to MIRI. Their approach to openness does make me wonder if they are being effective, but their regular updates, publications on some of their research, and support from people who are in the know suggests that they continue to do a good job.
I also give to a program for autistic youth. Less effective, no doubt, but fuzzies are worth something too.