Is there such a thing as a “non-allocated” effective donation as a gift? If not—What to do you think of the idea (please read for what I mean exactly)
Hi,
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the option to donate in someone’s name—for example, as a birthday gift. I was thinking it would be great if there were a way to gift a donation, but let the recipient decide which specific charity the money goes to.
Here’s what I have in mind:
I’d like to make an unallocated donation to an organization like Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE). This would essentially act as credit at ACE. I would then gift this credit to someone, and that person—via a unique link or similar mechanism—could choose which ACE-recommended charity the funds should go to.
Why I think this would be a great option:
It feels more thoughtful than simply donating to a specific charity in someone’s name, as the recipient gets to choose which charity to support from a pool of highly effective options.
It could serve as a great introduction to ACE and encourage the recipient to explore the various charities they recommend.
(Of course, this same idea could work with other charity evaluator platforms like GiveWell, Effective Altruism Funds, etc.)
Is something like this already possible? If not, would you also be interested in seeing an option like this?
Effektiv Spenden has donation vouchers that seem roughly in line with what you are thinking of!
Thanks so much, yeah thats pretty much exactly what I am looking for! :)
Very good idea!
It makes me think about a recent Belgian company that does something similar, but not as a gift, and not EA-focused, but more focused on ‘local’ NGOs. Basicially, you pledge to give a monthly amount, and then they present possible NGOs every month, based on your preferences (or you can browse yourself): https://better-app.org/en#explainer . Some Belgian companies even give their employees such a subscription (instead of cash because the subscription is tax deductble i guess)